Overview
Registration is the first "R" of REACH and its broadest duty. Manufacturers and importers must register each substance they place on the EU market, generally at or above 1 tonne per year, by submitting a registration dossier to ECHA that sets out the substance's identity, its uses and its safety data.
The guiding principle is short: "no data, no market." Without a valid registration a substance may not be manufactured in, or placed on, the EU market.
Tonnage bands and shared data
How much data a registration must contain scales with the tonnage band — the annual volume placed on the market:
| Tonnage band | Typical data demand |
|---|---|
| 1–10 t/year | Baseline identity and hazard data |
| 10–100 t/year | More extensive testing, plus a Chemical Safety Report |
| 100–1000 t/year | Further test data |
| ≥1000 t/year | The fullest set of test and safety data |
A Chemical Safety Report is required from 10 tonnes per year upward. Higher tonnage means more required test and safety data.
Companies registering the same substance must submit jointly through a SIEF (Substance Information Exchange Forum), coordinated by a lead registrant. This "one substance, one registration" approach shares data and avoids duplicate animal testing.
Where it sits in REACH
Registration is the broad baseline duty that builds the data foundation for everything else. Evaluation, authorisation and restriction then act on the riskiest substances, using the information registration produces. A non-EU manufacturer can appoint an Only Representative to register on its behalf so that EU importers do not each have to.
Note: general educational information from the Pareo team, not legal advice. Check the official source before relying on it.