Manufacturing & Engineering UK-wide

Which chemical regulations apply to your products and site

A reference guide for chemical manufacturers (SIC division 20) that routes you to the regimes that apply to your products and your site. It points you to UK REACH and GB CLP for substances and mixtures, product authorisation for biocides, plant protection products and cosmetics, COMAH and environmental permitting for major-hazard sites, and the explosives licensing regime.

Guide summary

Check what chemical products you make and how your site operates to find which regulations apply. If you place substances on the market in Great Britain, you must register them under UK REACH (if you make or import over 1 tonne per year) and classify, label and package them under GB CLP. For biocides, plant protection products, cosmetics or explosives, separate authorisation regimes apply. If your site stores large amounts of hazardous chemicals, you must comply with COMAH and get environmental permits.

  • Register substances under UK REACH if you make or import over 1 tonne per year
  • Classify and label all substances and mixtures under GB CLP before sale
  • Notify HSE of classified substances within 1 month of first placing on market
  • Pay registration fee from £57 (micro) to £2,222 (large) per substance
  • Share data with other companies making the same substance – mandatory
  • Check Northern Ireland rules separately under the Windsor Framework
  • Apply for authorisation if you make biocides, plant protection or cosmetics
  • Comply with COMAH if your site stores hazardous substances above thresholds
  • Get environmental permits for waste and emissions from your site
  • Penalty for non-compliance up to £20,000 and imprisonment
On this page

Related guides in General Compliance

Chemical manufacture is one of the most heavily regulated activities in the economy, and the rules that apply to you depend on what you make and how your site operates. This reference guide helps you find the right regimes for your business (SIC division 20). Work through the questions below, follow the regime that fits, then open the task guide it points to.

Most of the product and market regimes here — UK REACH, GB CLP, biocides, plant protection products and cosmetics, and explosives — apply when you place substances or products on the market in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). Northern Ireland follows the EU rules under the Windsor Framework, so check the NI position separately if you supply there. The site-based regimes — major-accident hazards, environmental permitting and workplace safety — are UK-wide duties, with a different regulator in each nation.

Do you place substances on the market? Use UK REACH and GB CLP

If you manufacture chemical substances, two regimes apply to almost everything you make. UK REACH governs registration of the substances themselves, with HSE running the GB service. GB CLP governs how you classify the hazards and then label and package the product. Read the two together: REACH covers the substance, CLP covers what goes on the container.

Do you make biocides, pesticides or cosmetics? You need product authorisation

Some chemical products cannot be placed on the GB market until the product itself is authorised or notified, on top of REACH and CLP. Biocidal products such as disinfectants and preservatives need active-substance approval and product authorisation. Plant protection products (pesticides) need the product authorised and its active substances approved. Cosmetic products need a UK responsible person, a safety assessment and notification before sale. Find the one that matches your product.

Is your site a major-hazard establishment? COMAH and an environmental permit may apply

If your site holds qualifying quantities of named dangerous substances — common where you produce or store bulk industrial gases or reactive chemicals — it is a COMAH establishment with major-accident prevention duties. A chemical installation operating on an industrial scale will usually also need an environmental permit covering its emissions to air, water and land. The regulator differs by nation: the Environment Agency in England, Natural Resources Wales in Wales, SEPA in Scotland and NIEA in Northern Ireland.

Do you make or store explosives? You need an explosives licence

Manufacturing or storing explosives requires a licence under the Explosives Regulations 2014, with assigned hazard types and separation distances. HSE is the regulator for manufacture and larger stores in Great Britain, with the local licensing authority or police for smaller stores. This reads alongside the controls on explosives precursors and poisons if you supply high-nitrogen fertilisers or other regulated substances.

Where to go next

Once you know which regimes apply, work through the two task guides. To get your products lawfully onto the GB market, see the guide on placing chemical substances and products on the GB market. To put the major-hazard, environmental and explosives controls in place, see the guide on operating a safe chemical manufacturing site. Then run the chemical manufacturer compliance checklist before any production run to confirm nothing has been missed.

Official sources

Statutory sources and regulators for chemical manufacture in Great Britain