Materials
REACH Annex XVII
The list of substance restrictions under the EU REACH regulation. Each entry can limit manufacture, use, or placing on the market of substances, mixtures, or articles.
In more detail
REACH (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006) is the European Union's main chemicals regulation. Annex XVII is the catalogue of restrictions — numbered entries that ban or limit specific substances in defined uses. Entry 77, added by Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1464, covers formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing substances in articles, with emission ceilings applicable after 6 August 2026 for most articles (and later for road-vehicle interiors).
A restriction entry is not a voluntary ecolabel and not a generic "safe materials" certificate. It is a legal condition for placing covered articles on the EU market. Exemptions in entry 77 include, among others, outdoor-only articles, certain construction products outside the building shell and vapour barrier, and second-hand articles.
Annex XVII does not replace every national indoor-air guideline or building-product approval scheme; it sets substance-specific market rules for the uses each entry names.
Why it matters
When furniture, panels, or finishes are sourced into or from the EU market, Annex XVII is one of the hard gates those products face. For formaldehyde, it turns an indoor-air concern into a compliance checkbox on the bill of materials — which is how materials policy reaches the rooms people live in.
The common misunderstanding
That REACH registration of a chemical is the same as an Annex XVII restriction. Registration is the dossier system for substances; Annex XVII is the separate list of legal limits and bans for specific uses.
Related terms
On Compound
Where this term does real work — and where the decisions get made.
Sources
Last reviewed August 2026 by Compound Editorial. Definitions are educational and not project-specific engineering or medical advice.