Is there a duty to appoint a chemicals officer?

No. The Chemicals Act does not contain the role; the term does not appear in the text. What does exist are two enabling provisions: § 19 Abs. 1 Nr. 4 Buchst. h ChemG allows it to be prescribed by ordinance that a Projektleiter be appointed for certain manufacturing or use processes, and § 19 Abs. 1 Nr. 7 ChemG allows responsible supervisory personnel to be required for areas with particular hazards. Both are powers given to the body making the ordinance, not appointment duties for your company. The duties that actually matter attach not to a person but to a role in the market: manufacturer, importer, downstream user. This page carries the name anyway, because that is what people search for, and says in its first paragraph what the term is in law.

How does this differ from the hazardous substances officer?

In the direction the duty points. The hazardous substances side protects your employees inside the plant: risk assessment under § 6 GefStoffV, register under § 6 Abs. 12 GefStoffV, operating instructions and briefing under § 14 GefStoffV. This service protects the people who buy your products and concerns placing goods on the market: classification and labelling via § 4 Abs. 1 GefStoffV, the safety data sheet via § 5 Abs. 1 GefStoffV, notification via § 16e ChemG, supply restrictions via the Chemikalien-Verbotsverordnung. Different duty-holder, different norms, different sanction: there an administrative offence, here additionally the criminal provision in § 27b ChemG. Many businesses need both, and then the two mandates are demarcated against each other in writing at the start.

Can you author our safety data sheets?

Yes, and the requirements for them are not in German law itself. § 5 Abs. 1 Satz 1 GefStoffV states that the requirements a supplier must observe when placing substances and mixtures on the market follow from Artikel 31 in conjunction with Anhang II der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1907/2006. Sentence 2 covers the case where no data sheet is required: the information duties then follow Artikel 32 of that regulation, so they do not fall away. We write and maintain the sheets, check your suppliers' versions on arrival, and record which version went to whom and when. Release is by your house.

What is the notification to the Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung?

The poison centre notification for hazardous mixtures. § 16e Abs. 1 ChemG provides that the Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung, as the body designated under Artikel 45 Absatz 1 der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1272/2008, also in conjunction with Artikel 73 der Verordnung (EU) Nr. 528/2012, carries out the tasks under Artikel 45 Absatz 1 in conjunction with Anhang VIII of that regulation. The duty itself follows from Artikel 45 and Anhang VIII and falls on whoever places hazardous mixtures on the market. In practice this is the step most often forgotten, because it comes after classification and label, at a point where the product already looks finished.

Can you take on the licence under the Chemikalien-Verbotsverordnung?

No, and the reason is the wording. § 6 Abs. 1 ChemVerbotsV makes the supply of certain substances subject to licence. § 6 Abs. 3 ChemVerbotsV states that undertakings receive the licence if, in every Betriebsstätte where supply or provision takes place, they employ people who meet the requirements of Absatz 2, and every change of such a person must be notified to the authority in writing without delay. The competence under § 11 ChemVerbotsV attaches to those employed people. An external provider cannot fill that position; it can prepare the application, organise the evidence and carry the deadlines. That is an honest limit rather than reticence.

How high are the sanctions really?

They are two different things and are often mixed up. § 26 Abs. 3 ChemG has three fine tiers: up to two hundred thousand euros for the numbers listed there, up to fifty thousand euros for a second group and up to ten thousand euros in the remaining cases. Which tier applies depends on the number breached, not on how serious it feels. Alongside that stands § 27b ChemG, which is not a fine provision: anyone who, contrary to Artikel 5 der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1907/2006, manufactures or places on the market without the required registration is punished with imprisonment of up to two years or a fine; under Absatz 2 the attempt is punishable, and under Absatz 3 it is up to five years where life, health or property of significant value is thereby endangered.

What does the service cost at CIVAC?

The price has four components: the one-off range inventory with role clarification, an ongoing retainer for running it, a per-product figure for authoring or reworking a safety data sheet together with the associated notification, and the optional special cases. The figure depends on the number of substances and mixtures, on the role per product, on the number of language versions and target markets, and on the state of the existing data sheets and labels. Anyone comparing offers should ask two questions: is the notification under Artikel 45 in conjunction with Anhang VIII der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1272/2008 included in the per-product price or a separate item? And is updating on a changed raw material classification included? You receive a fixed figure per component. The platform costs 49 € per officer role per month and is shown separately.

