The CLP regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, GHS and GB CLP explained

The CLP regulation explained

The CLP regulation is Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, the EU law on the classification, labelling and packaging of chemical substances and mixtures. It puts the UN's Globally Harmonized System (GHS) into EU law, with some EU-specific additions, and it entered into force on 20 January 2009 (EUR-Lex).

Great Britain applies its separately amended GB CLP regime. Northern Ireland still follows EU CLP (HSE).

What CLP stands for

CLP means Classification, Labelling and Packaging. Classification identifies the hazards of a substance or mixture, the label communicates those hazards, and the packaging has to meet the rules set for it (ECHA).

CLP is sometimes called a directive, but it is a regulation. It replaced the Dangerous Substances Directive 67/548/EEC and the Dangerous Preparations Directive 1999/45/EC (EUR-Lex).

What Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 covers

The regulation was adopted on 16 December 2008. Its purpose is protection of human health and the environment, and free movement in the EU internal market (EUR-Lex).

Duties depend on your role in the supply chain. Manufacturers, importers, downstream users and distributors each have obligations under CLP (ECHA). That doesn't mean every company classifies every product from scratch. A distributor and a manufacturer do not have the same job.

Scope has limits too. Article 1 excludes certain products and situations. If your product sits near one of those edges, read Article 1 in the official text before you assume CLP applies. CLP also isn't a product approval or a certificate that the product is safe. A classification identifies hazards (ECHA).

CLP vs GHS

GHS is the UN's Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals. It's a voluntary international framework, not binding law by itself. Each country or region adopts it through its own legislation (HSE).

EU CLP and GB CLP implement GHS through separate laws (HSE). OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard uses GHS for US workplaces (OSHA, OSHA rulemaking). A shared GHS basis doesn't make the requirements interchangeable.

EU CLP also has its own rules. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/707 added hazard classes for endocrine disruption (human health and the environment), PBT/vPvB and PMT/vPvM (EUR-Lex, ECHA). Those abbreviations are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT), very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB), persistent, mobile and toxic (PMT) and very persistent and very mobile (vPvM) (ECHA). A GHS label from another country is not automatically an EU or GB label (HSE).

CLP and the old CHIP rules

In Great Britain, the predecessor was the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2009, known as CHIP. HSE says CLP replaced CHIP on 1 June 2015 (HSE). This is a historical transition date, not the date CLP entered into force.

CHIP was British legislation, not an EU regulation. The label changes HSE records from that switch are historical, not a full checklist (HSE):

• pictograms changed shape, design and colour
• hazard statements replaced risk phrases
• precautionary statements replaced safety phrases
• signal words changed to "Warning" or "Danger", depending on severity

CLP regulation in the UK after Brexit

The UK no longer has a single CLP regime. The split follows the market you supply, not where your company sits (HSE). If you supply both Great Britain and Northern Ireland, you have to meet GB CLP and EU CLP. Do not assume one UK label covers both markets.

Source for the table: HSE. EU changes such as Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/707 and the 2024 revision do not automatically become GB law. Check the GB MCL and HSE for the GB position. Separate provisions cover Northern Ireland businesses that supply qualifying Northern Ireland goods directly to Great Britain, and those need their own check on the HSE page.

EU CLP amendments and application dates

The new hazard classes and the wider CLP revision have separate timetables. ECHA gives these dates for the 2023/707 hazard classes (ECHA):

These transitions depend on when a product was placed on the market, not when it was made. Regulation (EU) 2024/2865 revised CLP. It entered into force on 10 December 2024, and its rules apply in stages rather than on one date (EUR-Lex). Regulation (EU) 2025/2439 then postponed some of those revised rules to 1 January 2028: label formatting, relabelling deadlines, advertising, distance-sales offers and filling-station labelling. Other application groups stay at 1 July 2026 and 1 January 2027 (EUR-Lex). Entry into force is not the same thing as an application date or a transition deadline.

That postponement does not cover the whole revision, and it does not move the 2023/707 dates. The revised CLP was not delayed to 2028 as a block. Article 1 of Regulation (EU) 2025/2439 identifies the provisions it changes. Before you rely on these dates, check the latest EUR-Lex consolidation and any later amending act.

CLP vs REACH

CLP and REACH work together, but they do different jobs. CLP covers hazard classification, labelling and packaging. REACH covers the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (ECHA, ECHA REACH). A CLP classification is not a REACH authorisation or a restriction decision (ECHA REACH).

Is there a US CLP?

No.

For US workplaces, the closest match is OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200. It requires hazard classification, labels, safety data sheets and workplace information and training within its scope (OSHA). Its 2024 update aligns mainly with GHS revision 7 (OSHA rulemaking).

HazCom is a workplace standard, not a substitute for every other US chemical law, and it does not match EU CLP's environmental and consumer-supply rules (OSHA). For US dates, read OSHA's rulemaking page. Do not borrow the EU timetable.

RegAffairs AI provides a cited answer on what the CLP regulation is, including the EU and GB distinction.