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SVHC list

Type a substance name, a CAS number or an EC number to see whether it is on ECHA's Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHCs) under EU REACH. Each result shows the matching entries, each with its date of inclusion and the reason ECHA gives. Being on the list bans nothing by itself; it makes you pass information down the chain when an article you sell holds the substance above 0.1% by weight (REACH Art. 33), as SVHC under EU REACH sets out. Some listed substances are also restricted under REACH Annex XVIIor need an authorisation under Annex XIV: DEHP (entry 51) and lead in PVC (entry 63) are limited in articles.

Data
Live from ECHA at each search

A name or a part of one, such as lead; a CAS number, such as 110-54-3; or an EC number, such as 203-777-6. 3 to 40 characters.

The search asks ECHA CHEM, ECHA's chemicals database, and the answer is ECHA's. The authoritative list is ECHA's Candidate List; a name or number can be searched there too.

What a result shows

  • The name. An entry can be a single substance or a group, such as a substance "and its salts". Your supplier's statement should cover the whole entry, not only the substance it names first (how many substances the list holds).
  • EC and CAS numbers. ECHA shows none for some entries, mostly groups; the result then says none listed. Search the name as well as the number: a group entry ("... and its salts") lists no EC or CAS number, so a number cannot find it.
  • Included. The date ECHA put the substance on the list. A substance becomes an SVHC for your products on that date, and the duties to inform run from it (REACH Art. 33, Art. 59(1)), as the SVHC guide sets out.
  • Reason. The criterion ECHA gives for the inclusion, in its words, such as toxic for reproduction (Article 57c). The six criteria are in the SVHC guide.
  • ECHA decision. The titles of ECHA's decision documents for the inclusion, where ECHA publishes them, and a link to the substance's page on ECHA CHEM.

What a listing means for a seller

The list is not a ban. If an article you supply holds a Candidate List substance above 0.1% by weight, counted in each article inside a product (Case C-106/14), you give every business you supply the information you hold that it needs to use the article safely, at least the substance's name, without being asked (REACH Art. 33(1)). You answer a consumer who asks, free of charge, within 45 days (Art. 33(2)). A supplier of such articles in the EU also sends that information to ECHA's SCIP database, as each EU country's law requires (Art. 9(1)(i) of Directive 2008/98/EC); a retailer that sells only to consumers, and is neither an importer nor a producer, is left out. Who files it is in the SCIP database guide. Who carries the duties for goods that come from outside the EU, the ECHA notification above one tonne and what happens if you do nothing are in SVHC under EU REACH and REACH compliance.

The Candidate List is one of three REACH lists, with Annex XIV (substances that need an authorisation) and Annex XVII (restrictions). A substance on the Candidate List, or not on it, can be limited by REACH Annex XVII(Art. 67(1)). This page covers the EU list; Great Britain keeps its own under UK REACH, published by HSE.

How the search works

  • ECHA runs the search. It matches the text you type against substance names, other names of a substance, EC numbers and CAS numbers. A name can therefore find an entry whose shown name is written another way.
  • A search takes 3 to 40 characters: letters, digits, spaces and the signs . , ' ( ) [ ] / + -. A shorter text would match a large part of the list, and ECHA refuses a longer one.
  • At most 25 entries are shown, the newest inclusions first. When a search has more matches, the result says how many there are; type more of the name, or a CAS or EC number, to narrow it.
  • Each search asks ECHA at that moment: once for the matches, once for the newest inclusion and the size of the list.
  • Text made only of digits and hyphens must be a whole CAS number or a whole EC number. Searches are limited to 10 a minute for each address.
  • If ECHA does not answer, the result says so and nothing is shown.

A worked example

Your supplier's statement for a pair of trainers names a substance by its CAS number. Type the number in the box, for example 110-54-3.

  • One entry. The result shows the entry with its EC number, CAS number, date of inclusion and reason. The substance is on the Candidate List. Whether it is in your goods above 0.1% of a part's weight is for your supplier's statement to say (what an SVHC above 0.1% makes you do).
  • No entry. ECHA's search found nothing for that text. A number that finds nothing does not clear the substance: a group entry lists no number, so search the name too, or a shorter part of it.
  • More than 25 entries. A short word such as lead matches many entries. The result shows the newest 25 and the count; a CAS number usually narrows it to one.

Every result ends with the day of your search and the date of the latest inclusion ECHA reports, so you can see how current the list was when you asked. Check the list again each time ECHA updates it: a product that was clean last year can carry a duty today with no change to the product.

Where the data comes from

ECHA publishes the Candidate List under REACH Art. 59(10) and updates it after each inclusion (REACH Art. 59(10)). Every result on this page is a live answer from ECHA CHEM at the moment of your search. It holds only the entries that match what you typed. The latest inclusion and the size of the list shown under a result are ECHA's own figures from the same moment. The authoritative source is ECHA's Candidate List.