UK REACH Fee Overhaul: New Standards Take Effect April 1, 2025

The UK's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced changes to several fees for registration and authorization under UK REACH, which will take effect on April 1, 2025. The UK authorities have explained that this fee adjustment is based on changes in relevant price indices and the costs incurred by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in managing UK REACH. The new standards were published on March 10, 2025, as The REACH Fees and Charges (Amendment of Commission Regulation (EC) No 340/2008) Regulations 2025.

Fee Adjustment Analysis

1. Fees for Large Enterprise Registration

For substance registration across all tonnage ranges, the new standard sets a uniform fee of £2,222. Compared to the old standard, the registration fee for the 1-10 ton range has surged by 46%-95%, while fees for other tonnage ranges have been cut by 27%-92%.

Fees for registrations submitted under Articles 6, 7, or 11.

Table 1 Standard fees

	Individual submission	Joint submission
Fee for substances in the range of 1 to 10 tons	[£1,518] £2,222	[£1,138] £2,222
Fee for substances in the range 10 to 100 tons	[£4,080] £2,142	[£3,061] £2,222
Fee for substances in the range 100 to 1000 tons	[£10,913] £2,222	[£8,185] £2,222
Fee for substances above 1000 tons	[£29,419] £2,222	[£22,064] £2,222

2. Fees for SME Registrations

The registration administrative fees will no longer be differentiated by tonnage or between individual and joint submissions. The fees are now associated with the type of business, as follows:

medium-sized enterprises – £740;
small enterprises – £399; and
micro-enterprises £57.

For example, for medium enterprises, the administrative fee is £740 regardless of tonnage, which is the same as the previous fee for 1-10 tpa.

3. Fees for Registrations of Intermediate

For large enterprises, the administrative fee for registrations of intermediates is the same as the regular registration fee, at £2,222.

Fees for registrations submitted under Article 17(2), Article 18(2) and (3) or Article 19

Table 2 Standard fees

	Individual submission	Joint submission
Fee	[£1,518] £2,222	[£1,138] £2,222

The administrative fees for the registration of intermediates of SME enterprises are the same as the regular registration fees for SMEs, which are related only to the type of enterprise (see above).

4. Fees for the Update of the Tonnage Range

Unlike previously where administrative fees were based on the price difference for upgraded tonnage, the upgrade fees for large enterprises are uniformly set at £2,222.

Fees for the update of registrations under Article 22

Table 3 Standard fees for the update of the tonnage range

	Individual submission	Joint submission
From 1-10 tons range to 10-100 tons range	[£2,562] £2,222	[£1,921] £2,222
From 1-10 tons range to 100-1000 tons range	[£9,395] £2,222	[£7,046] £2,222
From 1-10 tons range to over 1000 tons range	[£27,901] £2,222	[£20,926] £2,222
From 10-100 tons range to 100-1000 tons range	[£6,833] £2,222	[£5,125] £2,222
From 10-100 tons range to over 1000 tons range	[£25,339] £2,222	[£19,003] £2,222
From 100-1000 tons range to over 1000 tons range	[£18,506] £2,222	[£13,879] £2,222

The update fees for SMEs are as follows:

medium-sized enterprises – £1,249;

small enterprises – £672; and

micro-enterprises – £96.

5. Fees for Other Updates

Fees for changes in legal representative have been reduced, with the fees for large enterprises dropping from £1,424 to £290.

Table 4 Fees for other updates

Type of Update
Change in the identity of the registrant involving a change in legal representative	[£1,424] £290

The reduced fees for SMEs are as follows:

Table 5 Reduced fees for SMEs for other updates

Medium enterprise

Small enterprise

Micro enterprise

Change in the identity of the registrant involving a change in legal representative

[£925]

£261

[10% discount applied]

[£498]

£232

[20% discount applied]

[£72]

£72

[Current fee retained]

6. Fees for PPORD Notifications

The standard fee for product and process-orientated research and development (PPORD) notifications has increased, while the fee for SMEs remains unchanged.

Fees and charges for PPORD notifications under Article 9

Table 6 Fees for PPORD Notifications

Standard fee	[£475] £751
Reduced fee for medium enterprise (fee remains unchanged)	£308 [Retained current fee]
Reduced fee for small enterprise (fee remains unchanged)	£166 [Retained current fee]
Reduced fee for micro enterprise (fee remains unchanged)	£24 [Retained current fee]

The standard fee for extending PPORD exemptions has been reduced, while the fee for SMEs remains unchanged.

Table 7 Charges for the extension of a PPORD exemption

Standard fee	[£949] £751
Reduced fee for medium enterprise (fee remains unchanged)	£617 [Retained current fee]
Reduced fee for small enterprise (fee remains unchanged)	£332 [Retained current fee]
Reduced fee for micro enterprise (fee remains unchanged)	£47 [Retained current fee]

7. Fees for Authorization

For large enterprises:

Fees for applications for authorization under Article 62

Table 8 Standard fee

Base fee	[£47,229] £57,689
Additional fee per substance	[£9,446] £11,538
Additional fee per use	[£42,506] £51,920

Charges for the review of authorization under Article 61

Table 9 Standard charges

Base fee	[£47,229] £57,689
Additional fee per substance	[£9,446] £11,538
Additional fee per use	[£42,506] £51,920

Reason for Adjustment

The UK authorities have explained that this fee adjustment is based on changes in relevant price indices and the costs incurred by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in managing UK REACH. On the one hand, the change in the consumer price index reflects the impact of inflation on administrative costs; on the other hand, the HSE undertakes a large amount of work when implementing UK REACH, including substance registration reviews, compliance inspections, and risk assessments, and it is necessary to adjust the fees appropriately to maintain the sustainability of the service.

Impact on Enterprises

This adjustment releases the vitality of high-tonnage industries through structural fee reduction and supports small and medium-sized enterprises with tiered charges. However, the increase in registration and authorization fees for low-tonnage substances may still squeeze the profit margin of some enterprises. Relevant enterprises should promptly understand and adapt to the new fee standards, and reasonably arrange compliance work, to ensure smooth operation and sustainable development in the UK market.

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

Further Information

UK Gov.

We have launched a LinkedIn newsletter to keep you up to date on the latest developments across the chemical industry including food and FCMs and personal and home care.