Biocides: active substance status

1. Overview

To import or make a biocidal product available on the market in Great Britain or Northern Ireland you need to check the status and regulatory process of the active substances for your product type. This will determine what you need to do next to comply with the law.

If your product contains more than one active substance you need to check the status of each one.

Use the Biocidal Products Regulations (BPR) active substance lists for Great Britain and Northern Ireland to check the status and then find out what it means for your product.

The status of an active substance and the action you need to take may be different for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland markets. Check the status for your market and follow the actions that apply. For the market in:

  • Great Britain check the GB List of Active Substances
  • Northern Ireland check the EU List of Active Substances
Check the BPR active substance lists for GB and NI

The status of an active substance can change at any time. For example, the company supporting an active substance may decide to withdraw that support, or a decision may be taken on approval or non-approval. You should check the status of your active substances regularly in case it has changed and there are different actions you need to take to comply with the law.

In situ generated active substances

Some active substances are those that are generated at the point of use by the reaction of one or more precursors – in situ generated active substances. The actions you need to take depend on more than just the active substance status and regulatory process if you want to:

  • generate an active substance in situ
  • supply a precursor with the intention that it is used to generate an active substance in situ

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Updated 2024-03-14