When and how you have to comply with REACH depends on your status within the supply chain (see ‘how does REACH affect me?’) and also if you can, and have, pre-registered your substance.
If you have pre-registered then you qualify for the phased-in registration deadlines, these deadlines depend on the classification and tonnage of the substance supplied. These deadlines are set out in the timeline below as phases 1, 2 and 3.
This means that you cannot take advantage of the ‘phase-in’ periods under REACH and must register your substance on the 1 December 2008.
A substance that is ‘new’ means that it is not on EINECS and has not been manufactured previously. These substances must be registered from the 1 June 2008, they are not eligible for ‘phase-in’ and are called ‘non phase-in’ substances under REACH. Until then the current Notification of New Substances Regulations (NONS) continue to apply.
Registration is the process of collecting and collating specified sets of information on the properties of substances. How much information is needed depends on the tonnage and hazards associated with the substance that is to be registered. These requirements can be found within the REACH text. The information is then used to perform an assessment of the hazards and risks that a substance may pose and how these risks can be controlled. This information and the associated assessment are then submitted to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki.
For more detailed information on registration see the ECHA guidance document.
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 June 2007 | REACH came in to force |
| 1 June 2008 | Pre-registration for existing (‘phase-in’) substances starts Registration for new (‘non phase-in’) substances starts |
| 30 November 2008 | Pre-registration for ‘phase-in’ substances ends |
| 1 December 2008 | Registration for existing substances (that have not been pre-registered) starts |
| 1 January 2009 | List of pre-registered substances published and SIEFs are formed |
| 1 June 2009 | First recommendation of priority substances to be considered for authorisation published by ECHA |
| 1 December 2010 PHASE 1 |
By this date the following pre-registered ‘phase-in’ substances should have been registered when supplied at:
|
| 1 June 2013 PHASE 2 |
Deadline for registration of substances supplied at ≥ 100 tpa |
| 1 June 2018 PHASE 3 |
Deadline for registration of substances supplied at ≥ 1 tpa |