TSCA Inventory checks for active and confidential chemicals
Check the TSCA Inventory by chemical identity, read active and inactive status, and resolve confidential listings before US manufacture or import.
How to check the TSCA Inventory
To check the TSCA Inventory, search EPA's public data by CAS number or chemical name, then review activity status and regulatory flags. A public match does not clear every compliance requirement, and a missing match does not prove the substance is absent. EPA explains the search routes and the limits of a listing.
The Toxic Substances Control Act Chemical Substance Inventory distinguishes existing chemicals from new chemicals for US TSCA purposes. Manufacturing includes importing. Listing is not EPA approval or a safety finding, and restrictions can still apply. These are US requirements, not UK inventory rules.
How to search the TSCA Inventory
1. Establish the chemical identity
Start with the chemical name and the CAS Registry Number, where one exists. Compare that identity with the record's name and definition, particularly for UVCBs and other Class 2 substances. A similar name is not a match. EPA documents the identity and definition fields.
Don't stop at a trade name.
For a formulated product, check the constituent substances. The TSCA list does not contain the mixture itself, though those substances can still be subject to reporting under section 710.4.
2. Open EPA's public data or documented search route
Use EPA's How to Access the TSCA Inventory page. It provides compressed downloads, including CSV files. The page identifies a July 2026 release. Use the files on that page, not an old download.
EPA tells users to search with a basic find function, using a CAS number or part of a chemical name. The same access page documents a Substance Registry Services route: search by list, type TSCA Inventory, filter, and choose the TSCA Inv list.
Excel may turn a CAS number in the CASRN column into a date. Import the CSV through the Data tab, then From Text/CSV, and set the column type yourself. That spreadsheet warning is easy to miss, and a converted identifier wrecks the search.
3. Read beyond the name match
In the non-confidential file, check CASRN, ChemName and DEF before you trust the hit. Then read ACTIVITY for commercial-activity status and FLAG for regulatory information. Those fields are on EPA's Inventory access page. Read the flags against the intended activity, not as a yes or no:
| Flag | Meaning and limit |
|---|---|
S | Final Significant New Use Rule. Check it against the intended activity. |
SP | Proposed Significant New Use Rule, not a final rule. |
R | Proposed or final section 6 risk-management rule. The flag alone does not say which. |
XU | Chemical Data Reporting exemption, not a general TSCA exemption. |
PMN | Commenced PMN substance. Not permission for every later activity. |
Open the underlying rule before you treat a flag as clearance. The definitions are on EPA's flag list.
What active, inactive and confidential mean
Active and inactive are commercial-activity designations. Confidential means the specific chemical identity is withheld from the public file. A confidential listing can be either active or inactive. EPA explains the activity designations and the public fields for confidential entries.
Active does not prove that a named supplier currently makes the substance. But inactive does not mean banned, and it does not mean the substance left the Inventory. The initial reset used reporting for the ten-year period ending June 21, 2016, as EPA's active-inactive page describes.
Once the inactive designation is effective, a person who intends to manufacture, import or process the substance must notify EPA, subject to the exceptions in section 710.27. That notice duty does not apply when the substance's presence on the confidential Inventory is not known to, or reasonably ascertainable by, the person. Read section 710.25 and the exceptions before planning the activity.
Notice of Activity Form B must be submitted before manufacture or processing, but not more than 90 days before that date. This is not a requirement to file at least 90 days ahead. Section 710.30 sets the window. After EPA receives the notice through CDX, it changes the designation to active, as EPA describes.
What to do when there is no public match
Recheck the identity. Then consider a confidential listing. The public record shows an EPA accession number and a generic name that masks the specific identity. And a generic-name match does not confirm that your substance is the listed one. See EPA's confidential-entry fields and section 720.25.
A prospective manufacturer or importer can ask EPA whether a substance missing from the public Inventory is on the confidential Inventory. EPA answers only when it finds a bona fide intent to manufacture or import for a commercial purpose, and the request needs unambiguous chemical identity information. It is not an open public search. Section 720.25 is the rule.
An exemption can also explain the gap. Some exemption-manufactured substances are not added to the Inventory, including qualifying exempt polymers and certain low-volume or research and development substances. Public information is updated twice a year, while the master file changes continuously. A failed public search needs investigation. It does not by itself prove noncompliance. EPA explains those limits.
If the substance is new and no exemption applies, EPA describes a premanufacture notice for non-exempt commercial manufacture or import, at least 90 days before the activity. Waiting 90 days is not permission to start. EPA's Inventory overview is the source for that step.
Check the intended activity before proceeding
After identity and activity status, check rules, orders and restrictions against the intended activity. A significant new use can require notice even for a listed chemical. Active status, or an empty flag field, is not a complete clearance. See EPA's Inventory overview and section 721.5.
RegAffairs AI's TSCA Inventory answer covers the lookup and the difference between activity status and confidentiality.