Retained EU Law 2006 United Kingdom

UK REACH Regulation (retained EU law)

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At a glance

Enforced by

HSE, OEP

What's here

67 compliance obligations, 14 practical guides · 5 journeys

Penalty landscape

3 of 67 obligations carry up to 2 years imprisonment. 64 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Who this Act binds

Business-side actors with duties under this Act, ranked by how often they appear.

  • Manufacturer 16
  • Distributor 11
  • Any Person 8
  • Employer 1
  • Trader 1

Plus 30 non-business duties on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.

Step-by-step journeys using this legislation

Walkthroughs that take you from a real business situation to compliance.

Relevant guidance

Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.

Direct — cites this Act

2 guides

Supporting — topic alignment

11 guides

Mentioned in related content

1 guides
View all 14 guides →

Other Acts binding the same actors

For each actor bound by this Act, the other UK Acts that bind them most often. Useful for understanding the full compliance landscape facing each role.

Manufacturers also bound by 82 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Distributors also bound by 33 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Any Person also bound by 749 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Employers also bound by 171 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Traders also bound by 219 other Acts (top 5 shown)

What this Act requires

Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.

s.005

No data, no market

2 years imprisonment
  • Register chemical substances before manufacturing or selling them Manufacturer
s.020

Duties of the Agency

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Agency must check registration completeness and assign ID numbers Statutory regulator
s.040

Examination of testing proposals

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • HSE must examine testing proposals and issue a formal decision Statutory regulator
s.044

Criteria for substance evaluation

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • HSE must develop and publish a rolling plan for chemical evaluations Statutory regulator
s.048

Follow-up to substance evaluation

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Health and Safety Executive must conclude and report on substance evaluations Statutory regulator
s.060

Granting of authorisations

2 years imprisonment
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must decide on chemical substance authorisations Crown / Minister / Government department
s.066

Downstream users

  • Notify the HSE if you use authorised substances as a downstream user Distributor
s.069

Preparation of a proposal

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • HSE must consult the public and businesses on new chemical restrictions Statutory regulator
s.070

Agency opinion: risk assessment

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Agency must provide a risk assessment opinion on proposed restrictions Statutory regulator
s.077

Tasks

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Agency must provide guidance and technical support to businesses Statutory regulator
s.109

Rules on transparency

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • HSE must establish rules for public access to chemical safety data Statutory regulator
s.117

Reporting

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Agency must report on REACH operation and non-animal testing Statutory regulator
s.119

Electronic public access

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • HSE must provide public online access to chemical substance information Statutory regulator
s.124

Other responsibilities

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Agency must provide a national helpdesk for REACH advice Statutory regulator
s.127

Report

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • HSE must report on UK REACH enforcement and monitoring results Statutory regulator
s.advice from environment agency or other environmen

Advice from Environment Agency or other environmental regulators to Agency

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Agency must consult environmental regulators on chemical safety decisions Statutory regulator
s.decisions of echa relating to existing eu registra

Decisions of ECHA relating to existing EU registrations

  • Notify the Agency of existing ECHA decisions Any Person
s.existing applications for eu authorisations

Existing applications for EU authorisations

  • Validate and notify the Secretary of State of pending EU REACH authorisations Any Person
s.existing article 7(2) notifications

Existing Article 7(2) notifications

  • Submit previous EU chemical notifications to the UK Agency Manufacturer
s.existing eu authorisations

Existing EU authorisations

  • Submit technical data for existing EU chemical authorisations Trader
s.general provisions for assessing substances and pr

GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR ASSESSING SUBSTANCES AND PREPARING CHEMICAL SAFETY REPORTS

  • Assess chemical safety and prepare safety reports Manufacturer
s.general provisions for downstream users to assess

GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR DOWNSTREAM USERS TO ASSESS SUBSTANCES AND PREPARE CHEMICAL SAFETY REPORTS

