Only Representatives

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Non-EU/EEA companies have no direct responsibilities under REACH. However, their business partners and customers in the EU/EEA may need support in working towards compliance themselves. Non-EU suppliers often have the technical expertise required for registration and also want to ensure continued supply of their products into the EU/EEA in light of REACH.

The Only Representative role

To relieve their importing customers of their registration obligations non-EU/EEA companies may be able to appoint someone in the EU/EEA to act as their Only Representative (OR). Article 8 of REACH states that the OR “shall have a sufficient background in the practical handling of substances and the information related to them”, meaning that they must be competent to take on the role.

An OR can be appointed by a non-EU/EEA

• Substance manufacturer;
• Formulator of mixtures; or
• Producer of articles.

Distributors cannot appoint an Only Representative.

A company can only appoint one OR per substance, although that same OR may be appointed by a number of non-EU/EEA principals.

If a legal entity is acting as an OR for more than one non-EU/EEA company they must treat each appointment separately and avoid conflicts of interest. They need to register once for each appointment, treating substances, tonnages, importers, use information and other supply chain matters separately. In practical terms this means the OR needs a separate REACH-IT account for each appointment.

Who might act as OR?

Any legal entity in the EU/EEA with the necessary competence may be chosen as an OR. Non-EU companies with EU/EEA subsidiaries or affiliates may decide to employ them in the role as OR. Independent parties such as regulatory specialists, consultants and legal firms may also be chosen to act as OR for non-EU/EEA principals.

Changing your OR

REACH-IT’s legal entity change functionality can be used to record a change in OR. The original OR needs to agree, as their REACH-IT account is used to initiate the change. Registrations can then be transferred to the new OR, who needs to submit an updated dossier and pay a fee relating to the change in legal personality of the registrant.

Click here for further information on appointing an OR vs. supporting your importing customers to make their own registration.