SVHC check: substance groups by material

SVHC check: which substance groups belong to your product

Importers of articles owe information duties the moment a substance from the REACH Candidate List sits above 0.1% weight by weight in the article -- to their customers, to consumers who ask, and to ECHA's SCIP database. This tool answers the question before that one: given what your product is made of, which substance groups do you actually have to look up? Tick the materials, get the groups, search them on the official live list.

This is a triage by material, written and maintained here; it is not a substance database and does not copy one. The live Candidate List at ECHA is the authority on what is listed, under what name, since when -- search it via the links this tool hands you. Regulatory basis checked 2 October 2026.

What is it made of?

Soft or plasticised PVC, flexible plastics
cables and cable insulation, hoses, films, printed decals, inflatable goods, flooring Rigid plastics, composites
housings, bottles, panels, laminates Rubber and elastomers
grips, seals, tyres, toys' soft parts, shoe soles Textiles and leather
clothing, upholstery, bags, shoes, workwear Electrical and electronic goods
anything with a plug, battery or circuit board Paints, coatings, inks, adhesives
also when they harden INTO the article you import Wood panels and paper goods
furniture, boards, packaging, printed matter Metal articles with finishes
coated, plated, galvanised or painted metal Packaging (an article of its own)
boxes, foils, inserts, labels -- separately assessed

The duties at 0.1%, in one view

Trigger	Duty	Towards whom	Rests on
SVHC above 0.1% w/w in an article you place on the EU market	Give the substance's name and the information needed for safe use	Every professional customer down the chain	The importer (and EU producers) -- REACH Article 33(1)
The same, and a consumer asks	Answer within 45 days, free of charge	Any consumer	The importer -- REACH Article 33(2)
The same, article placed on the market	Notify the article to the SCIP database	ECHA (public record)	Importers and EU producers -- Waste Framework Directive, Article 9(1)(i)
The substance is later taken up in Annex XIV	After the sunset date: no use or placing on the market without an authorisation	The whole supply chain	Everyone in the EU -- REACH Article 56

Trigger

Duty

Towards whom

Rests on

SVHC above 0.1% w/w in an article you place on the EU market

Give the substance's name and the information needed for safe use

Every professional customer down the chain

The importer (and EU producers) -- REACH Article 33(1)

The same, and a consumer asks

Answer within 45 days, free of charge

Any consumer

The importer -- REACH Article 33(2)

The same, article placed on the market

Notify the article to the SCIP database

ECHA (public record)

Importers and EU producers -- Waste Framework Directive, Article 9(1)(i)

The substance is later taken up in Annex XIV

After the sunset date: no use or placing on the market without an authorisation

The whole supply chain

Everyone in the EU -- REACH Article 56

The percentage is per article, not per shipment: a buckle, a coating and the textile it sits on are assessed separately where they are separate articles, and packaging counts as its own article. Mixtures (glue, oil, ink still liquid) follow the safety-data-sheet route instead -- see the question on that below.

How to search the live list

The Candidate List itself -- search on the group terms this tool gives you ("phthalate", "chlorinated paraffin"), not on trade names.

The SCIP database -- search what has already been notified, by product category and material; a quick read on where SVHCs actually turn up.

The REACH guide on this site -- registration, restrictions, and how the regimes connect to GPSR and the product check.

The list grows; a material that checks clean today gets a re-check when a new batch of entries lands. Subscribing to ECHA's news is the free way to hear about additions; the watch services on the pricing page are the way to have a specific portfolio re-screened.

Questions importers actually ask

What is an SVHC and where does the list come from?

Substances of very high concern: substances the European Chemicals Agency has identified as, for example, carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction, persistent and bioaccumulative, or of equivalent concern. The list of candidates for authorisation is published under Article 59(10) of REACH and grows as entries are added -- roughly twice a year, which is why this page links to the live list instead of copying it.

When do my duties as an importer start?

At more than 0.1% weight by weight of an SVHC in an article you place on the EU market. Then Article 33 of REACH applies: give your professional customers the information to use the article safely, and answer a consumer's request within 45 days. On top of that, the SCIP duty under the Waste Framework Directive requires importers of articles to notify ECHA's SCIP database of such articles.

Do I have to test every product?

No. Start with what you may already hold: supplier declarations, safety data sheets for any mixtures, and the material map above. Testing is for the gap that remains: a group that belongs to your material, an evasive supplier, a finish or softener nobody can name. Test the component where the substance would sit, not the whole shipment.

Does this apply to packaging too?

Yes, separately: packaging is an article in its own right, assessed on its own 0.1% and carrying its own Article 33 duties. A clean product in a non-compliant box still fails at the border of the duty, not the goods. The EPR guide covers the other side of packaging compliance.

What happens if a listed substance moves to the authorisation list?

Entries from the candidate list can be taken up in Annex XIV with a sunset date; after that date the substance cannot be used or placed on the market in the EU unless an authorisation covers it (Article 56 REACH). That is the escalation path the candidate list is the waiting room for -- another reason to know your exposure before, not after, it is scheduled.

My product is a mixture or a cosmetic, not an article. Now what?

Then the 0.1%-in-article logic is not your route. Mixtures travel with safety data sheets and their own REACH duties; cosmetics are a separate regime with their own notification rules -- see the cosmetics guide. The triage above is for goods that are articles, or contain them.