HSNO classification in New Zealand and the GHS 7 CCID lookup
HSNO classification identifies chemical hazards in New Zealand using GHS 7. Learn how to search CCID, check approval coverage and apply NZ requirements.
HSNO classification identifies a substance's hazardous properties under New Zealand's Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 framework. Since 30 April 2021, the EPA has used GHS 7 with New Zealand-specific choices and additional terrestrial hazards for specified agrichemicals. The HSNO Act remains the legal framework. See the EPA's explanation of the move to GHS 7.
For a single chemical, start with the EPA's Chemical Classification and Information Database, or CCID. Then check approval coverage separately. A classification tells you about hazards. It does not establish permission to import or manufacture your product, as the EPA approvals guidance explains.
How GHS 7 fits within HSNO
HSNO is the acronym for the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996. The Hazardous Substances (Hazard Classification) Notice 2020 incorporates the seventh revised edition of GHS. It sets New Zealand's choices and exclusions, with extra terrestrial ecotoxicity provisions. It replaced the Classification Notice 2017 and Minimum Degrees of Hazard Notice 2017. These changes are explained in the EPA's Hazard Classification Notice guidance.
An overseas GHS classification therefore needs a New Zealand check. New Zealand has not adopted every GHS category. The excluded categories include acute toxicity Category 5, skin irritation Category 3 and aspiration hazard Category 2. Aquatic acute Categories 2 and 3, and hazardous to the ozone layer, are also excluded. New Zealand also adopted lower optional mixture concentration cut-offs, described in the same EPA guidance.
Do not assume this removes every hazard previously recorded as 6.1E. EPA explains that former aspiration hazards fall under aspiration hazard Category 1. Respiratory tract irritation falls under specific target organ toxicity, single exposure Category 3. Those distinctions matter when updating an older classification or SDS. Use the EPA explanation rather than deleting an old code without checking what it represented.
Reading a New Zealand hazard classification table
Use the EPA correlation tables for old-to-new comparisons. The examples below show how current classifications are expressed. They are not a complete HSNO classification list or a substitute for classifying a product.
| Hazard group | Classifications shown in EPA's correlation tables |
|---|---|
| Flammable liquids | Categories 1, 2, 3 and 4 |
| Eye irritation | Category 2, without 2A/2B subdivisions |
| Aquatic hazards | Acute Category 1 and chronic Categories 1–4 |
Conversion is not always one-to-one, including for old 6.9 classifications. Check the full official correlation table before translating an older document.
New Zealand's extra terrestrial hazard class has a narrower scope. It applies only to agrichemicals and active ingredients used to manufacture some agrichemicals. It covers hazards to soil organisms, terrestrial vertebrates and terrestrial invertebrates, plus substances designed for biocidal action. Do not add these classifications to every industrial chemical. The scope is set out in the EPA notice guidance.
Why classification is not EPA approval
Importers and manufacturers must know their product's hazardous properties. EPA describes self-classification, using a consultant and obtaining a formal EPA determination as possible routes. See its classification guidance.
Approval is a separate question. An approval permits import or manufacture of a hazardous substance for use in New Zealand. Your product may fit an existing individual approval or group standard, depending on its use and hazard classification. A matching CAS number alone does not establish coverage. If nothing fits, follow EPA guidance on a new approval or relevant amendment.
An old HSR number needs checking too. Many individual approvals were replaced by group standards in 2021. Do not assume the number on a historic SDS remains the right approval route. Consult the CCID explanation and current approvals guidance, updated on 28 August 2026.
How to look up HSNO classification in CCID
Find and confirm the chemical
Open the EPA CCID search. Search by substance name, CAS number or individual approval number. EPA recommends selecting “Exact match only” for exact CAS and other searches.
Read the record after opening the result. Confirm the chemical identity before using its hazard information. CCID covers single chemicals and includes GHS 7 classifications, study summaries and physical properties. Use the identity and hazard details together. These contents and search options are described on the CCID page.
Check what the record establishes
Check the legal status of the classification before relying on it. EPA states that classifications for substances under group standards are informational, not legal classifications. You also cannot search group standard approval numbers in CCID, because group standards do not specify individual chemicals. See the EPA's CCID limitations.
A missing result therefore does not establish that a chemical is safe or that your product lacks approval coverage. For chemicals under group standards, EPA allows reliable alternative classification sources, including ECHA or Australian sources. Check the supporting information rather than copying a hazard label alone. EPA points to SDS Sections 9, 11 and 12 as support for Section 2 in its CCID guidance.
Follow the relevant approval route
Use the Approved hazardous substances with controls database to find classifications and controls for substances it covers. Search by substance name or approval number. That database does not cover group standards.
For the group-standard route, use the separate EPA approvals and group standards guidance. Check whether the product fits the standard's scope and conditions. Then check applicable EPA notices and separate workplace duties. Neither a CCID match nor a database approval hit completes that assessment.
Check the finished mixture and New Zealand SDS
For a formulation, classify the finished mixture. An ingredient list with hazard classifications is not itself a mixture classification. EPA recommends complete-mixture test or study information where available. Otherwise, use ingredient identities, quantities and hazard information with the mixture rules. Follow the EPA's mixture classification guidance.
Check the SDS against the resulting classification and approval route. EPA specifies a 16-section structure. Check Section 15 for the HSNO approval number and, where applicable, the group standard title. SDSs must be revised every five years and updated when relevant new information becomes available. An overseas SDS is not automatically sufficient. New Zealand information and alternative-compliance conditions matter. EPA specifically warns that an EU SDS may omit flammable liquids Category 4, which New Zealand uses. See the EPA SDS requirements.
The transition for updated labelling, SDS and packaging requirements ended on 30 April 2025. EPA says there is no further stock-in-trade grace period or sell-through provision. That was a documentation and packaging transition deadline, not a universal approval-reassessment deadline. Check the EPA transition guidance when reviewing older stock information.
Where the HSNO calculator fits
The workplace calculator serves a different purpose from CCID. WorkSafe's guidance dated 28 April 2021 explains that its calculator accepts GHS classifications to identify workplace controls. That guidance also explains why earlier HSNO classifications remained in workplace regulations. Do not treat every old code in workplace material as automatically invalid. See WorkSafe's GHS adoption guidance.
WorkSafe's SDS guidance also tells PCBUs to obtain current SDSs and make the information accessible to workers and emergency personnel. Exceptions include some household-scale consumer-product use and substances in transit. Check the scope in WorkSafe's SDS guidance, dated 12 September 2017, rather than assuming every workplace chemical needs an SDS.
RegAffairs AI provides a citation-backed answer on HSNO classification and CCID lookup. For the final product assessment, check the applicable approval conditions and EPA notices using the EPA approvals guidance.