China's Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law in Effect - Six Key Compliance Red Lines

The Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law of the People's Republic of China officially took effect on May 1, 2026. The Law was enacted to safeguard people's lives and property and to address prominent issues concerning hazardous chemicals, with the aim of strengthening safety management across the entire chain and at every stage of hazardous chemicals. CIRS has summarized the key changes of the Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law, please click here for more details.

The Safety Law generally steps up penalties, placing greater emphasis on the dual-penalty system (penalizing both the offending entity and the responsible individuals) and on sanctions against the directly responsible persons in charge and other directly responsible personnel. Against the backdrop of the  Law, enterprises engaged in the production, import, and export of hazardous chemicals must promptly implement compliance measures to safeguard life and the environment and avoid penalties.

In this article, we will introduce the six major red lines for hazardous chemicals compliance that enterprises are particularly concerned about.

One SDS and One Label

Under Article 31 of the Safety Law, manufacturers and importers of hazardous chemicals must provide Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and labels that accurately correspond to their products.

These SDS and labels must be compiled in accordance with the following national standards:

• GB 30000 series (Specifications for Hazard Classification and Labelling of Chemicals),
• GB 15258- General Rules for Preparation of Precautionary Labels for Hazardous Chemicals),
• GB/T 17519 - Guidance on the Compilation of Safety Data Sheets for Chemical Products, and
• GB/T 16483 - Safety Data Sheet for Chemical Products—Content and Order of Sections.

At a minimum, hazardous chemicals must be classified according to the 2026 China Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals.

Search whether your substances are listed in China's Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals (2026 Edition) via CIRS's chemradar: https://www.chemradar.com/en/tools/cis/inv/6489651dbc1d7cdaf02f0ab6

Hazardous Chemicals Registration

Compared with the Regulations on the Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals, the Safety Law dedicates an entire chapter (Chapter 7) specifically to hazardous chemical registration—underscoring just how critical this process is. The subjects of hazardous chemicals registration are domestic production enterprises and import enterprises. All chemicals listed in the Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals, as well as those meeting the identification principles, must complete registration in accordance with the Law.

Information required for hazardous chemicals registration includes:

• Classification and labelling;
• Physical and chemical properties;
• Uses;
• Hazard characteristics;
• Safety requirements for storage, use and transportation;
• Emergency numbers for chemical accidents; and
• Emergency disposal measures in case of dangerous situations.

Three Licenses

• Article 30 of the Safety Law regulates hazardous chemicals manufacturers should obtain a Safety Production License in accordance with the Law before commencing production;
• Article 48 stipulates that chemical enterprises that use hazardous chemicals and meet the corresponding requirements must obtain a Safe Use License in accordance with the Law; and
• Article 53 regulates that China implements an operation licensing system for the businesses of hazardous chemicals.

Statutory Import and Export Inspection

The Safety Law expands the responsibilities of Customs by formally adding them to the joint authorities responsible for compiling and updating the Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals. Customs now collaborates directly with the emergency management, public security, ecology and environment, and transportation authorities to revise the Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals. Article 7, Paragraph (9) of the Safety Law mandates that Customs is responsible for inspecting all imported and exported hazardous chemicals and their packaging. Consequently, trade enterprises must submit accurate, truthful declarations and cooperate fully with Customs during both product and packaging inspections.

Storage of Hazardous Chemicals

According to Article 41 of the Safety Law, hazardous chemicals shall be stored in dedicated warehouses, dedicated sites, or dedicated storage rooms or storage cabinets, and shall be placed under the management of designated personnel. The storage of hazardous chemicals must comply with the provisions of both GB 15603-2022 (General Rules for Storage of Hazardous Chemicals in Warehouses) and the fire protection requirements of GB 50016-2014 (Code for Fire Protection Design of Buildings) (2018 Edition).

Transport of Dangerous Goods

Chapter 6 of the Safety Law outlines the safety requirements for transporting dangerous goods by road, water, and other modes of transport. If a company's hazardous chemicals are classified as dangerous goods, the company must strictly comply with all applicable dangerous goods transport regulations. For export hazardous chemicals that are classified as dangerous goods, performance inspection and use appraisal shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations and standards on the inspection of packaging of export dangerous goods for sea, air, road, and rail transport, and the Result Sheet for Performance Inspection of Transport Packaging of Outbound Goods and the Result Sheet for Use Appraisal of Transport Packaging of Outbound Dangerous Goods shall be issued accordingly.

CIRS Comments

It has been just over two months since the Safety Law officially took effect, marking the beginning of a new era of "full-chain oversight, strictly regulated, and heavily penalized" hazardous chemical management. Safety is a non-negotiable red line, and relying on luck only invites risk. Companies must move past a 'wait-and-see' approach and immediately conduct systematic self-audits against the six critical red lines to integrate compliance into their daily operations.

About CIRS

Established in 2007, the CIRS Group is a leading product safety and regulatory consulting firm. CIRS has branch offices in the Republic of Ireland, South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and China. CIRS Group utilizes its technical expertise, various resources, and international network to provide one-stop compliance services from regulatory compliance, laboratory testing, R&D to data services across multiple industries. This includes chemicals, cosmetics, food and food beverages, medical devices, agrochemical products, disinfectants, and consumer goods. It helps clients gain a competitive advantage by reducing business risks associated with regulatory affairs.

Our services

• Safety Data Sheet and label preparation
• Emergency telephone call service (24h)
• Hazardous chemical registration dossier preparation and submission

If you need any assistance or have any questions, please get in touch with us via service@cirs-group.com.