Citation, commencement, extent and application

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the REACH (Amendment) Regulations 2026 and come into force on 1st April 2026.

(2) These Regulations extend to the United Kingdom and apply in relation to England, Wales and Scotland.

Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006

2.—(1) Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) is amended as follows.

(2) In Annex 17 (restrictions on the manufacture, placing on the market and use of certain dangerous substances, mixtures and articles), after paragraph 1, in the table, in entry 63 (lead and its compounds), at the end of the second column insert—

“11. Must not be used at an outdoor shooting range after 1 April 2028 in a concentration equal to or greater than 3% by weight in projectiles other than shot (“other projectiles”).

12. In cases other than those falling within paragraph 11, must not be used or placed on the market after 1 April 2029—

(a)in a concentration equal to or greater than 1% by weight in shot;

(b)in a concentration equal to or greater than 3% by weight in other projectiles.

13. Paragraph 11 does not apply to other projectiles used at an outdoor shooting range where—

(a)action has been taken at the outdoor shooting range to reduce the risks so far as is reasonably practicable to ruminants and grazing wildlife, soil and water arising from this use;

(b)documentation is maintained at the outdoor shooting range regarding the action in subparagraph (a), making this available to the relevant enforcing authority upon request;

(c)a submission has been made to the relevant enforcing authority in respect of the outdoor shooting range at least once in the previous three years setting out the following information—

(i)the name, address, and Ordnance Survey grid reference of the outdoor shooting range;

(ii)the name and contact details of the person responsible for safety at the outdoor shooting range; and

(iii)a declaration confirming that action has been taken in accordance with subparagraph (a); and

(d)upon any change to information submitted under subparagraph (c), a further submission has been made to the relevant enforcing authority on behalf of the outdoor shooting range with the updated information.

14. The relevant enforcing authority must establish, publish and maintain a list of sites who have submitted the information in paragraph 13(c) or (d).

15. Paragraphs 11 and 12(b) do not apply to other projectiles which are used in, or placed on the market for use in, an air weapon as defined in section 57(4) of the Firearms Act 1968(3).

16. Paragraph 12(a) does not apply to lead shot used by, or placed on the market for use by, elite athletes.

17. An elite athlete is a person who holds a current notification under paragraph 18 and who—

(a)has been selected by a National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee to compete at a future Olympic or Paralympic Games in an Olympic or Paralympic discipline which uses lead shot; or

(b)in a case where the selection process has not yet taken place for the relevant Olympic or Paralympic Games—

(i)is training and has made adequate financial provision to be able to compete; and

(ii)has achieved gold, silver or bronze medal success at an Olympic or Paralympic discipline which uses lead shot, at a national or international competition.

18. A person intending to use lead shot in accordance with paragraph 16 must notify the Agency, or make arrangements for the Agency to be notified on their behalf, every 12 months beginning with the day of notification with the following information—

(a)the person’s full name, address, certificate number and certificate issuing body;

(b)evidence that they satisfy the requirements of paragraph 17(a) or (b); and

(c)the number of cartridges containing lead shot they expect to use for the period of 12 months from the date of notification to the Agency.

19. An elite athlete must notify the Agency, or make arrangements for the Agency to be notified on their behalf, as soon as possible if any of the information notified under paragraph 18 changes within 12 months of the previous notification.

20. The Agency must issue an acknowledgement of receipt of the information notified under paragraphs 18 or 19, which specifies the date on which the notification ceases to have effect.

21. The Agency must establish and maintain a record of the information in notifications made in accordance with paragraphs 18 or 19.

22. Where lead shot is placed on the market for an elite athlete, for each supply, the supplier must—

(a)keep a record of the full name, address, certificate number and certificate issuing body of the person to whom supply is made;

(b)keep a record of the number of cartridges containing lead shot supplied; and

(c)every 12 months, or on a change of any of the information, whichever happens sooner, provide the information in paragraphs 22(a) and 22(b) to the Agency, per person to whom supply is made.

23. Paragraph 12(b) does not apply to other projectiles which are—

(a)a calibre of less than 6.17 millimetres and used in, or placed on the market for use in, live quarry shooting, including related zeroing;

(b)used in, or placed on the market for use in, indoor target shooting; or

(c)placed on the market for use at an outdoor shooting range.

24. After 1 April 2029, and without prejudice to the application of other legislation relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of substances and mixtures, suppliers must ensure before placing on the market other projectiles containing lead and its compounds in a concentration equal to or greater than 3% by weight that are a calibre of more than or equal to 6.17 millimetres that the packaging is labelled “Must not be used for live quarry shooting” and the label must be—

(a)indelible;

(b)visible on the packaging at the point of sale, and on the product page for online sales; and

(c)visibly distinct from the rest of the information included on the packaging.

25. Paragraphs 11 to 24 do not apply to projectiles used by, or placed on the market for use by, persons whose certificate conditions specify that the projectiles are not to be fired.

26. Paragraphs 11 to 24 do not apply to the following—

(a)police purposes;

(b)government security service purposes;

(c)Border Force purposes;

(d)military purposes;

(e)private maritime security company purposes;

(f)technical testing, proofing and development of firearms, ammunition and other products by their manufacturers or contracted test houses for those manufacturers;

(g)forensic analysis;

(h)historical and other technical research by academic institutions;

(i)museum collections that are licensed under the Schedule to the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988(4).

27. For the purposes of paragraphs 11 to 26 and this paragraph—

“calibre” means the measurement of the interior (also known as “the bore”) of a firearm’s barrel and the diameter of projectile used;

“certificate” has the same meaning as in section 57(4) of the Firearms Act 1968;

“elite athlete” has the meaning given in paragraph 17;

“enforcing authority” has the same meaning as in regulation 2(2) of the REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008(5);

“firearm” has the same meaning as in section 57(1) of the Firearms Act 1968(6);

“indoor target shooting” means target shooting that is fully contained inside a building or permanent structure (but not a temporary structure), in an area that is enclosed by a roof, floor and walls so that there are no emissions beyond that building or structure;

“lead shot” means shot containing lead and its compounds in a concentration equal to or greater than 1% by weight;

“live quarry shooting” means shooting at a living animal target with a firearm;

“National Olympic Committee” means a committee recognised as such by the International Olympic Committee;

“National Paralympic Committee” means a committee recognised as such by the International Paralympic Committee;

“other projectiles” has the meaning given in paragraph 11;

“outdoor shooting range” means a permanent site where target shooting that is not indoor target shooting occurs;

“private maritime security company” means a company providing security services at sea;

“projectile” means an object intended to be expelled from a firearm, irrespective of the means of propulsion;

“shot” means a projectile in the form of pellets;

“target shooting” means shooting at any non-living target with a firearm;

“zeroing” means the process by which a firearm’s sights are aligned such that at a given distance the point of aim and the point of the projectile’s impact are the same.”.