How to use the EU Pesticides Database to check a substance
The EU Pesticides Database is the Commission's free tool for active substance approvals, MRLs and emergency authorisations. Here is how to read it.
How to use the EU Pesticides Database
The EU Pesticides Database is the European Commission's free tool for checking active substance approvals, food residue limits and emergency authorisations. Search an active substance to find its EU status, dates, legislation and reference values. For products authorised in France, use the ANSES E-Phy catalogue.
What the EU Pesticides Database covers
The landing page has five entry points: active substances, food products, pesticide residues, emergency authorisations, and data download and APIs (European Commission). The database is for information only and "has no legal value": the Official Journal is the binding source (European Commission). The active substance list includes approved and non-approved substances, low-risk substances, candidates for substitution and basic substances. Some safeners and synergists are listed too, though these have not yet been assessed at EU level.
The emergency authorisation section covers Article 53 authorisations of up to 120 days, from June 2016 onwards (Regulation 1107/2009). Member States supply that data and are fully responsible for it.
It does not search co-formulants. Unacceptable co-formulants are listed in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. The latest updates feed logged the addition of twelve not-accepted co-formulants on 27 May 2026.
How to look up an active substance
Open the active substances search (the footer read v3.4 on 4 October 2026). Type a name in the filter box, or narrow the list by type, status (Approved, Not approved, Not yet assessed at EU level, Pending), legislation, the Member State where products are authorised, approval and expiry dates, CLP hazard class and H-statements, or ADI, ARfD, AOEL and AAOEL ranges.
The glyphosate record, for example, shows:
- the status under Regulation 1107/2009 and the acts behind it
- approval and expiry dates
- the rapporteur Member State (RMS) of the last finalised process, plus any co-RMS
- review and renewal reports as PDFs
- the Member States where products are authorised, based on data as of 1 January 2026 and updated once a year
- MRL legislation, and a link to ECHA CHEM for CLP classification
- ADI, ARfD, AOEL and AAOEL with their source
Glyphosate (record 811) shows Approved, from 16 December 2023 to 15 December 2033, matching Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2023/2660. Its reference values are ADI 0.5 mg/kg bw/day, ARfD 1.5 mg/kg bw, AOEL 0.1 mg/kg bw/day and AAOEL 0.3 mg/kg bw.
The full list of approved substances lives in Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011, with basic substances in Part C of its Annex. Part E covers candidates for substitution approved or renewed since 2015, rather than every candidate for substitution.
Don't trust the original expiry date
Under Regulation 1107/2009, a first approval runs up to 10 years and a renewal up to 15. Low-risk substances get up to 15 years, candidates for substitution up to 7, and basic substances have no time limit. But Article 17 lets the Commission extend an approval while a renewal is pending for reasons outside the applicant's control.
In 2026, Regulation (EU) 2026/372 extended boscalid, fluopyram, sulphur and others. The latest updates feed lists further extensions in June and July 2026. Always read the legislation list on the record.
On 16 December 2025 the Commission proposed unlimited first approvals, except for candidates for substitution, Article 4(7) substances and substances given a limited period (COM(2025) 1030). Product authorisations would stay time-limited. Parliament and Council are still negotiating it (Commission tracker), so the dates on a record still apply.
EU approval is not French authorisation
Approval covers the substance. Under Article 28(1) of Regulation 1107/2009, products generally need authorisation in the Member State where they will be marketed or used. Article 35 sets zonal examination by one Member State, and Article 40 allows mutual recognition. France sits in Zone C (South) with Spain, Italy, Portugal and five others.
MRLs (LMR) and the 0.01 mg/kg default
The database has a food products view for every MRL on one commodity, such as oranges, and a pesticide residues view for current and historical MRLs by substance. MRLs come from Regulation (EC) No 396/2005. Where no specific MRL is set, Article 18(1)(b) generally sets a default of 0.01 mg/kg. Check the exceptions: Annex IV lists substances needing no MRL, and Annex V can set different defaults. The Commission says MRLs apply to 315 fresh products and cover about 1,100 pesticides (EU MRL legislation).
Pesticide data downloads and APIs
The "Export Active substances" button gives an .xlsx file with CAS number, status, dates, RMS, reference values, CLP classification and authorising Member States (search page). MRLs come as XML bulk files split by residue name ranges. For automation, the EU Pesticides dataset on data.europa.eu lists JSON APIs for active substances, residues and MRLs, with a "Pesticides APIs V3.0" guide dated 2 April 2026.
E-Phy, Agritox and C3PO
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| E-Phy (ANSES) | About 15,000 authorised and withdrawn products, with AMM number, trade name, substances, hazards and uses. Updated weekly. |
| Agritox (ANSES) | Identity, physico-chemical data, toxicity, reference values, PNEC and classification. A data.gouv.fr download about every two months (last file 10 June 2026). |
| C3PO (OFB) | One knowledge base joining sales data, EU status, Agritox, CLP Annex VI, E-Phy and water codes. |
E-Phy's disclaimer says its data are "pas opposables": they cannot be relied on as legally binding. Only published authorisation decisions count. The old Agritox address no longer resolved when checked on 4 October 2026. Use its data.gouv.fr download instead.
C3PO's current release is V1.8 of 10 August 2026. An older page still shows V1.7, so check the version before downloading. Its substance identification table has 728 substances (OFB), and it flags low-risk, basic, biocontrol and organic substances. It's under Licence Ouverte Etalab 2.0 and updated yearly (data.gouv.fr).
French pesticide law
The Loi Labbé banned public bodies from using pesticides on green spaces, forests, roads and walkways from 1 January 2017, and non-professional sale and use from 1 January 2019. An arrêté of 15 January 2021 extended it to more places from 1 July 2022. Listed biocontrol products, low-risk products and products allowed in organic farming are exempt (Article L253-7).
Article L253-8 bans products containing neonicotinoids or substances with the same mode of action, and seeds treated with them. The Conseil constitutionnel struck down the Loi Duplomb derogation in August 2025. Since 20 August 2026, Loi n° 2026-796 lets ANSES grant one-year derogations, renewable twice, for flupyradifurone (sugar beet seed, cherries, apples) and acetamiprid (hazelnuts). The scheme ends after three years.
"Pesticides de synthèse" is not a legal category. Article L253-6 defines biocontrol instead, and the agriculture ministry notes a biocontrol substance can be synthesised if it's identical to the natural one.
If you want the EU record, MRLs and French sources pulled together for one substance, RegAffairs AI answers this question with cited sources.