UK REACH is the regulatory framework governing the manufacture, import, and use of chemical substances in Great Britain, replacing EU REACH following the UK’s exit from the European Union.
Originally, substances transitioned from EU REACH were subject to a single registration deadline in October 2021. This was later replaced with phased deadlines in 2023, 2025, and 2027, based on tonnage and hazard profile. In 2023, these deadlines were further extended to allow time to develop the new Alternative Transitional Registration Model (ATRm), which aims to reduce costs for businesses while maintaining high safety standards.
Under the current legislation, the first transitional registration deadline falls in October 2026. However, as the ATRm is still under development and requires a suitable implementation period, UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) proposed extending the deadlines by up to three years.
The consultation considered four options:
- Do nothing, retaining the existing deadlines (2026, 2028, and 2030).
- Option 1 (preferred): delay the first deadline by three years and introduce one-year intervals between deadlines, resulting in new dates of October 2029, October 2030, and October 2031.
- Option 2: delay all deadlines by two and a half years while maintaining two-year intervals (April 2029, April 2031, and April 2033).
- Option 3: delay the first deadline by two and a half years with one-year intervals thereafter (April 2029, April 2030, and April 2031).
On 22 December 2025, Defra published the outcome of the consultation on its official website and has decided to proceed with the dates set out as Option 1 in the consultation.
The new UK REACH deadlines are as follows:
| Deadline | Tonnage |
| 27 October 2029 | 1,000 tonnes or more per year |
| 27 October 2030 | 100 tonnes or more per year |
| 27 October 2031 | 1 tonne or more per year |
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