Certificates of Free Sale & Export Statements
If you are exporting biocidal products or active substances outside of Great Britain (GB), you may be asked to provide a Certificate of Free Sale (CFS).
A CFS is an official document confirming that the product or active substance complies with the relevant laws on biocides and may be freely sold across GB. They are usually requested when the country you are exporting to does not have its own regulatory regime.
If a product or active substance does not comply with the relevant laws on biocides but is only intended for export from GB (so is not made available on the GB market), an Export Statement may be able to be issued. Find out more about importing and exporting.
Find out about CFS and Export Statements if you are exporting from Northern Ireland.
Who issues CFS or Export Statements?
HSE can issue various CFS or Export Statements for biocidal products (sometimes referred to as non-agricultural pesticides) and active substances that are regulated under the Control of Pesticides Regulations (COPR) or the GB Biocidal Products Regulation (GB BPR).
HSE can also issue various CFS or Export Statements for plant protection products (sometimes referred to as agricultural pesticide products). Find out how to get a CFS or Export Statement for a plant protection product.
CFS for products that are not in the scope of biocides or plant protection product regulations can be requested from the Department for International Trade (DIT).
DIT can also issue CFS for products that are within the scope of GB BPR but do not yet need to be authorised under the regulation – eg non-COPR products such as disinfectants where the active substance is still under review under GB BPR.
Get a CFS or Export Statement
Before you request a CFS you should:
- find out if your product or active substance is in scope of GB BPR or COPR
- check the status of the active substance in your product or the active substance you are exporting
- check if your product is already approved under COPR or authorised under GB BPR
- check if your product is being made available on the market in GB
Making available on the market means any supply of a biocidal product, whether in return for payment or free of charge, at all stages of the supply chain. Some examples of this could include:
- manufacturer to distributor
- distributor to retail store
- retail store to user
Using this information, choose the appropriate template from the table below.
| If your product / active substance is within the scope of… | …and it is… | …you should complete… |
|---|---|---|
| COPR | a product with current COPR approval | CFS Template A |
| a product without current COPR approval | Export Statement Template B | |
| an active substance approved for use in COPR products | Export Statement Template C | |
| GB BPR | a product with current GB BPR authorisation | CFS Template E |
| a product without current GB BPR authorisation but an application for product authorisation has been made and is currently under evaluation under GB BPR | CFS Template F | |
| a product that does not have current GB BPR authorisation and is not currently under evaluation under GB BPR but the date of approval of the last active substance in the product was no more than 180 days ago | CFS Template G | |
| an active substance with current GB BPR approval | Export Statement Template H | |
| a product that does not have current GB BPR authorisation and is for export only (not made available on the GB market) | Export Statement Template I |
Complete the template with all of the relevant information that you wish to appear on the CFS or Export Statement. Some of the templates allow for additional information to be added such as manufacturing sites, exporter, distributor etc. This information is optional and, as it cannot be verified by HSE, it can only be placed under the section that reads 'The following information has been supplied by the applicant to the Health and Safety Executive'.
Send the completed template to [email protected] along with the following information:
- details of the product or active substance being exported – if the product is authorised or approved under one of the biocides regimes in GB, please provide the authorisation / approval number
- a declaration that the information you are providing is true and correct by using this statement – The contents of this request are true and correct, and the information provided is entirely the responsibility of the applicant company.
Certificates and statements will be issued with the official HSE seal within three working days of the request.