Registration in depth

Home > REACH > Registration > Registration in depth

Registration is based on the principle of “one substance, one registration”. Registrants must work together to gather the information needed to register the substance, sharing data on the intrinsic properties of the substance and its classification. Registrants may also choose to share information on the uses of the substance, the Chemical Safety Report and the guidance on safe use.

Making contact

Companies must submit an Inquiry dossier to ECHA to establish contact with any existing or other potential registrants. This is required to know if a registration already exists and ensure that data can be shared by the relevant parties. The inquiry is also required in case of tonnage band upgrade.

Lead and member registrations

Every registrant must submit an IUCLID dossier. For each substance one manufacturer, importer or Only Representative takes the role of Lead Registrant (LR). The LR sets up a Joint Submission Object (JSO) for the substance in REACH-IT and submits a Lead Registration dossier containing:

• its own registration data: legal entity details, substance analyses, tonnage band, manufacturing and use information
• the information shared with the other members of the joint submission: classification and labelling, intrinsic substance properties (physical, chemical, health and environmental)
• guidance on safe use (shared or individual)
• Chemical Safety Report, if 10 tonnes or more per year (shared, part-shared or individual).

Once the LR’s dossier has been accepted for processing (i.e. passed the REACH-IT Business Rules) the other registrants confirm their membership of the JSO and submit their own dossiers containing:

• legal entity details
• substance identification and analytical information
• tonnage band
• manufacturing, use and exposure information
• guidance on safe use (unless shared by the LR)
• Chemical Safety Report, if 10 tonnes or more per year (unless fully shared by the LR).

The security token

Membership of the JSO is controlled via a security token, a string of letters and numbers. When the LR sets up the JSO a security token is generated. The LR provides potential member registrants with the name of the JSO and this security token, usually on receipt of payment for the Letter of Access. These co-registrants use the joint submission name and the token to confirm their membership of the JSO before submitting their own registration dossiers.

The LR can create a new security token at any time. Any previous token will be invalidated and replaced by the new token. A security token has a 30-day validity. After this period a new token is needed in order for new potential registrants to become members of the JSO.