Your REACH Only Representative for non-EU substance manufacturers

EU REACH for Chinese chemical manufacturers

Chinese manufacturers cannot register under REACH themselves. Either each EU importer registers the substance, or the manufacturer appoints an Only Representative in the EU to register once for all its importers.

Check my substance All guides

Registration from 1 tonne per year OR appointed under Article 8 Importers become downstream users One registration for all EU customers

Importer registration or an Only Representative?

	EU importer registers	Your Only Representative registers
Who holds the registration	Each importer, separately	Your OR, on your behalf
Your composition data	Shared with each registering importer	Shared once, with your OR under a confidentiality-bound mandate
Changing customers	A new customer must register or you lose the sale	New EU customers are covered by your existing registration
Cost	Repeated by every importer	Paid once and reflected in your price

Documents to prepare

Substance identity

Composition, impurities and analytical reports (for example NMR, IR, HPLC or GC) for each substance.

EU customers and volumes

Which importers buy the substance and the annual tonnage to the EU.

Uses

How your customers use the substance, so the registration and SDS cover those uses.

Existing data

Any test reports and your current SDS, which usually needs converting to the EU format.

After registration

Your OR keeps up-to-date information on the quantities imported and the customers supplied, updates the registration when things change, and keeps an eye on the Candidate List, restrictions and ECHA evaluation decisions that affect your substances.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Chinese company register under EU REACH directly?

No. Registration is done by an EU importer or by an Only Representative established in the EU and appointed by the Chinese manufacturer under Article 8.

What happens to my EU importers when I appoint an OR?

For the quantities covered by the OR's registration, they become downstream users and do not need to register the substance themselves.

Does China REACH cover the EU?

No. Chinese chemical rules and EU REACH are separate systems; the EU requires its own registration by an EU-established registrant.

Check whether you need a REACH Only Representative

Tell us your substance, tonnage band and where your company is established. Before you sign a mandate, we tell you what the next step is.

Free eligibility check