The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 and until 31 December 2020 it will continue to follow EU-REACH. After this date, however, there will be a new UK-based regulatory framework for chemicals manufactured or imported into the UK. Exact details of the framework are unclear, although it is based on EU-REACH. Initially, the EU and UK frameworks are likely to be very similar; however regulations may diverge over time. Find out more in-depth information on UK-REACH in our ebook.
Registering for UK-REACH when based outside the UK
Only companies with a legal entity based in the UK can register chemicals in UK-REACH. If you are not, then you need a UK-based Only Representative (OR) registrant. The OR takes on the legal responsibility of complying with UK-REACH on your behalf.
Transferring REACH registrations into UK-REACH
If you already have chemicals registered under REACH in the EU, you need to transfer their registration to a UK-based company or OR. To maintain short-term access that means following the process for HSE notification to ‘grandfather’ them into the UK system.