TSCA Chemical Import Certification

The importer or an authorized agent files the certification with Customs and Border Protection. EPA describes electronic filing through the Automated Commercial Environment and paper alternatives where applicable. Certification also applies to relevant shipments sent by mail or commercial carrier, including research materials. The entry record needs a responsible certifier and contact details, supported by reliable chemical identification and a defined intended use.

A positive certification states that covered chemicals comply with applicable TSCA rules and orders. A negative certification concerns chemicals outside TSCA when they are not otherwise clearly identified as excluded. Neither statement should be selected solely because a supplier says a material is nonhazardous. TSCA jurisdiction and compliance are separate questions from transport hazard classification or the presence of a safety data sheet.

Relevant checks include Inventory or new chemical status, significant new use requirements and applicable section 5 or section 6 restrictions. The commercial description must correspond to the actual constituents being imported, including substances in mixtures. Where confidential identity prevents a reliable determination, the importer should resolve the information gap through the supplier and established EPA procedures before relying on a blanket compliance declaration.

Articles are generally treated differently from bulk substances and mixtures under the import policy, but a general article assumption is insufficient. Certain rules expressly reach imported articles. EPA identifies composite wood panels, components and finished goods covered by TSCA Title VI as subject to import certification. A furniture shipment and a drum of resin can therefore require different supporting analyses even when the same business imports both.

The customs broker can transmit the certification, while the importer remains responsible for establishing an adequate basis for it. Product codes and tariff classifications help route entries but do not establish chemical compliance. Provide the broker with controlled instructions for covered product families, approved certification language and a process for escalating changed formulations, new suppliers or shipments whose composition cannot be reconciled with the approved import file.

Maintain a traceable connection between the entry, supplier documentation, chemical assessment and certification decision. Review that connection when an ingredient or use changes, or when EPA issues a restriction affecting the substance. Section 4 and section 8 obligations may still apply independently even though EPA explains that they are not the basis for section 13 shipment certification. Import release is therefore one compliance checkpoint within a broader chemical management system.