All services

Service

Chemicals compliance officer

A point first here too: the German Chemicals Act (Chemikaliengesetz, ChemG) does not know the Chemikalienbeauftragter. The term does not appear in the text. The two places that look like an appointment are § 19 Abs. 1 Nr. 4 Buchst. h and Nr. 7 ChemG, and both are enabling provisions: they allow the federal government to require a Projektleiter or responsible supervisory personnel by ordinance. The Act itself appoints nobody. What it does instead is attach duties to roles in the market, to manufacturers, importers and downstream users. This service runs that bundle: classification, labelling and packaging, the safety data sheet, the notification for emergency health response, and the supply restrictions. It is expressly not the hazardous substances organisation inside the plant; that is employee protection and has a page of its own.

Manufacturers and importers of substances and mixturesDownstream users who formulate mixtures and place them on the marketTraders in substances and mixtures listed in Anlage 2 of the Chemikalien-VerbotsverordnungProduct management and regulatory affairs in mid-sized firms with no chemicals departmentManagement, for whom § 27b ChemG is a criminal provision and not a fine

What CIVAC operates

Classification, labelling, packaging

Maintaining classification, labelling and packaging, for which § 4 Abs. 1 GefStoffV refers to Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1272/2008.
Reconciling your classification against the harmonised classification, in whose determination § 21a Abs. 1 Nr. 4 ChemG has the Bundesstelle für Chemikalien participate under Artikel 37 der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1272/2008.
Checking the label elements on the pack and in the accompanying documents against the maintained classification.
Updating when the formulation changes, when a raw material's classification changes and when the law changes, so the label follows the data sheet rather than the other way round.
Recording the classification decision with its reasoning and date, so it stays traceable for the supervisory authority.

Safety data sheets and the supply chain

Authoring and maintaining safety data sheets, whose requirements follow via § 5 Abs. 1 GefStoffV from Artikel 31 in Verbindung mit Anhang II der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1907/2006.
Handling the cases where, under § 5 Abs. 1 Satz 2 GefStoffV, no safety data sheet has to be supplied and the information duties instead follow Artikel 32 der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1907/2006.
Distribution and update logic towards customers, recorded by recipient, version and date.
Incoming checks on supplier data sheets for completeness and plausibility before they feed your own documents.
Translation versions for the markets you supply, with a note on which version applies where.

Notifications, supply and evidence

Preparing the notification for emergency health response to the Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung, which § 16e Abs. 1 ChemG designates as the body under Artikel 45 Absatz 1 in conjunction with Anhang VIII der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1272/2008.
Notification duties for mixtures under § 16d ChemG, carried as a date rather than a reminder on the deadline.
Reconciling the range against the prohibitions and restrictions in § 17 ChemG and against Anlage 2 of the Chemikalien-Verbotsverordnung.
Supply check notes: whether a substance falls under the licence requirement in § 6 Abs. 1 ChemVerbotsV and which requirements then apply.
Continuous documentation in the CIVAC workspace, exportable for the supervisory authority and for audit.

How it runs

1
Range and roles
We establish which substances and mixtures your house manufactures, imports or formulates, and in which role it acts. The role decides the duties: manufacturer, importer and downstream user owe different things. Where your house only resells without repacking or relabelling, the picture differs from own formulation, and that is recorded at the start rather than assumed later.
2
Classification and labelling
Classification is maintained per product and held against the labelling. § 4 Abs. 1 GefStoffV refers for this to Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1272/2008. Divergences between formulation, classification, label and data sheet are listed and prioritised. The decision on a classification is taken by your house; we prepare it with reasoning so it is documented and not merely taken.
3
Safety data sheets
Data sheets are written or reworked to meet the requirements that § 5 Abs. 1 GefStoffV routes to through Artikel 31 in Verbindung mit Anhang II der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1907/2006. Existing supplier sheets are checked on arrival. For each version we record who received it and when, because when something goes wrong the question about the delivered version comes before the question about its content.
4
Notifications and supply
The notification for emergency health response is prepared; § 16e Abs. 1 ChemG designates the Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung as the body under Artikel 45 Absatz 1 in conjunction with Anhang VIII der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1272/2008. Notifications for mixtures under § 16d ChemG run as monitored dates. The range is held against § 17 ChemG and Anlage 2 ChemVerbotsV. Supplying and notifying is done by your house.
5
Evidence and supervision
Documentation runs continuously in the workspace and is built for supervision under § 21 ChemG and the duties to provide information to the competent authority. You receive classification decisions, data sheet versions, notification records and check notes in exportable form, each with date, author and version.

