What Is the SCIP Database Under the Waste Framework Directive?

SCIP stands for Substances of Concern In articles as such or in complex objects (Products). It is the ECHA database established under the EU Waste Framework Directive for information on articles containing Candidate List SVHCs. ECHA states that companies supplying articles containing Candidate List SVHCs above 0.1% weight by weight on the EU market must submit information to ECHA, and this obligation has applied since 5January 2021.

The purpose of the SCIP Database is to make information about substances of concern available throughout the product lifecycle, including the waste stage. ECHA explains that this information can help waste operators sort and recycle articles containing Candidate List substances and support consumers in making informed choices.

In practical terms, SCIP compliance connects several areas of product compliance:

• REACH Article 33 communication
• Candidate List SVHC monitoring
• Supplier data collection
• Bill of materials and product structure management
• Article-level chemical compliance
• Waste and recycling information
• ECHA submission and data maintenance

Latest SCIP Database WFD Compliance Updates

1. SCIP Reporting Is Still a Legal Obligation

The current ECHA guidance still states that companies supplying articles containing Candidate List SVHCs above 0.1% w/w on the EU market must submit information to ECHA. The consolidated Waste Framework Directive remains in force, and the SCIP obligation is still part of the compliance landscape companies need to manage.

This means companies should not pause SCIP compliance activities unless and until the legal requirement is formally changed.

2. The EU Has Proposed Repealing the SCIP Database, But the Process Is Ongoing

One major recent development is the European Commission’s proposal to amend several environmental laws, including the Waste Framework Directive, as part of simplification and administrative burden reduction. The proposal includes repeal of the SCIP Database requirement.

However, this is still an ongoing ordinary legislative procedure, listed by EUR-Lex under procedure 2025/0394/COD. Until the repeal is adopted and legally applicable, companies should continue meeting existing SCIP obligations.

For compliance teams, the safest approach is to monitor the legislative process while maintaining accurate SVHC and product substance data. Even if SCIP changes in the future, this data will still be important for REACH Article 33, customer requests, Digital Product Passport readiness, restricted substance compliance, and broader product sustainability obligations.

3. Candidate List Updates Still Matter

SCIP reporting is directly linked to the REACH Candidate List. When new SVHCs are added, companies must check whether any article they place on the EU market contains the newly listed substance above 0.1% w/w.

On 4 February 2026, ECHA announced that the Candidate List contained 253 entries after adding two hazardous chemicals. This means companies need a repeatable process for checking materials, components, supplier declarations, and existing SCIP records whenever the Candidate List changes.

4. SCIP Format and IUCLID Updates Must Be Managed

Companies preparing SCIP notifications must use ECHA-compatible formats and tools. ECHA’s SCIP format page lists SCIP format version 6.10, April 2026, with earlier versions including SCIP format version 6.0 from May 2025.

This matters because SCIP compliance is not only a regulatory task. It is also a data-format and system-readiness task. If a company manages SCIP manually or uses outdated templates, it may face validation errors, inconsistent submissions, duplicate work, or delays.

Who Needs to Comply With SCIP Database Requirements?

SCIP obligations are especially relevant for companies that place articles on the EU market. This can include:

• EU article manufacturers
• EU importers
• Assemblers of complex objects
• Distributors and other EU supply chain actors
• Companies selling products, components, spare parts, or assemblies into the EU market

ECHA identifies the obligation for companies supplying articles containing Candidate List SVHCs above 0.1% w/w on the EU market.

Non-EU manufacturers may not always submit directly to ECHA, but they are often asked by EU importers, customers, or distributors to provide the underlying material and substance data needed for SCIP compliance. This is why SCIP compliance is not only a European legal issue. It is a global supply chain data issue.

When Is a SCIP Notification Required?

A SCIP notification is generally required when:

1- An article is placed on the EU market.

2- The article contains a Candidate List SVHC.

3- The SVHC is present above 0.1% weight by weight.

4- The company is an in-scope supplier under the Waste Framework Directive.

The 0.1% threshold is especially important for complex products. Companies should not simply average the SVHC concentration across an entire finished product. They need to assess the article or component where the substance is present.

For example, a finished electronic device, machine, vehicle part, furniture item, or industrial product may contain many component articles. If one component article contains a Candidate List SVHC above 0.1% w/w, SCIP reporting may be triggered for that article within the complex object.

What Information Is Needed for a SCIP Submission?

A SCIP notification requires structured product, article, substance, and safe-use information. ECHA provides support materials and tools to help companies prepare information on articles containing Candidate List substances above 0.1% w/w.

A practical SCIP-ready dataset should include:

Article Identification Information

This may include the article name, primary article identifier, part number, model number, catalogue number, EAN, GTIN, brand, or other identifiers used to recognise the article.

Product Structure and Complex Object Data

For complex products, companies need to show where the SVHC-containing article is located inside the final object. This is where many manual processes fail, because the data must connect the substance to the correct article, component, assembly, or sub-assembly.

Candidate List Substance Information

Companies need to identify the relevant SVHC and connect it to the article where it is present. ECHA publishes a Candidate List reference substances package to support SCIP notifiers using IUCLID reference substance entities.

Concentration Range and Material Information

The submission should include the concentration range of the SVHC and relevant material or mixture information where required.

