TSCA compliance requirements for chemical importers in the US

TSCA compliance means meeting the TSCA regulations that apply to your substance and the activity you plan. There is no universal compliance certificate. Manufacturers and importers check new-chemical rules, significant new uses, restrictions, reporting and any required shipment certification. EPA's import guidance treats that certification as one part of the check.

For UK suppliers selling into the US, coordinate these checks with the US importer. UK regulatory status or a supplier declaration doesn't establish compliance with the applicable US rules, and the importer's certification has to address applicable TSCA rules and orders rather than mere possession of that document. 19 CFR 12.121 sets that certification.

But a positive certification still doesn't replace reporting or a new-chemical review. This guide covers the main checks under Sections 5, 6 and 8, using rules checked on 29 October 2026. Chemical-specific duties can also apply, so use it to structure the work, not to clear a particular shipment.

TSCA Section 5 checks before manufacture or import

For a new chemical substance, manufacture includes import. Unless an exemption applies, a person planning commercial manufacture must submit a premanufacture notice, or PMN, at least 90 days beforehand. Start with the substance's identity and whether the new-chemical requirements apply. EPA's PMN guidance explains the filing obligation.

Don't treat the 90-day period as automatic permission to start. The review period depends on a complete notice. EPA can extend it for good cause, and agreed suspensions are possible. Manufacture must await EPA's required determination and associated action. A finding that the substance is not likely to present an unreasonable risk can permit commencement when that finding is issued. These conditions are in 40 CFR 720.75.

SNURs and SNUNs are different

An EPA significant new use rule, or SNUR, identifies activities that require advance notification. A significant new use notice, or SNUN, is the submission you file for that activity. The rule is not necessarily a ban on the substance or on every use.

Read the substance-specific rule against the activity you plan. Where notification is required, submit the SNUN at least 90 calendar days before manufacture or processing for that use begins. Commencement must again await EPA's determination and associated action. 40 CFR 721.25 sets both conditions.

Keep TSCA exemptions and commencement notices separate

EPA identifies conditional TSCA exemptions, including an R&D exemption, a low volume exemption, low-release/low-exposure activities, test marketing and a polymer exemption. Each provision needs its own check before you rely on it. An exemption from the PMN filing does not remove every other TSCA duty. EPA's filing guidance links these provisions.

A PMN submitter who starts non-exempt commercial manufacture has a later filing. The notice of commencement is due on, or no later than, 30 calendar days after the first day of that manufacture. For imports, commencement is the day the substance clears US customs. That notice is separate from the PMN and from a SNUN. See 40 CFR 720.102.

TSCA restrictions under Section 6 depend on the use

A risk evaluation and a risk-management rule do different jobs. The evaluation does not itself establish a blanket ban. Later management measures can include prohibitions, use or concentration restrictions, workplace controls, warnings, records and disposal requirements. EPA's risk-management page, updated 18 March 2026, lists those measures apart from the evaluation.

For TSCA Section 6, read the operative rule for the actual activity. A substance name alone does not show whether that use is prohibited or subject to controls. Check covered uses, exceptions and compliance dates.

40 CFR 751.105 prohibits manufacture, processing and distribution in commerce of methylene chloride for consumer paint and coating removal after 22 November 2019. That is one use. It does not ban every methylene chloride use, and it does not replace the other provisions that may apply to the same substance.

TSCA reporting under Section 8 is a separate check

Chemical Data Reporting, or CDR, and PFAS reporting do not share a schedule. Because an exemption under one program does not create an exemption under the other, CDR can exempt a substance imported as part of an article while the codified PFAS rule still covers a relevant article import. Compare 40 CFR 711.10 with 40 CFR 705.10.

EPA Chemical Data Reporting thresholds and the next cycle

TSCA CDR thresholds apply per chemical and per individual site, not per shipment. The general threshold is 25,000 pounds or more manufactured, including imported, in any calendar year since the last principal reporting year. For substances subject to the specific TSCA actions listed in the rule, the threshold is 2,500 pounds or more. Not every chemical EPA has reviewed falls into that lower group. Check 40 CFR 711.8.

A volume figure does not finish the question. 40 CFR 711.9 gives a small-manufacturer and small-government exclusion, with exceptions. 40 CFR 711.10 separately exempts some activities, including small quantities used solely for R&D and substances imported as part of articles.

CDR is not an annual submission in 2026. The window is 1 June through 30 September every four years, beginning in 2028, under 40 CFR 711.20. Keep records documenting reported information for five years, beginning on the last day of the submission period, under 40 CFR 711.25. For that 2028 submission, EPA's CDR update says you report:

• Full manufacturing, processing and use information for the 2027 principal reporting year.
• Production-volume information for 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027.

PFAS reporting has a conditional start date

The codified Section 8(a)(7) rule covers commercial manufacture, including import, from 2011 to 2022. It includes relevant PFAS-containing articles. Use the rule's PFAS definition. A general PFAS list does not decide coverage. See 40 CFR 705.10.

Report what is known to or reasonably ascertainable by you. Where the actual data are not known or reasonably ascertainable, a reasonable estimate is allowed. 40 CFR 705.15 states that standard.

The reporting start date is conditional. Under the 13 April 2026 final rule, reporting begins on the earlier of 31 January 2027 and the date 60 days after a forthcoming substantive final rule takes effect. The standard submission period is six months. Qualifying small manufacturers reporting exclusively as article importers have twelve months. Both periods are in 40 CFR 705.20. Don't treat 31 January 2027 as a fixed opening, and don't calculate a fixed closing date from it.

The 13 November 2025 proposal would exempt imported articles, PFAS at 0.1% or lower, certain byproducts, impurities, R&D and non-isolated intermediates. Those exemptions are not in the operative 40 CFR 705.12. The April rule changed the timing, not that scope.

Check the operative rule before you pick a submission date. PFAS records must be kept for five years beginning on the last day of the submission period, under 40 CFR 705.25.

Import certification does not replace these checks

For TSCA chemicals imported in bulk or mixtures, the importer or authorized agent certifies before release. A positive certification confirms that all chemical substances in the shipment comply with applicable TSCA rules or orders and are not offered in violation. The certifier's name, phone number and email are required by 19 CFR 12.121.

Negative certification applies to TSCA-excluded chemicals that are not clearly identified as excluded. Chemicals in articles need certification only when a TSCA rule or order requires it. R&D imports aren't automatically exempt from certification either. EPA's import guidance explains those lines. Article certification relief does not remove the underlying duties, and Section 4 and Section 8 obligations stay separate from the shipment certification.

A practical TSCA compliance checklist

For each substance and planned activity, work through these questions:

1. Have you identified the substance and checked whether new-chemical requirements apply?
2. Does an EPA SNUR cover the activity you actually plan?
3. Which operative restrictions, orders, exceptions and dates apply to that use?
4. Do CDR or PFAS reporting rules apply, and which records do you have to keep?
5. What certification, if any, does the shipment need before release?

Resolve each question from the PMN guidance, the applicable rule and the import requirements. Keep each exemption inside its own provision. A CDR article exemption, for example, can't answer PFAS reporting.

RegAffairs AI's answer on TSCA requirements for chemical importers is the linked starting point for these checks. The substance-specific rules and orders still set the duties for a particular activity.