By Deepa Shetty | Wed May 28 2025 | 2 min read

Table of Contents

What Are SVHCs?

SVHCs are chemicals that have serious effects on human health or the environment. They include substances that are:

  • Carcinogenic, Mutagenic, or Toxic to Reproduction (CMR)
  • Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic (PBT)
  • Very Persistent and Very Bioaccumulative (vPvB)
  • Or identified on a case-by-case basis for equivalent concern (e.g., endocrine disruptors)

SVHCs are listed on the REACH Candidate List, and if present above 0.1% w/w in articles, they must be:

  • Communicated to downstream users (Article 33 REACH)
  • Reported in the SCIP database (if applicable)

Why SVHC Screening Is a Non-Negotiable for REACH Compliance

Under the EU REACH regulation, businesses that manufacture, import, or supply articles in the European market must identify and disclose the presence of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs). Failure to comply can result in market bans, damaged reputation, and steep penalties.

SVHC screening is not just a regulatory checkbox—it's a proactive risk management practice. With over 240+ substances currently on the Candidate List (as of 2025), and updates every six months, staying ahead demands automation, precision, and scale.

Manufacturers need more than substance lists they need a structured REACH compliance management approach to track SVHC risks across products and suppliers.

The SVHC Screening Challenge: Data Gaps & Complexity

Non-EU manufacturers face three major pain points:

  1. Lack of product-level material disclosure from suppliers
  2. Manual tracking of ever-changing SVHC lists
  3. Inconsistent formats of supplier declarations (PDFs, spreadsheets, emails)

Manually verifying thousands of parts and substances across global supply chains is simply not scalable.

Enter SVHC Screening Tools: What They Do

Modern SVHC screening tools, like the ones offered by Regilient, help automate and standardize the process. Key features include:

  • Bill of Material (BoM) Analysis: Upload your BoMs to detect substances and materials flagged as SVHCs
  • Automated Matching: Map CAS numbers or material codes to the REACH Candidate List in real time
  • Regulatory Updates Feed: Get instant alerts when ECHA updates the SVHC list
  • Data Gap Detection: Identify missing supplier data and trigger follow-up actions
  • SCIP Integration: Seamless export of data for SCIP dossier generation

Benefits of Using SVHC Screening Software

  • Reduce risk of non-compliance fines or recall
  • Save time and resources through automation
  • Maintain always-audit-ready documentation
  • Gain visibility into high-risk suppliers or materials

Best Practices When Using SVHC Screening Tools

  1. Start with your BoM: Upload your product data to get a baseline screening
  2. Involve your suppliers early: Share requirements and formats for material declarations (e.g. IPC-1752A, IEC 62474)
  3. Set update alerts: Stay aligned with ECHA’s biannual SVHC list updates
  4. Build a compliance dashboard: Track supplier coverage, risk scores, and open gaps

Book a Strategy Call: Simplify Your SVHC Screening Today

Ready to automate SVHC screening across your supply chain? Book a Regilient demo to see how agentic REACH compliance intelligence eliminates manual tracking and keeps your product portfolio audit-ready through every Candidate List update.

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REACH SVHC Screening Tools: How to Streamline Substance Identification in Your Supply Chain

What are SVHC screening tools and what do they do for REACH compliance?
SVHC screening tools automate the identification of Substances of Very High Concern within a manufacturer's bill of materials. They work by mapping CAS numbers and material codes against the ECHA Candidate List in real time, detecting gaps in supplier data, and flagging components that contain SVHCs above the 0.1% w/w threshold that triggers REACH Article 33 communication and SCIP notification obligations. Without automation, screening thousands of parts across a global supply chain against a Candidate List that is updated every six months is not scalable.
When is SVHC disclosure mandatory under REACH?
REACH Article 33 requires any supplier of an article containing an SVHC above 0.1% w/w of the article to communicate this to the downstream user, providing the substance name and sufficient information for safe use. This obligation applies regardless of whether the article is assembled in the EU or imported into it. The 0.1% threshold is calculated at the article level, not the homogeneous material level. The obligation is triggered immediately when a new substance is added to the Candidate List if it is present above threshold in a product already on the market.
What is the REACH Candidate List and how often does it change?
The REACH Candidate List is the official ECHA list of Substances of Very High Concern identified for their serious effects on human health or the environment. It includes carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reprotoxic (CMR) substances, persistent bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) substances, very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB) substances, and substances of equivalent concern such as endocrine disruptors. As of early 2026, the list stands at 253 entries. ECHA updates it approximately twice per year, meaning manufacturers must reassess their entire product portfolio after each addition.
What SCIP notification obligations apply to articles containing SVHCs?
Under the EU Waste Framework Directive, any producer, importer, or assembler placing an article on the EU market that contains an SVHC above 0.1% w/w must submit a SCIP notification to ECHA before the article is placed on the market. The SCIP obligation exists independently of Article 33 communication. Both are triggered by the same 0.1% w/w threshold, but they serve different purposes: Article 33 informs the downstream supply chain, while SCIP provides regulators and waste operators with substance data at end of life. SVHC screening tools that integrate SCIP dossier export remove the need to prepare this data separately.
What supplier data formats work best for SVHC screening?
Standardised declaration formats significantly improve the accuracy and automation rate of SVHC screening. IPC-1752A is the most widely used format in electronics and electrical manufacturing, covering full material disclosure and substance-level data by homogeneous material. IEC 62474 serves a similar function for electrotechnical products. Both formats provide the CAS number, substance name, concentration, and homogeneous material context that SVHC screening tools need to perform accurate threshold calculations. Suppliers submitting data in PDF certificates or unstructured spreadsheets require manual extraction, which introduces errors and delays.
How does Regilient's SVHC screening software help manufacturers manage REACH compliance?
Regilient's agentic sustainability platform automates SVHC screening across a manufacturer's full bill of materials by cross-referencing CAS numbers against the REACH Candidate List in real time, detecting supplier data gaps and triggering structured follow-up, and flagging components that breach the 0.1% w/w Article 33 threshold. It integrates SCIP dossier generation directly from screening outputs, supports IPC-1752A and IEC 62474 declaration formats, and automatically re-screens the product portfolio whenever ECHA publishes a Candidate List update. The result is a continuously audit-ready compliance position rather than a point-in-time snapshot.
What data format is best for SVHC declarations?
Use standardized formats like IPC-1752A or IEC 62474 for supplier declarations. These formats ensure easier parsing, automation, and compatibility with screening platforms and SCIP dossiers.
How can automation help with SVHC screening?
Automation reduces manual errors, ensures always-audit-ready documentation, and enables real-time visibility into high-risk substances, missing supplier data, and regulatory changes.