The legal frame

The provisions below determine what is owed when substances and mixtures are placed on the market and what a breach costs. A provision appointing a Chemikalienbeauftragter is not among them, because none exists. The German wording is quoted; the EU regulations are named by article and not quoted, so that no superseded consolidated version stands here.

§ 4 Abs. 1 and § 5 Abs. 1 GefStoffV: Die Einstufung, Kennzeichnung und Verpackung von Stoffen und Gemischen sowie von Erzeugnissen mit Explosivstoff richten sich nach den Bestimmungen der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1272/2008. Die vom Lieferanten hinsichtlich des Sicherheitsdatenblatts beim Inverkehrbringen von Stoffen und Gemischen zu beachtenden Anforderungen ergeben sich aus Artikel 31 in Verbindung mit Anhang II der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1907/2006. Ist nach diesen Vorschriften die Übermittlung eines Sicherheitsdatenblatts nicht erforderlich, richten sich die Informationspflichten nach Artikel 32 der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1907/2006.
These are the two sentences through which German law routes into CLP and REACH. They are the reason the umbrella term Chemikalienrecht has no place on a page: classification and labelling sit in Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1272/2008, the safety data sheet in Artikel 31 der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1907/2006, and any claim should say which of the two it rests on. Note sentence 2 of § 5 Abs. 1 as well: where no data sheet is owed, the information duties do not disappear, they sit in Artikel 32.
§ 16e Abs. 1 ChemG: Das Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung nimmt als benannte Stelle nach Artikel 45 Absatz 1 der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1272/2008, auch in Verbindung mit Artikel 73 der Verordnung (EU) Nr. 528/2012, die Aufgaben nach Artikel 45 Absatz 1 in Verbindung mit Anhang VIII der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1272/2008 wahr.
This is the German connection point for poison centre notification. The duty itself follows from Artikel 45 in conjunction with Anhang VIII of Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1272/2008 and falls on whoever places hazardous mixtures on the market. The provision also names Artikel 73 der Verordnung (EU) Nr. 528/2012, so biocidal products take the same route. Classifying and labelling a mixture but forgetting the notification completes two thirds of the chain.
§ 27b Abs. 1 and Abs. 3 ChemG: Mit Freiheitsstrafe bis zu zwei Jahren oder mit Geldstrafe wird bestraft, wer gegen die Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1907/2006 des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates vom 18. Dezember 2006 zur Registrierung, Bewertung, Zulassung und Beschränkung chemischer Stoffe (REACH) [...] verstößt, indem er entgegen Artikel 5 einen Stoff als solchen, in einem Gemisch oder in einem Erzeugnis herstellt oder in Verkehr bringt. Mit Freiheitsstrafe bis zu fünf Jahren oder mit Geldstrafe wird bestraft, wer durch eine in Absatz 1 bezeichnete Handlung das Leben oder die Gesundheit eines anderen oder fremde Sachen von bedeutendem Wert gefährdet.
This is a criminal provision, not a fine, and the distinction is the most important one on this page. Manufacturing or placing on the market without the registration required by Artikel 5 der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1907/2006 risks imprisonment; under Absatz 2 the attempt is already punishable, and Absatz 3 raises the range to five years where life, health or property of significant value is endangered. That is why this service carries the registration position as a check point of its own rather than as one formality among many.
§ 26 Abs. 3 ChemG: Die Ordnungswidrigkeit kann in den Fällen des Absatzes 1 Nummer 4a, 4b, 4e und 7 Buchstabe b und des Absatzes 2 Nummer 2 Buchstabe d mit einer Geldbuße bis zu zweihunderttausend Euro, in den Fällen des Absatzes 1 Nummer 4, 4c, 4f, 4g, 5, 6, 7 Buchstabe a, Nummer 8 Buchstabe b und Nummer 10 und des Absatzes 2 Nummer 1 Buchstabe a, Nummer 2 Buchstabe a bis c und f und Nummer 3 Buchstabe c bis i mit einer Geldbuße bis zu fünfzigtausend Euro und in den übrigen Fällen mit einer Geldbuße bis zu zehntausend Euro geahndet werden.
Three tiers, and which one applies depends on the number breached, not on how serious it feels. Two hundred thousand euros is the ceiling and applies only to the numbers listed there. Quoting that figure as the sanction of German chemicals law quotes one tier out of three. On this page every statement says which number is meant, or carries no figure at all.

