News Details
UK Launches Consultation on Further Extensions to UK REACH Deadlines Amid Ongoing ATRm Development
The UK Government has launched a public consultation on proposals to extend the transitional registration submission deadlines under UK REACH further. Published on 14 July 2025 by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), he consultation is open for comments until 8 September 2025.
The current phased deadlines - October 2026, October 2028, and October 2030 - apply to transitional registrations based on the tonnage and hazard profile of the substances. These obligations affect companies placing chemical substances on the market in Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) that were previously registered under EU REACH, but which must now be registered under UK REACH.
Current UK REACH Transitional Registration Deadlines:
|
Tonnage Band / Substance Type |
Current Deadline |
|
≥ 1,000 tonnes/year and Carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic substances (CMRs) ≥ 1 tonne/year Toxic effects to aquatic organisms (acute or chronic) ≥ 100 tonnes/year Candidate list of substances of very high concern (as of 31 December 2023) |
27 October 2026 |
|
≥ 100 tonnes/year and Candidate list of substances of very high concern (substances added between 1 January 2024 and 27 October 2026) |
27 October 2028 |
|
≥ 1 tonne/year |
27 October 2030 |
Not the First Extension
This is not the first time that the transitional registration deadlines have been extended. The original deadlines were set for 27 October 2023, 2025, and 2027. However, following stakeholder concerns about the feasibility of timely compliance, the government consulted on postponement options in early 2023. As a result, the deadlines were formally extended by three years via Statutory Instrument 2023/722, which was adopted in July 2023.
More details on that decision are available here and here.
Proposals for Further Delay
As the Alternative Transitional Registration model (ATRm) is still under development, the government is now proposing a second round of deadline extensions. The ATRm is expected to define revised, more proportionate data requirements for transitional registrations. However, the current administration has not yet finalised its implementation, and it is unlikely to be ready in time for the first deadline in 2026.
The consultation presents three options:
|
Option |
Proposed New Deadlines |
Comment |
|
Option 1 |
October 2029, October 2030, October 2031 |
Government's preferred option: allows two-year transition after ATRm finalisation |
|
Option 2 |
April 2029, April 2031, April 2033 |
Longer overall delay, but wider spacing between deadlines |
|
Option 3 |
April 2029, April 2030, April 2031 |
Shortest total duration; one-year spacing between phases |
Compliance Check Timing Also Under Review
The consultation also seeks views on aligning the HSE’s duty to conduct compliance checks (on 20% of dossiers, as per Article 41(5) of UK REACH) with any revised submission deadlines. This ensures that regulatory oversight keeps pace with the updated registration timeline.
Consultation Access
Stakeholders are encouraged to submit their feedback before 8 September 2025. The consultation can be accessed here.
We acknowledge that the above information has been compiled from DEFRA.
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