What is enforcement?

Enforcement of REACH, CLP, PIC, POP and Biocidal Products regulations means, generally, a range of actions that national authorities initiate to verify the compliance of the duty holders with these legislations. For example, this includes checking whether the substance has been registered or pre-registered or verifying the presence and correctness of the Safety Data Sheets.

Who is responsible for enforcement?

Enforcement of REACH, CLP, PIC, POP and Biocidal Products regulations is a national responsibility, therefore each EU Member State, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein must ensure that there is an official system of controls and also lay down legislation specifying penalties for non-compliance with the provisions of REACH.

ECHA has no enforcement responsibilities, since it is a Community-level institution. However, ECHA does host the Forum for Exchange for Information on Enforcement (Forum). The Forum is a body composed of representatives of national enforcement authorities, which works towards coordinating the enforcement of REACH, CLP, PIC, POP and Biocidal Products regulations in the EU Member States, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Please, follow one of the links below to learn more about the national REACH enforcement or the activities of the Forum.