Wording retrieved on 22 September 2026 from gesetze-im-internet.de. The term Chemikalienbeauftragter does not appear in the Chemicals Act; § 19 Abs. 1 Nr. 4 Buchst. h and Nr. 7 ChemG are enabling provisions, not appointments. Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1907/2006 and Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1272/2008 are named by article and deliberately not quoted in full: their consolidated versions change continually, and a superseded version inside a quotation would be worse than a precise reference. The version in force at the time applies.

How the price is built

The price has four components, shown separately. Unlike employee protection, it does not depend on sites here but on products and formulations.

Range inventory and role clarification

One-off. Recording the substances and mixtures, establishing the role per product, reconciling formulation, classification, label and data sheet, and a prioritised list of divergences.

Retainer for running it

Ongoing. Maintaining classifications, updating data sheets, monitoring the dates for notifications under § 16d ChemG and the notification under § 16e ChemG, and reporting to your deciding body.

Per product

Authoring or reworking a safety data sheet and preparing the associated notification, each to signature-ready stage. Charged per product and language version.

Special cases

Optional. Substances requiring a licence under § 6 Abs. 1 ChemVerbotsV, biocidal products that take the same notification route via Artikel 73 der Verordnung (EU) Nr. 528/2012, and the check on the registration position under Artikel 5 der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1907/2006.

The number of substances and mixtures and how many of them are own formulations.
The role per product: manufacturer, importer or downstream user.
The number of language versions and target markets supplied.
The state of the existing data sheets and labels at the start.
Whether substances subject to the licence requirement in § 6 Abs. 1 ChemVerbotsV are involved.

You receive a fixed figure per component once range, roles and language versions are settled. The platform costs 49 € per officer role per month and is shown separately in the mandate.

Where the service ends

CIVAC is not a law firm and does not provide legal services within the meaning of the German Legal Services Act (Rechtsdienstleistungsgesetz). What this page describes is risk indication and organisational support; the legal assessment of an individual case belongs to your legal advisers.

There is no Chemikalienbeauftragter in the Chemicals Act and therefore no appointment duty we could discharge for you. What exists are duties of manufacturers, importers and downstream users, and they stay with your company.
The licence under § 6 Abs. 1 ChemVerbotsV cannot be outsourced. § 6 Abs. 3 ChemVerbotsV requires the undertaking to employ, in every Betriebsstätte where supply takes place, people who meet the requirements, and the competence under § 11 ChemVerbotsV attaches to those people. We prepare the application and the evidence; the people are employed by you.
§ 27b ChemG is a criminal provision. Where a matter reaches it we say so and do not carry it on as an administrative offence; defending criminal proceedings is a matter for your legal advisers and not for this service.
Registration under Artikel 5 der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1907/2006 and an authorisation application under Artikel 62 of that regulation are filed by your company. We supply the input and the check note on the registration position.
The decision on a classification is taken by your house. We prepare it with reasoning so that it is documented; we do not take it in your place.
Employee protection inside the plant, that is risk assessment, hazardous substances register, operating instructions and briefing under §§ 6, 7 and 14 GefStoffV, is a separate duty and the subject of the hazardous substances service, not this one.
Transport law under ADR, waste law under the KrWG and installation-related duties under the BImSchG remain separate duties and are not covered.

