Manufacturing & Engineering UK-wide

Chemical manufacturer: compliance checklist

A verification checklist for makers of chemicals and chemical products (SIC division 20). Use it to confirm that UK REACH registration, GB CLP classification and labelling, product authorisation, COMAH duties, environmental permits, DSEAR controls, explosives licensing and core workplace health-and-safety duties are all in place before a production run.

Guide summary

Use this checklist before every production run to make sure your business follows the law. You must register substances with UK REACH, classify and label them correctly, and get authorisations if you make biocides, plant protection products or cosmetics. Check each item — if you answer ‘no’, fix it before you start.

  • Register each substance you make at 1 tonne or more per year with UK REACH
  • Classify each substance and mixture for hazards under GB CLP
  • Apply correct CLP labels with pictograms, signal word and statements
  • Get product authorisation for biocides, plant protection products or cosmetics
  • Provide safety data sheets down the supply chain
  • Pay registration fees from £57 (micro) to £2,222 (large) from April 2025
  • Deadline for grandfathering highest priority substances is 27 October 2029
  • Penalty for non-compliance up to £20,000 and/or imprisonment
  • Check Northern Ireland separately — EU rules apply there
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Related guides in Health & Safety

Use this checklist to confirm that your chemical manufacturing business meets its obligations before a production run. Work through each item and answer yes or no. If you answer no to any item, follow the linked guide for that regime before you proceed. The product and market rules apply when you place substances or products on the GB market; in Northern Ireland the EU rules apply under the Windsor Framework, so check the NI position separately.

Substances and products on the market

Confirm the registration, classification and authorisation rules for what you make are met.

  1. 1

    UK REACH registration

    Have you registered each substance you manufacture at one tonne a year or more with the UK REACH service, and prepared the safety data sheets you must supply down the chain? UK REACH applies in Great Britain; in Northern Ireland, EU REACH applies under the Windsor Framework, so check the NI position separately.

  2. 2

    GB CLP classification, labelling and packaging

    Have you classified each substance and mixture for its hazards, applied the correct CLP label (pictograms, signal word, and hazard and precautionary statements), and confirmed the packaging is safe and compliant?

  3. 3

    Product authorisation, if applicable

    If you make biocides, plant protection products or cosmetics, have you obtained the required authorisation or notification before placing the product on the GB market?

Major-hazard, environmental and explosives controls

If your site holds dangerous substances, runs a permitted installation or handles explosives, confirm the site-based controls are in place.

  1. 1

    COMAH duties, if applicable

    If your site holds qualifying quantities of dangerous substances, do you hold a major-accident prevention policy, have you notified the Competent Authority, and, for an upper-tier site, produced the safety report and on-site emergency plan?

  2. 2

    Environmental permit

    If you run a chemical installation on an industrial scale, do you hold a current environmental permit from the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, SEPA or NIEA for your nation?

  3. 3

    DSEAR assessment and zoning

    Have you assessed fire and explosion risks under DSEAR, classified hazardous areas into zones, and selected and maintained equipment that is safe to use in them?

  4. 4

    Explosives licence, if applicable

    If you make or store explosives, do you hold the required licence under the Explosives Regulations 2014, and are the precursor supply controls in place where they apply?

Workplace health and safety

Whatever you make, confirm the core workplace duties are met. Chemical manufacture is high-hazard, so these duties carry real weight.

  1. 1

    COSHH assessment and control

    Have you assessed exposure to the hazardous substances you handle, put controls in place to prevent or reduce that exposure, and arranged the monitoring and health surveillance required?

  2. 2

    General health and safety duties

    Are you meeting your general duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of your employees and others affected by the work, with the assessments, equipment controls and arrangements that involves?

  3. 3

    Supporting workplace duties

    Have you also covered the related workplace duties — safe work equipment under PUWER, manual handling, fire safety, employers' liability insurance, equality duties and ICO data protection registration — that apply to every business?

If you answered no to any item

Do not proceed with a production run until you have closed the gap. For registration, classification and product authorisation, see the guide on placing chemical substances and products on the GB market. For COMAH, environmental permits, DSEAR and explosives, see the guide on operating a safe chemical manufacturing site. If you are not sure which regimes apply, see the guide on which chemical regulations apply to your products and site, or confirm it with the relevant regulator before you commit.

Official sources

Statutory sources and regulators for the chemical manufacturing sector