Safe Use and Waste-Stage Information

SCIP is connected to the waste stage, so safe-use and disposal-related information may be needed to help downstream actors, waste operators, and recyclers handle articles appropriately.

Why Manual SCIP Compliance Becomes Difficult Fast

For one product with a few components, SCIP compliance may look manageable. But for companies with hundreds or thousands of parts, multiple suppliers, changing bills of materials, and regular Candidate List updates, manual tracking quickly becomes risky.

Common manual SCIP compliance problems include:

• Supplier declarations arrive in different formats.
• Some suppliers provide incomplete SVHC data.
• Part numbers and article identifiers are inconsistent.
• Product structures do not clearly show where the SVHC is located.
• Candidate List updates are not checked against existing products.
• SCIP submissions are prepared separately from supplier evidence.
• Teams rely on spreadsheets that are difficult to audit.
• Data becomes outdated when suppliers, materials, or components change.
• Compliance teams cannot easily prove why a product was considered in scope or out of scope.

This is where a potential client should ask a practical question: Can our company manage SCIP compliance reliably with spreadsheets, emails, and manual supplier follow-ups?

For many manufacturers, importers, and distributors, the answer is no. A manual approach may work temporarily, but it becomes inefficient and risky as product complexity, supplier count, and regulatory change increase.

SCIP Database Compliance Checklist for Companies

Use this checklist to evaluate whether your SCIP process is ready.

Should Companies Wait Because SCIP May Be Repealed?

No. Companies should monitor the repeal proposal, but they should not ignore current SCIP obligations.

The European Commission has proposed repealing the SCIP Database requirement, but the legislative procedure is still ongoing. Until there is a formally adopted legal change, companies should continue managing SCIP compliance.

More importantly, the underlying product substance data will remain valuable even if SCIP reporting changes. Companies will still need reliable material and SVHC data for REACH Article 33 communication, customer compliance requests, restricted substance requirements, sustainability reporting, Digital Product Passport readiness, and internal product risk management.

The companies that build strong product compliance data now will be better prepared for future regulatory changes.

Why SCIP Compliance Software Is Better Than Manual Tracking

SCIP compliance software helps companies move from scattered spreadsheets and supplier emails to a structured compliance workflow. This is especially important when companies manage complex products, many suppliers, and frequent regulatory updates.

A good SCIP compliance software process should help companies:

• Collect supplier declarations in a consistent way
• Link substances to parts, materials, suppliers, and products
• Identify in-scope articles and complex objects
• Track Candidate List SVHC updates
• Prepare complete SCIP-ready information
• Maintain evidence and documentation
• Reduce duplicate work across teams
• Support ongoing change management
• Improve audit readiness
• Reduce the risk of incomplete or outdated submissions

This is the point where a potential client moves from asking “What is SCIP?” to asking “How can we manage this efficiently and prove compliance?”

How ComplyMarket Helps With SCIP Database WFD Compliance

ComplyMarket helps companies manage SCIP compliance as part of a broader product compliance and material compliance workflow.

ComplyMarket’s SCIP Compliance & Submission Software is positioned to support SCIP S2S submissions and IPC 1752B and IPC 1752C compliance. Its SCIP software page states that SCIP compliance has been a legal obligation under the EU Waste Framework Directive since 5 January 2021 and presents the software as a route for managing SCIP submission r

ComplyMarket also describes its SCIP Database WFD compliance service as a way to turn SCIP into a controlled, scalable process by combining material compliance management, product structure governance, and submission-ready reporting in one platform.

This matters because SCIP compliance is not just about submitting data to ECHA. It is about building a reliable workflow before submission happens.

Why Potential Clients Choose a Platform Like ComplyMarket

Companies often start looking for SCIP compliance software because they face one or more of these situations:

• They have too many suppliers to manage manually.
• Customers are asking for REACH, SCIP, or SVHC evidence.
• Product data is spread across procurement, engineering, quality, and compliance teams.
• Supplier declarations are incomplete or inconsistent.
• The company cannot easily identify which components contain SVHCs.
• SCIP submission preparation takes too much time.
• The compliance team is worried about Candidate List updates.
• The company wants to prepare for future digital product compliance requirements.

ComplyMarket addresses these problems by helping companies centralise product compliance data, supplier information, material declarations, and SCIP-related workflows. Instead of treating SCIP as an isolated reporting task, companies can manage it as part of a broader compliance management system.

That is especially valuable for manufacturers, importers, distributors, and complex product companies that need to manage compliance across large product portfolios.

ComplyMarket Helps You Move From Reactive to Proactive Compliance

A reactive SCIP process usually looks like this:

A customer asks for SVHC information. The compliance team searches old emails. Procurement contacts suppliers again. Engineering checks the BOM. Someone updates a spreadsheet. Another person prepares a submission. Evidence is stored in different folders. The process repeats every time a substance list, supplier, or product changes.

A proactive SCIP process looks different:

Supplier declarations are collected systematically. Product structures are mapped. Substance data is linked to parts and materials. Candidate List updates trigger reviews. SCIP-ready data is prepared from a controlled system. Evidence is available when customers or auditors ask for it.

ComplyMarket helps companies move toward this proactive model by supporting structured material compliance, supplier compliance, and SCIP submission workflows.