During 2008 a number of revisions were made to the European Chemical Agency’s (ECHA) ‘Guidance on Registration’. The document has been amended with the aim of further clarifying the role and responsibilities of the Only Representative.

It is now clear that a non European Union (EU) manufacturer who has appointed an Only Representative to pre-register his substances can transfer that Only Representative and continue to benefit from the phase in registration deadlines.  

If a non-Community manufacturer decides to change his Only Representative and the previous Only Representative had pre-registered the substance originating from the non-EU manufacturer, then the successor should communicate the change of Only Representative to the Agency in order to continue to benefit from the phase-in deadlines for registration of that substance. (See section 1.5.3.4 of the Guidance on Registration)

This means that any non EU/EEA manufacturer can change to another Only Representative if he is not satisfied with the service he is receiving from is current Only Representative (subject to the terms of his contract).

The latest version of the guidance document can be found on the ECHA website here.