China to Cease New Chemical Substance Filing and Bars Foreign Applicants from August 15, 2026

This article was updated on August 7, 2026.

On August 4, 2026, China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) issued the Notice on Matters Concerning the Environmental Management Registration of New Chemical Substances. To align with the implementation of the Ecological and Environmental Code of the People's Republic of China, the MEE will officially stop processing environmental management filings for new chemical substances, effective from August 15, 2026.

According to the Notice, from August 15, 2026, enterprises that would previously have submitted a filing must instead submit to the competent department an application for environmental management registration, together with the supporting materials demonstrating that they meet the filing requirements under Order No. 12. The competent department will accept and approve these applications by referring to the procedures and timeline for simplified registrations.

Besides, according to the official information, from August 15, 2026, the competent department will no longer accept new chemical substance registration applications submitted by enterprises outside of China, nor applications for changes to registration certificate information. That means only importers of new chemical substances located in China may act as applicants for new chemical substance registration.

These adjustments are primarily intended to align with the relevant provisions of the Ecological and Environmental Code. To align with the entry into force of the Ecological and Environmental Code on August 15, there will be no filing category in the future environmental management of new chemical substances, and overseas enterprises exporting new chemical substances to China will not be able to act as registration applicants.

Currently, the Measures for the Environmental Management Registration of New Chemical Substances are under revision, with the public consultation period concluded. The competent department is now reviewing the comments and suggestions received. According to the previous draft for consultation, the revised Measures were planned to take effect on August 15, 2026, together with the Ecological and Environmental Code. However, the recent notice suggests that the revised Measures and the supporting guidance may now be released after August 15.

CIRS Group will continue to monitor updates to China's new chemical substance regulations and deliver tailored, expert compliance solutions to keep your business fully aligned.

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Further information

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