OECD Guidance on Establishing a NationalChemicals Register © OECD 2024 Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. By using this work, you acceptto be bound by the terms of this licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Attribution–you must cite the work.Translations–you must cite the original work, identify changes to the original and add the following text:In the event of any discrepancy between the original work and thetranslation, only the text of original work should be considered valid.Adaptations–you must cite the original work and add the following text:This is an adaptation of an original work by the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employedin this adaptation should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its Member countries.Third-party material–the licence does not apply to third-party material in the work. If using such material, you are responsible for obtaining permission from the third party and forany claims of infringement.You must not use the OECD logo, visual identity or cover image without express permission or suggest the OECD endorses your use of the work.Any dispute arising under this licence shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Permanent Court of Arbitration(PCA) Arbitration Rules 2012. The seat of arbitration shallbe Paris(France). The number of arbitrators shall be one. About the OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental organisationin which representatives of 38 countries in North and South America, Europe and the Asia and Pacific region,as well as the European Union, meet to co-ordinate and harmonise policies, discuss issues of mutualconcern, and work together to respond to international problems. Most of the OECD’s work is carried out bymore than 200 specialised committees and working groups composed of member country delegates.Observers from several Partner countries and from interested international organisations attend many of theOECD’s workshops and other meetings. Committees and working groups are served by the OECDSecretariat, located in Paris, France, which is organisedinto directorates and divisions. The Environment, Health and Safety Division publishes free-of-charge documents in twelve different series:Testingand Assessment;Good Laboratory Practice and Compliance Monitoring;Pesticides;Biocides;Risk Management;Harmonisation of Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology;Safety ofNovel Foods and Feeds; Chemical Accidents; Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers; EmissionScenario Documents; Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials;andAdverse Outcome Pathways.Moreinformation about the Environment, Health and Safety Programme and EHS publications is available on theOECD’s World Wide Web site (https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/chemical-safety-and-biosafety.html). This publication was developed in the IOMC context. The contents do not necessarilyreflect the views or stated policies of individual IOMC Participating Organizations. The Inter-Organisation Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC)was established in 1995 following recommendations made by the 1992 UN Conferenceon Environment and Development to strengthen co-operation and increase internationalco-ordination in the field of chemical safety. The Participating Organisations are FAO,ILO,UNDP,UNEP,UNIDO,UNITAR,WHO,World Bank,Basel,Rotterdam andStockholm Conventions and OECD. The purpose of the IOMC is to promote co-ordinationof the policies and activities pursued by the Participating Organisations, jointly orseparately, to achieve the sound management of chemicals in relation to human healthand the environment. Preface At theGlobal Forum on Environment: Towards cost-effective management systems for industrial andconsumer chemicalsheld on 3-4 November 2020 in Paris, several speakers highlighted that establishing anational register of chemicals is often the start of the long journey that leads to risk management of chemicals;it is therefore a foundational step for a sound chemicals management system. Establishing a register isresource-intensive and often takes up to four or five years, sometimes even more. Therefore it is essentialto clearly define its purpose, scope, and operational features for both establishing and updating it. In view ofthis, the forum participants specifically recommended that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment (OECD) develop a technical Best Practice Guidance for setting up chemicals registers. At its meeting in June 2021, the OECD Chemicals and Biotechnology Committee reviewed a first proposal[ENV/CBC(2021)9] and agreed to further advance the scope and utility of the Inter-Organization Programmefor the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC) Toolbox for Decision Making in Chemicals Managementby adding new elements to the Industrial Chemicals Management Sc