REACH Annex XIV authorisation list and sunset dates guide
REACH Annex XIV lists substances subject to EU authorisation. Check sunset dates, use-specific exemptions and supply-chain coverage before continued use.
REACH Annex XIV is the EU Authorisation List. From the applicable sunset date, a manufacturer, importer or downstream user generally cannot place the substance on the market for a use, or use it, without authorisation covering that use. Exemptions and qualifying transitional arrangements can allow continued use without a granted authorisation. Articles 56 and 58 set these rules.
For a compliance check, the substance name alone isn't enough. You need the exact entry, the use, its dates and any authorisation covering your supply chain. Listing does not impose an unconditional ban on every use.
Which substances are on the Annex XIV list?
The 22 June 2026 consolidated REACH text contains Annex XIV entries 1 to 59. EUR-Lex labels that text as the current consolidation. The count describes this version, not a guarantee that no later amendment exists. Check the official entry and subsequent amending acts before making a compliance decision.
Use the full chemical identity and CAS or EC identifiers to match your substance to an entry. Don't rely on an acronym alone. Then read the footnotes: some dates depend on the use, including specific medical-device uses. Chromium trioxide and DEHP show why one general deadline cannot describe the whole list:
| Substance and scope | Latest application date | Sunset date |
|---|---|---|
| Chromium trioxide, entry 16, ordinary table dates | 21 March 2016 | 21 September 2017 |
| DEHP, medical devices under Regulations (EU) 2017/745 and 2017/746 | 1 January 2029 | 1 July 2030 |
The chromium trioxide dates appear in the consolidated Annex XIV table. Entry 16 also has later footnote dates for specified spare-part production and repair uses, and only on the footnote's conditions. Do not copy 21 September 2017 for those uses.
Skipping that footnote is how a plausible date becomes the wrong date.
The DEHP dates come from Regulation (EU) 2023/2482. They cover uses in medical devices within Regulations (EU) 2017/745 and (EU) 2017/746, not every DEHP use.
Latest application date and sunset date mean different things
The sunset date is the date from which placing the substance on the market and using it are prohibited unless an authorisation is granted, subject to the relevant exceptions. The latest application date sets the deadline for an application that can preserve covered continued uses while a decision is pending. Under Article 58(1)(c), it must fall at least 18 months before sunset. The gap is not always exactly 18 months.
A timely application can allow the covered continued uses after sunset until a decision. But a pending application is not permission for every use of that substance. The exception in Article 56(1)(d) depends on meeting its conditions.
Missing the latest application date does not create an absolute prohibition on submitting an application later. It does mean you cannot assume that submission preserves continued use after sunset. Check the legal basis for the use rather than treating an application receipt as permission.
The DEHP medical-device provision also shows why "all Annex XIV sunset dates have passed" is wrong. Its use-specific sunset date is 1 July 2030. Read the amending regulation before applying that date to a product or process.
What to check for your substance and use
To check Annex XIV of the REACH Regulation, start with the entry and establish the legal basis for your operation. A match on the substance name still leaves the use, the exemption and the supply chain as separate checks.
Does the entry cover the substance and use?
Match the substance identity against the official entry, then describe the use you need to assess. Read any entry-specific exemptions, dates and footnotes. A date copied from a general list may miss a use-specific provision in Annex XIV.
Does an exemption apply?
REACH contains distinct authorisation provisions for research, certain sectoral uses, mixtures and isolated intermediates. There can also be entry-specific exempt uses. These provisions do not remove every other REACH obligation. Check Articles 56(3) to 56(6), 58(2) and 2(8)(b) against the facts of the use.
Avoid broad assumptions about product categories. Cosmetics and food-contact uses depend on the hazard-basis conditions in Article 56(5). Mixture exemptions depend on the applicable thresholds in Article 56(6). There is no universal authorisation exemption for all medical devices, all uses below one tonne or all mixtures below one threshold.
Does an upstream authorisation cover you?
A downstream user may rely on an authorisation granted to an actor up its supply chain for that use. Article 56(2) requires compliance with the authorisation's conditions. An authorisation held by an unrelated supplier does not establish coverage for your operation.
Match the actual supply chain, authorised use and decision conditions. A substance appearing in an authorisation decision is only the start of that check. Do not treat it as permission for all customers or all processes.
Downstream users relying on this route must notify ECHA within three months of first supply under Article 66(1). That notification is not an application for authorisation. See ECHA's downstream-user notification guidance.
When asking a supplier about coverage, identify your use rather than asking only whether the substance is authorised. Ask which decision covers that use and which conditions you must meet. Compare the answer with the decision itself. A general assurance about the substance does not resolve a mismatch in the supply chain or use.
For a pending application, check whether it was submitted by the relevant latest application date and which uses it covers. Do not apply the granted-authorisation rules to this different situation. The Article 56 exceptions need separate checks.
Is an application needed?
If no exemption or relevant authorisation covers the use, assess the application route and applicable dates. Keep a granted authorisation separate from the timely pending-application exception. Each has its own legal basis under Article 56.
How REACH authorisation works
Manufacturers, importers and downstream users can apply to ECHA individually or jointly for specified substances and uses. Article 62 requires substance identification, the requested uses and an analysis of alternatives. It also requires the relevant chemical safety report unless already submitted, and a substitution plan where applicable. A fee is required.
ECHA's Risk Assessment Committee and Socio-economic Analysis Committee provide opinions. The European Commission decides applications under Articles 60 and 64. An ECHA opinion is therefore not itself an authorisation.
Article 60 distinguishes the adequate-control and socio-economic routes. Where the adequate-control route is unavailable, the socio-economic route requires benefits to outweigh risks and no suitable alternative substances or technologies. Authorisations are subject to time-limited review.
Do not plan continued use around an assumed three-month authorisation process. Article 64 gives the Commission three months to prepare a draft decision after receiving ECHA's opinions. It does not promise a final decision within that period.
Annex XIV, the Candidate List and Annex XVII
These lists answer different compliance questions. Under Article 59, the Candidate List identifies substances for eventual inclusion in Annex XIV. Candidate listing alone does not establish that a substance is already on the Authorisation List. It can bring separate communication and information obligations, as ECHA explains.
Annex XIV addresses authorisation. Annex XVII restrictions apply under Article 67 according to each restriction's conditions, including applicable conditions for substances in articles. An authorisation cannot relax an Annex XVII restriction: Article 60(6) expressly prevents that.
Check GB requirements separately
The rules above describe EU REACH. Great Britain has a separate UK REACH authorisation process. HSE's authorisation hub calls that UK list Annex 14. It is not the EU Annex XIV table, and an EU date or authorisation does not by itself show GB compliance.
RegAffairs AI's answer to "Which substances need REACH authorisation?" is a starting point for the question. The applicable official entry, amending acts and authorisation decision remain the basis for assessing a specific EU use.