EU Pesticides Database guide to checking approval status
Use the EU Pesticides Database to check active-substance approval, follow the legal acts and separate EU approval from national product authorisation.
The EU Pesticides Database is the European Commission's information tool for active-substance approval, pesticide residue limits and emergency authorisations. The Commission says the database has no legal value, and that its information may not be timely, complete or accurate. Confirm the operative approval in the Official Journal of the European Union before you treat a product or use as permitted.
For an approval check, start with the substance record, follow its legislation links and then consult the relevant national product register. EU approval of an active substance does not authorise every pesticide product containing it. Article 28 of Regulation 1107/2009 requires authorisation in the Member State concerned before a plant protection product is placed on the market or used, subject to specified exceptions.
How to check an active substance
Open the active-substances section. Its heading is "Search Active substances, safeners and synergists". Locate the substance in the listing and open its record.
Read the status and the approval dates together, then follow the legislation references. Don't stop at an "Approved" label. The linked act sets the approval period and the conditions of approval. That is not permission for a particular product or crop.
The active-substances application can show an empty display while loading. Wait for the listing to appear. An initially empty display is not proof that a substance is unapproved. (The blank shell is a nuisance, not a finding.)
Worked example with acetamiprid
The acetamiprid record, opened from the active-substances listing and checked for this guide on 31 October 2026, displayed "Approved". It showed an original approval date of 1 January 2005 and an expiry date of 28 February 2033. Its legal references included Regulations 540/2011 and 2018/113.
Following the legislation reference leads to Regulation 2018/113. Annex I gives the renewed approval period as 1 March 2018 to 28 February 2033. That explains why the record's original approval date differs from the start of the renewed period.
The act also requires consideration of the renewal report, particularly its appendices, and appropriate risk-mitigation measures. Use this example to trace the evidence, not to conclude that a particular acetamiprid product or crop use is permitted. Check subsequent amendments before relying on the 2018 act for current conditions.
Read the Union list of approved active substances
The Commission identifies Implementing Regulation 540/2011 as the list of approved active substances. Consult that Union list alongside the database record, then check later acts.
Start with its EUR-Lex entry, then check the relevant published acts and later amendments. The 21 July 2026 consolidation does not, by itself, establish the complete position on 31 October 2026. Consolidations are documentation tools without legal effect.
Distinguish these dates and decisions:
| Record or decision | How to read it |
|---|---|
| Original approval date | Do not assume it starts the latest renewed approval period. |
| Renewal | Read the renewal act for its period and conditions. |
| Extension of approval | A postponed expiry date does not establish that renewal is complete. |
| Expiry date | Check for later acts and any earlier review of approval. |
Under Article 17 of Regulation 1107/2009, expiry can be postponed when delays are beyond the applicant's control and would otherwise let approval lapse before the renewal decision. That extension is not a completed renewal. Article 21 also permits review of approval at any time. An expiry date is therefore no guarantee that approval will remain unchanged until that date.
A recent example is Regulation 2026/2348, which extends approval periods under Article 17. It was published on 26 October 2026 and entered into force on 29 October 2026. The act postpones expiry. It does not show that those renewals are complete. An older consolidation can miss a change that is already in force.
EU approval is not national product authorisation
For plant protection products, keep the substance decision separate from the formulated product's permission. Regulation 1107/2009, the plant protection products regulation, draws that line. Article 4(5) concerns representative uses of at least one product containing the substance. It does not establish permission for every formulation, crop or use. Article 28 provides the national authorisation requirement.
Check the relevant Member State's current register and the product's authorised conditions before making a marketing or use decision. EFSA explains that Member States evaluate and authorise formulated products nationally. EFSA supplies the scientific assessment. It does not grant the Commission's approval decision or those national authorisations.
The database's country information is no substitute for that check. The acetamiprid record stated that its national information used Member State data as of 1 January 2026. It was updated annually and was not verified by the Commission. Treat the application's "Authorised in" information as a lead, not confirmation of current product permission.
EU pesticide residue limits are a separate check. The database also covers maximum residue levels, but an active-substance approval record does not answer a residue-limit question.
How active substances are approved and renewed
Under Regulation 1107/2009, an application goes to a rapporteur Member State for assessment. EFSA peer review follows, and the Commission decides by regulation.
Regulation 1107/2009 sets ordinary first approval at no more than ten years, and ordinary renewal at no more than fifteen years. Special categories have different rules, so these figures are legal maxima, not promised periods. Read the substance-specific act rather than calculating expiry from the general rule.
Regulation 2020/1740 sets the detailed renewal rules. The application is due no later than three years before expiry. But transitional provisions preserve the earlier procedure for specified cases, so do not assume every pending renewal uses only the newer rules. A pending application or an extended expiry date does not establish a completed renewal.
RegAffairs AI provides a cited answer on checking EU pesticide approval status.