REACH registration and how to check a substance with ECHA
REACH registration generally applies at one tonne a year. Check ECHA CHEM for dossier information, then confirm supplier coverage and EU or UK duties.
REACH registration is the submission of required substance information to ECHA by a manufacturer or importer. It generally applies at one tonne or more per year for that manufacturer or importer, unless an exemption or another provision applies. ECHA publishes registration-dossier information through ECHA CHEM, but that record is not a safety approval or proof of your supplier's coverage.
The Article 6 threshold is the quantity of the substance, on its own or in one or more mixtures. Exactly one tonne counts. It is not the weight of the whole mixture. To check a registration, match the substance identity, read the public registration information, and get evidence for your own supply.
Who needs REACH registration?
Start with the legal entity that manufactures or imports the substance. Article 6 places that duty on the manufacturer or importer, subject to exemptions and other provisions. Don't assume that another company's registration of the same substance covers yours.
For US exporters, an only representative can change who has the duty. Article 8 lets an eligible non-EU manufacturer, formulator or article producer appoint an EU-established only representative. Importers covered by that appointment become downstream users. This route is not open to every foreign trader.
Joint submission does not decide coverage for you. Article 11 lets registrants share specified information, while each registrant still submits its own information.
Substances intended to be released from articles follow Article 7, not the Article 6 tonne rule. That article uses a threshold over one tonne per producer or importer per year, plus its own exceptions.
How to check REACH registration
Use ECHA's registered-substances page as the official starting point. It directs readers to ECHA CHEM for registration-dossier information. Old instructions may lead elsewhere. ECHA says its former registration dissemination pages were decommissioned on 18 December 2025.
- Establish the exact substance identity you need to check. Use the identity information in supplier documents, so a similar name is not treated as a match. A CAS or EC identifier identifies a substance. Don't treat it as evidence of registration.
- Look for registration information in ECHA CHEM. The database also contains classification, labelling and regulatory information, so a chemical record alone is not a registration finding.
- Ask your supplier to connect the substance, and the registration it relies on, to your supply and intended use. That is a document check. A public substance record cannot settle it.
That last step can stay open after a database search. REACH normally protects links between a manufacturer or importer and its distributors or downstream users as commercially sensitive. Public information cannot replace evidence from your supplier.
Where a safety data sheet is required, check its substance identity and supplier details against your purchase documents. HSA guidance says section 1.3 must give the EU-based supplier's contact details. If an extended SDS includes exposure scenarios, check whether they cover your uses and conditions of use. These checks support your assessment, but they do not prove registration coverage.
What a REACH registration number tells you
A REACH registration number is not a submission number. Under Article 20, ECHA assigns a submission number for correspondence until registration is complete, then assigns a registration number. A submission number does not show that registration is complete.
The completeness check does not assess the quality or adequacy of the submitted data or justifications. A registration number is not an ECHA safety approval or a general compliance endorsement.
When a supplier gives you a number, ask which legal entity's registration it refers to, how that registration relates to your supply, and what evidence covers your intended use. A number on its own cannot answer those questions, particularly where joint submission or an only representative is involved.
What is in a registration dossier?
Article 10 sets out the technical-dossier information. It includes registrant and substance identity, manufacture and identified uses, classification and labelling, safe-use guidance and study summaries. It also includes testing proposals where required, and exposure information for the 1 to 10 tonne band.
Not every dossier includes a chemical safety report. Article 14 generally requires a chemical safety assessment and report at 10 tonnes or more per year per registrant, subject to its provisions and exceptions.
The public view is not the full submitted dossier. Articles 118 and 119 distinguish public information from protected material. Precise tonnage, precise applications and supply-chain relationships are normally commercially protected. Public study summaries are not the full study reports. ECHA explains its approach to publishing information from dossiers.
Does EU REACH registration cover the UK?
An EU registration does not by itself meet Great Britain requirements. A UK government response distinguishes UK REACH in Great Britain from EU REACH, which continues in Northern Ireland.
HSE states that a GB-based importer at one tonne a year or above must register unless an exemption applies. That duty includes imports from the EU. New entrants do not automatically qualify for transitional deferral.
RegAffairs AI answers how to check a substance's REACH registration.
For a UK supply decision, name the destination before you rely on an EU registration record. Then check the registration duty, and any transitional eligibility, for the relevant GB business.