Complete guide to UK REACH and GB CLP compliance for businesses that manufacture, import, or use chemical substances and mixtures.
StartingUpdated 3 November 2026
Understanding UK chemicals regulation
If your business manufactures, imports, or uses chemical substances in Great Britain, you must comply with two core regulatory frameworks: UK REACH and GB CLP. These are the UK's independent versions of the EU chemicals regulations, enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
This learning path takes you through each obligation step by step, from registration through to hazard labelling and poison centre notification. By the end, you will understand your duties and where to find detailed guidance for each requirement.
Phase 1: UK REACH registration
UK REACH requires manufacturers and importers of chemical substances to register them with HSE. If you grandfathered an existing EU REACH registration in 2021, you must submit full registration data within the transitional deadlines.
Full guidance on UK REACH registration requirements, tonnage bands, deadlines, fees, and your obligations as a registrant. Essential reading for manufacturers and importers of chemical substances in Great Britain.
Phase 2: Your role in the supply chain
Not every business handling chemicals needs to register them. If you use chemical substances supplied by others, you are likely a downstream user under UK REACH. Downstream users have distinct obligations including following Safety Data Sheet instructions, adhering to exposure scenarios, and communicating information up the supply chain.
How to comply with UK REACH as a downstream user. Covers Safety Data Sheet compliance, exposure scenario adherence, SVHC communication duties, and record-keeping requirements.
Phase 3: Substances of Very High Concern
Certain chemicals are identified as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) because they pose serious risks to human health or the environment. UK REACH maintains its own Candidate List, which is diverging from the EU list. If your products contain SVHCs above 0.1% by weight, you have specific notification and communication obligations.
How to identify, notify, and communicate about Substances of Very High Concern. Covers the UK Candidate List, Article 33 duties, authorisation requirements, and how the UK and EU SVHC lists are diverging.
Phase 4: Classification and labelling under GB CLP
All hazardous substances and mixtures placed on the GB market must be classified, labelled, and packaged according to the GB CLP Regulation. This determines what hazard pictograms, signal words, and precautionary statements appear on your product labels and Safety Data Sheets.
How to classify, label, and package hazardous chemicals under GB CLP, including the GB Mandatory Classification and Labelling list, Safety Data Sheet requirements, and ongoing notification obligations.
Phase 5: Poison centre notification
In Great Britain, sending the safety data sheet for a hazardous mixture to the National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) is voluntary. It helps medical professionals give accurate treatment advice in poisoning emergencies. Mixtures placed on the Northern Ireland market must instead be notified to the NPIS in the EU format, with a Unique Formula Identifier (UFI) that links each product to its composition.
How to send the safety data sheet for a hazardous mixture to the NPIS in Great Britain, and the separate mandatory poison centre notification, with a Unique Formula Identifier, for the Northern Ireland market.
What you should now understand
After completing this learning path, you should understand:
How UK REACH registration works and the transitional deadlines that apply
Your obligations as a downstream user of chemical substances
SVHC identification, notification, and supply chain communication duties
How to classify and label hazardous chemicals under GB CLP
How to send safety data sheets to the NPIS, and when poison centre notification is mandatory
Chemicals regulation is evolving as the UK develops its independent framework. HSE publishes updates to the UK Candidate List, GB MCL list, and registration guidance regularly. Monitor the HSE chemicals pages for changes affecting your substances.