Do you have to send the safety data sheet with every delivery?
As of · sourced from primary law · not legal advice · Auf Deutsch lesen
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This English version was prepared with AI from the German page. No native speaker or lawyer has read it. Found a mistake? Write to office@proofpass.eu.
The short answer
No. You send the safety data sheet actively, free of charge, on paper or electronically, no later than the date of the first supply (Article 31(8) REACH). Later deliveries need no new copy. When there is new information, you update it without delay and send the new version to all recipients of the preceding 12 months (paragraph 9).
Art. 31(8) and (9) REACH
When the duty arises
Article 31(1) REACH requires a safety data sheet for substances and mixtures classified as hazardous, for PBT and vPvB substances and for substances on the candidate list. For certain mixtures that are not classified, the data sheet is supplied on request (paragraph 3). The guide on when a safety data sheet is required has the details.
How you supply it
The data sheet goes out free of charge, on paper or electronically, no later than the date on which the product is first supplied (paragraph 8). The language is an official language of the Member State where the product is placed on the market, unless the Member State concerned provides otherwise (paragraph 5).
An email attachment or a personal link counts as supplying it. Keeping it on your website, or an email that points to a general website, is not enough on the widely held reading (ECHA guidance, chapter 2.13).
Does it have to go with every delivery?
No. The duty is to provide it no later than the first supply and to follow up when there is new information. A data sheet has no fixed expiry date.
A new version is due on new information on risk management measures or hazards, once an authorisation has been granted or refused, and once a restriction has been imposed (paragraph 9). It goes free of charge to all recipients you supplied within the preceding 12 months. You mark the changes against the previous version; section 16 is the usual place.
Who does not have to receive it
The general public need not be supplied with a data sheet if sufficient information is provided some other way. A downstream user or distributor can still request it (paragraph 4).
How to organise it
Settle on a simple routine.
- First delivery to a new customer: send the data sheet by email or link.
- Note who received it and when.
- New version: identify the recipients of the preceding 12 months.
- Send the new version to all of them and record the dispatch.
- Keep old versions (Article 36 REACH: at least 10 years).
Frequently asked questions
Is it enough to put the data sheet on the website?
On the widely held reading, no. What counts as supplying is what reaches the recipient actively, such as an email attachment or a personal link.
Does a safety data sheet expire?
No, it has no fixed expiry date. A new one is due on new information on hazards or risk management, once an authorisation has been granted or refused, or once a restriction has been imposed.
Which language does it have to be in?
In an official language of the Member State where the product is placed on the market, unless the Member State concerned provides otherwise (Article 31(5) REACH).
With ProofPass
In the safety data sheets module you upload the data sheet once. ProofPass sends it to the distribution list, records sending, opening and download, and archives every version. A new version goes to all confirmed recipients on the list. You enter whom you supplied in the last 12 months and have the proof.
The terms and legal notices are in German, and the German version is binding.
Sources
As of 11 November 2026. The legal text in force prevails. This page is not legal advice; sources are given above.