On January 5, 2026, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) launched a unified submission platform for the "Positive List for Materials in Contact with Drinking Water." Enterprises can now log into the ECHA Industry Portal to submit information on substances they intend to retain, add, or remove with a single click. All notices must be prepared in IUCLID format as required by the Drinking Water Directive.
Background
The EU Drinking Water Directive aims to protect humans and the environment from the harmful effects of contaminated drinking water. The directive stipulates that starting materials, preparations, or components used in production materials that come into contact with drinking water—throughout the entire process from the water source to the point of use—must be included in one of the four EU Positive Lists. Enterprises seeking to add, update, or remove substances from these lists must first submit a Notice of Intent to ECHA, followed by a formal application within 12 months.
EU Positive Lists (DWD)
The EU Positive Lists specify the substances, compositions, and ingredients permitted for use in various materials (including organic materials, cement-based materials, metallic materials, enamel, ceramics, or other inorganic materials) that come into contact with drinking water intended for human consumption. These lists also define the conditions of use and migration limits for the substances, compositions, and ingredients, where applicable.
- Annex I: EU Positive List for starting materials in organic materials;
- Annex II: EU Positive List for compositions in metallic materials;
- Annex III: EU Positive List for organic components in cement-based materials;
- Annex IV: EU Positive List for compositions in enamel, ceramics, and other inorganic materials.
The complete lists can be found at:
https://chem.echa.europa.eu/obligation-lists/euPositiveList
To assist applicants in preparing their submissions, ECHA has concurrently released the following resources:
- A manual titled How to Prepare a Notice of Intent Under the Drinking Water Directive;
- A dedicated guidance document, Guidance on the Drinking Water Directive, Volume 4: Notice of Intent;
- Video tutorials on generating IUCLID files for Notice of Intent submissions.
After submitting the Notice of Intent, applicants have 12 months to prepare their formal applications. Starting in January 2027, applicants may begin submitting materials to amend the EU Positive Lists.
Further Information