  • Assess chemical safety for uses not covered by a Safety Data Sheet Distributor
s.information requirements referred to in article 10

INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 10

  • Register chemical substances and provide specific data for nanoforms Manufacturer
s.obligation to keep information

Obligation to keep information

  • Retain chemical safety information for 10 years Any Person
s.requirements for the compilation of safety data sh

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COMPILATION OF SAFETY DATA SHEETS

  • Ensure Safety Data Sheets are compiled by a trained, competent person Distributor
Browse 115 other sections — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.application of article 127g to qualifying northern

Application of Article 127G to qualifying Northern Ireland goods

s.application of this regulation to transferred gb r

Application of this Regulation to transferred GB registrations

s.appointment of only representative where article 1

Appointment of only representative where Article 127E applies

s.authorisations and imports from northern ireland

Authorisations and imports from Northern Ireland

s.authorisations and qualifying northern ireland goo

Authorisations and qualifying Northern Ireland goods

s.criteria for substances registered in quantities b

CRITERIA FOR SUBSTANCES REGISTERED IN QUANTITIES BETWEEN 1 AND 10 TONNES

s.criteria for the identification of persistent, bio

CRITERIA FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF PERSISTENT, BIOACCUMULATIVE AND TOXIC SUBSTANCES, AND VERY PERSISTENT AND VERY BIOACCUMULATIVE SUBSTANCES

s.dossiers

DOSSIERS

s.exemptions from the obligation to register in acco

EXEMPTIONS FROM THE OBLIGATION TO REGISTER IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 2(7)(b)

s.existing article 17 registrations

Existing Article 17 registrations

s.existing article 18 registrations

Existing Article 18 registrations

s.existing article 9 exemptions

Existing Article 9 exemptions

s.existing authorised downstream users under eu law

Existing authorised downstream users under EU law

s.existing eu registrations which have effect as gb

Existing EU registrations which have effect as GB registrations

s.existing examinations of testing proposals

Existing examinations of testing proposals

s.general rules for adaptation of the standard testi

GENERAL RULES FOR ADAPTATION OF THE STANDARD TESTING REGIME SET OUT IN ANNEXES VII TO X

s.import from northern ireland where article 127e ap

Import from Northern Ireland where Article 127E applies

s.interpretation of articles 127a to 127c

Interpretation of Articles 127A to 127C

s.list of substances subject to authorisation

LIST OF SUBSTANCES SUBJECT TO AUTHORISATION

s.notification by northern irish supplier where arti

Notification by Northern Irish supplier where Article 139A applies

s.post-ip completion periods used in this title

Post-IP completion periods used in this Title

s.pre-ip completion downstream users and distributor

Pre-IP completion downstream users and distributors that are to continue to be regarded as downstream users

s.protected ni imports

Protected NI imports

s.registrations under article 127l and article 127m

Registrations under Article 127L and Article 127M

s.regulations under this regulation

Regulations under this Regulation

s.restrictions on the manufacture, placing on the ma

RESTRICTIONS ON THE MANUFACTURE, PLACING ON THE MARKET AND USE OF CERTAIN DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES, MIXTURES AND ARTICLES

s.socio-economic analysis

SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

s.standard information requirements for substances m

STANDARD INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBSTANCES MANUFACTURED OR IMPORTED IN QUANTITIES OF 100 TONNES OR MORE

s.substances of very high concern: sunset dates and

Substances of very high concern: sunset dates and latest application dates

s.the agency

The Agency

s.the consent requirement

The consent requirement

Read the full Act on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)

Official guidance

Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.

Enforcement and responsible bodies

The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.

HSE

Primary

Health and Safety Executive

Workplace health, safety, and welfare regulation across all industries. Enforces the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and related regulations. Investigates …

OEP

Office for Environmental Protection

Independent body established post-Brexit to scrutinise environmental law and investigate complaints about public authorities' failures to comply with environmental law in England …

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