Existing NI products: transfer to EU BPR

Article 89 of the EU Biocidal Products Regulation (EU BPR) allows biocidal products to transition to authorisation under EU BPR, if they are currently made available on the market under national law in NI.

Such products will contain existing active substances that are under review for the relevant product type, as part of the EU Review Programme.

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

Biocidal products that are already available on the NI market under other national law fall into two categories:

Find out which category your product falls into.

If you have a product on the market in Great Britain (GB) under COPR (GB) or other GB national law, the requirements may be different.

Action needed

To keep your product on the market in NI, whichever of the above categories it falls into, you will need to:

Note that for most applications for product authorisation in NI, you cannot submit via the EU system, R4BP 3. You will need to use the HSE biocidal product authorisation application form.

If your application must be submitted via the EU system (R4BP 3), such as for a Union authorisation, please contact us. This will ensure that your COPR approval in NI is not revoked in error.

You can continue to make applications to amend COPR approved products in NI while transitioning to an EU BPR authorisation, including the addition of trade names.

Find out how to apply for transitional amendments.

Once your EU BPR application has been validated, if you want to make an amendment, please contact HSE prior to making an application.

You can continue to place new products on the NI market under COPR NI or other national law providing one of the following is true:

  • all the active substances in the product are still under review for the relevant product type under the EU Review Programme for existing active substances
  • one or more of the active substances has already been approved for the relevant product type, and at least one of the other active substances in the product is still under review for the relevant product type under the EU Review Programme for existing active substances

Requirements vary for:

Products made available on the market under COPR NI or other national law in NI must:

What happens next

At all points of the process, when approved, while your application is being evaluated or during the phase out period if not approved, you must continue to comply with:

EU BPR application submitted by the deadline

Biocidal products can stay on the market under COPR NI or other national law in NI while your EU BPR application is being evaluated, for up to 3 years after the approval date for the last active substance.

EU BPR application not submitted by the deadline

If you do not apply for product authorisation under EU BPR by the deadline, your product can only continue to be made available on the market in NI within the following phase-out periods:

  • up to 180 days for making the product available (at all stages of the supply chain)
  • up to 365 days for its use

Outcome of EU BPR application

Product authorisation granted

From the date of authorisation, any new stocks of the product made available on the NI market must comply with:

Existing stocks of your product can continue to be made available on the market under COPR or other national law in NI within the following phase-out periods:

  • up to 180 days for making the product available (at all stages of the supply chain)
  • up to 365 days for its use - any existing COPR approval in NI will expire 365 days from the date of authorisation under EU BPR

Product authorisation not granted, or application rejected

If, after evaluation, it is concluded that an EU BPR product authorisation cannot be granted, or the application is rejected at any stage, your product can only continue to be made available on the market in NI within the following phase-out periods:

  • up to 180 days for making the product available (at all stages of the supply chain)
  • up to 365 days for its use

Active substances not approved

If one or more of the active substances in your product is given a non-approval decision under EU BPR, your product can only continue to be made available on the market in NI within the following phase-out periods:

  • up to 12 months for making the product available (at all stages of the supply chain)
  • up to 18 months for its use - any existing COPR NI approval in NI will expire 18 months from the date of the non-approval decision

 

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Updated 2025-03-25