Common questions

Is there a duty to appoint a chemicals officer?: No. The Chemicals Act does not contain the role; the term does not appear in the text. What does exist are two enabling provisions: § 19 Abs. 1 Nr. 4 Buchst. h ChemG allows it to be prescribed by ordinance that a Projektleiter be appointed for certain manufacturing or use processes, and § 19 Abs. 1 Nr. 7 ChemG allows responsible supervisory personnel to be required for areas with particular hazards. Both are powers given to the body making the ordinance, not appointment duties for your company. The duties that actually matter attach not to a person but to a role in the market: manufacturer, importer, downstream user. This page carries the name anyway, because that is what people search for, and says in its first paragraph what the term is in law.
How does this differ from the hazardous substances officer?: In the direction the duty points. The hazardous substances side protects your employees inside the plant: risk assessment under § 6 GefStoffV, register under § 6 Abs. 12 GefStoffV, operating instructions and briefing under § 14 GefStoffV. This service protects the people who buy your products and concerns placing goods on the market: classification and labelling via § 4 Abs. 1 GefStoffV, the safety data sheet via § 5 Abs. 1 GefStoffV, notification via § 16e ChemG, supply restrictions via the Chemikalien-Verbotsverordnung. Different duty-holder, different norms, different sanction: there an administrative offence, here additionally the criminal provision in § 27b ChemG. Many businesses need both, and then the two mandates are demarcated against each other in writing at the start.
Can you author our safety data sheets?: Yes, and the requirements for them are not in German law itself. § 5 Abs. 1 Satz 1 GefStoffV states that the requirements a supplier must observe when placing substances and mixtures on the market follow from Artikel 31 in conjunction with Anhang II der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1907/2006. Sentence 2 covers the case where no data sheet is required: the information duties then follow Artikel 32 of that regulation, so they do not fall away. We write and maintain the sheets, check your suppliers' versions on arrival, and record which version went to whom and when. Release is by your house.
What is the notification to the Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung?: The poison centre notification for hazardous mixtures. § 16e Abs. 1 ChemG provides that the Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung, as the body designated under Artikel 45 Absatz 1 der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1272/2008, also in conjunction with Artikel 73 der Verordnung (EU) Nr. 528/2012, carries out the tasks under Artikel 45 Absatz 1 in conjunction with Anhang VIII of that regulation. The duty itself follows from Artikel 45 and Anhang VIII and falls on whoever places hazardous mixtures on the market. In practice this is the step most often forgotten, because it comes after classification and label, at a point where the product already looks finished.
Can you take on the licence under the Chemikalien-Verbotsverordnung?: No, and the reason is the wording. § 6 Abs. 1 ChemVerbotsV makes the supply of certain substances subject to licence. § 6 Abs. 3 ChemVerbotsV states that undertakings receive the licence if, in every Betriebsstätte where supply or provision takes place, they employ people who meet the requirements of Absatz 2, and every change of such a person must be notified to the authority in writing without delay. The competence under § 11 ChemVerbotsV attaches to those employed people. An external provider cannot fill that position; it can prepare the application, organise the evidence and carry the deadlines. That is an honest limit rather than reticence.
How high are the sanctions really?: They are two different things and are often mixed up. § 26 Abs. 3 ChemG has three fine tiers: up to two hundred thousand euros for the numbers listed there, up to fifty thousand euros for a second group and up to ten thousand euros in the remaining cases. Which tier applies depends on the number breached, not on how serious it feels. Alongside that stands § 27b ChemG, which is not a fine provision: anyone who, contrary to Artikel 5 der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1907/2006, manufactures or places on the market without the required registration is punished with imprisonment of up to two years or a fine; under Absatz 2 the attempt is punishable, and under Absatz 3 it is up to five years where life, health or property of significant value is thereby endangered.
What does the service cost at CIVAC?: The price has four components: the one-off range inventory with role clarification, an ongoing retainer for running it, a per-product figure for authoring or reworking a safety data sheet together with the associated notification, and the optional special cases. The figure depends on the number of substances and mixtures, on the role per product, on the number of language versions and target markets, and on the state of the existing data sheets and labels. Anyone comparing offers should ask two questions: is the notification under Artikel 45 in conjunction with Anhang VIII der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1272/2008 included in the per-product price or a separate item? And is updating on a changed raw material classification included? You receive a fixed figure per component. The platform costs 49 € per officer role per month and is shown separately.