UK REACH Registration

Since 1 January 2021, UK REACH has applied in Great Britain. The Steering Committe of the Lead REACH Consortium has agreed that the Consortium will oversee the UK REACH registration process for its substances, providing support to its members and data access for non-members via Licence to Use agreements.

UK REACH Registration

Substances manufactured in or imported into Great Britain in quantities of 1 tonne or more per year per legal entity must be registered under UK REACH.

To help to minimise the impacts, and to provide continuity for businesses, UK REACH includes a range of transitional provisions. Two key transitional measures apply in the case of UK REACH Registration:

  • EU REACH registrations held by GB-based legal entities since 29 March 2017 are recognised under UK REACH in a process known as ‘grandfathering‘
    • GB-based registrants needed to claim their registration by submitting basic information in the UK’s ‘Comply with UK REACH’ IT system by 30 April 2021, and then follow up with a registration dossier within the relevant registration deadline;
  • GB-based legal entities that were Downstream Users or Distributors under EU REACH and now have UK REACH registration obligations as importers may submit a ‘Downstream User Import Notification‘ (DUIN) by submitting basic information to the UK HSE, before following up with a registration dossier within the relevant registration deadline
    • DUINs were required to be submitted by 27 October 2021 via the the UK’s ‘Comply with UK REACH’ IT system, followed up by the submision of an Excel file by email to HSE.

Practical guidance on grandfathering and DUIN has been provided to Consortium members.

Registration deadlines

As with EU REACH, the current deadlines for UK REACH Registration are dependent on tonnage and hazard profile:

Deadline Tonnage Hazardous properties
27 October 2023 Manufactured/imported in quantities of 1,000 tpy or more
  • Carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction (CMRs) – 1 tonne or more per year,
  • Very toxic to aquatic organisms (acute or chronic) – 100 tonnes or more per year,
  • Included on the ECHA Candidate List as at 31 December 2020.
27 October 2025 Manufactured/imported in quantities of 100 tonnes or more per year
  • Included on the Candidate list as at 27 October 2023.
27 October 2027 Manufactured/imported in quantities of 1 tonne or more per year  

Due to their hazard profile, Pb REACH Consortium substances will fall under the October 2023 deadline.

Data access

To support their UK REACH registrations, all GB-based registrants – whether they were existing manufacturers/importers under EU REACH, GB-based Downstream Users under EU REACH newly needing to register, or are GB-based Only Representatives appointed by non-UK manufacturers/formulators for UK REACH – will need the right to refer to the data for UK REACH registration purposes.

A paper confirming the data sharing arrangements for Pb REACH Consortium substances was circulated to Consortium members in Q4 2020. In summary, as agreed by the Steering Committee:

  • The data rights of Pb REACH Consortium members and existing GB-based LOA/LTU holders for Pb REACH Consortium substances will be continued under UK REACH, subject to the execution of relevant agreements.
  • Non-member companies newly requiring access to the Consortium’s data for UK REACH registration purposes – for example UK REACH Only Representatives and GB-based entities formerly recognised as downstream users under EU REACH – will require a non-EU Licence to Use agreement, granted on payment of the relevant fee.

Contact the Secretariat for more information.

What is UK REACH?

After the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and the subsequent transition period which ended on 31 December 2020, the EU REACH Regulation was brought into UK law with the necessary changes to make it operable in a domestic, i.e. GB (England, Scotland and Wales), context. The key principles, objectives and provisions of the EU REACH Regulation have been retained – for example, GB-based manufacturers and importers of substances in quantities of 1 tonne or more per year must submit registration dossiers to the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Transitional measures have, however, been implemented in UK REACH to help minimise the impact on affected businesses.

Find out more about UK REACH.