What is a safety data sheet (SDS)?

Safety data sheet: a working definition

A safety data sheet (SDS) is a document that describes the hazards of a chemical substance or mixture and how to handle, store, transport, and dispose of it safely. It is written by the supplier — the manufacturer, importer, or distributor — and is aimed mainly at professional users: employers, workers, safety officers, emergency responders, and downstream businesses that use the chemical.

The format comes from the UN Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), which both the EU and the US build on. In the EU, the rules sit in Article 31 and Annex II of the REACH Regulation; in the US, in OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200. Many people still say MSDS (material safety data sheet), the older name; the current documents are called SDSs and use the 16-section format.

An SDS is not a marketing or performance document. It will not tell you how well a product works; it tells you what can go wrong and what to do about it.

Who must provide an SDS

In the EU, Article 31(1) of REACH requires a supplier to provide an SDS for substances and mixtures classified as hazardous under the CLP Regulation, for PBT and vPvB substances, and for substances on the Candidate List of substances of very high concern. Under Article 31(3), an SDS must also be provided on request for some mixtures that are not classified but contain hazardous substances above set limits — generally 1 % by weight (0.2 % by volume for gases), 0.1 % for certain CMR, sensitising, PBT, or SVHC substances — or substances with EU workplace exposure limits.

The EU SDS must be in an official language of the Member State where the product is placed on the market, unless that country provides otherwise (Article 31(5)), and must be dated. It is provided free of charge, on paper or electronically, no later than the first delivery (Article 31(8)).

Products sold to the general public are a special case. Article 31(4) says an SDS need not be supplied with a hazardous product offered to the public if sufficient information is provided to let users take the necessary measures — unless a downstream user or distributor asks for one. So a consumer may not get an SDS, but your business, as a distributor, can request it.

In the US, the Hazard Communication Standard places SDS duties on chemical manufacturers, importers, and distributors, and on employers whose workers use hazardous chemicals. The SDS must be in English (other language versions may be added) and must use the 16 headings in order (paragraph (g)(2)), with minimum content set by the mandatory Appendix D.

The 16 sections of an SDS

REACH Article 31(6) and OSHA paragraph (g)(2) use the same 16 headings in the same order. The table lists each section, what it contains, and why it matters to ecommerce and catalog teams. OSHA does not enforce sections 12 to 15 because they fall outside its jurisdiction, but they must still be included for consistency with the GHS.

SDS vs technical data sheet vs product data sheet

Suppliers often send three documents with similar names. Only one is a legal hazard-communication document. A technical data sheet (TDS) and a product data sheet are voluntary commercial documents: no EU or US regulation fixes their format, and neither can replace an SDS. Our guide to product data sheets covers that document in depth.

EU vs US safety data sheet rules

The section headings match, but the legal frameworks differ in scope, language, and update rules. If you sell the same chemical product in both markets, expect two SDS versions rather than one.

CLP: hazard information in online sales and advertising

The revision of the CLP Regulation by Regulation (EU) 2024/2865 directly affects online sellers. New Article 48a requires distance-sales offers — including online shops and marketplaces — to show the label elements of Article 17 clearly and visibly. New Article 48 requires advertisements for hazardous substances and mixtures to show the pictograms, signal word, hazard statements, and EUH statements; advertising aimed at the general public must also include the statement “Always follow the information on the product label.” Pictograms and signal words may be left out of non-visual advertising.

Regulation (EU) 2025/2439 moved the application dates. The advertising and distance-sales provisions, originally due on 1 July 2026, now apply from 1 January 2028, together with the new formatting rules and the deadlines for label updates. Suppliers may apply these provisions voluntarily before then. A further simplification proposal for CLP is pending, so check the current text before you finalize templates.

OSHA HCS 2024 update: compliance dates

OSHA published an updated Hazard Communication Standard in the Federal Register on 20 May 2024 (89 FR 44144), effective 19 July 2024, to align the standard more closely with the UN GHS. In January 2026 OSHA extended the compliance dates (91 FR 1695); the extended dates are now in paragraph (j). During the transition, either the previous or the updated standard may be followed.

How to read an SDS for product listings

For a listing, you need only a handful of sections, and you should take values from them rather than paraphrasing. Work through the SDS in this order:

1. Check section 1 first: product name, product code, supplier, and (in the EU) the UFI must match the product you sell. A different formulation or supplier means a different SDS.
2. Check the revision date in section 16 (or the header) and confirm it is the current version from the supplier.
3. Copy the label elements from section 2 exactly: pictograms, signal word, hazard statements, precautionary statements, and any EUH statements. These are the elements CLP requires in online offers from 1 January 2028.
4. Take physical attributes from section 9 — physical state, colour, odour, pH, flash point — for the specification table where they help buyers.
5. Take storage and handling instructions from section 7, and any age or use restrictions stated on the label.
6. Pass section 14 to your logistics team: the UN number, proper shipping name, transport hazard class, and packing group decide whether carriers accept the product and how it must be packed.
7. Note section 15 for regional restrictions that may limit where or to whom you can sell the product.
8. Record which SDS version each listing was built from, so you can update the listing when a revised SDS arrives.

Keeping safety data sheets current

An SDS is a living document. Under REACH Article 31(9), suppliers must update it without delay when new hazard or risk-management information becomes available or when an authorisation or restriction decision is made, mark it “Revision: (date)”, and send it to everyone they supplied in the previous 12 months. Your records should be able to absorb those updates.

• Keep every version, not just the latest: store the revision date and version number with each file.
• Link each product record and listing to the SDS version it was built from.
• Hold one SDS per market language and per formulation; a translated SDS is a separate document to track.
• Treat a new revision as a trigger to recheck section 2 label elements and section 14 transport data on live listings.
• Ask suppliers to send revisions automatically rather than relying on you to download them.
• Review SDS files older than your normal review cycle and ask the supplier to confirm they are current.

Using SDS data in listings without misrepresenting hazards

Hazard information is one place where creative copywriting causes real harm. A few rules keep listings accurate:

• Use the exact hazard and precautionary statements from the SDS and label; do not shorten, soften, or reword them.
• Show all pictograms and the signal word that apply to the product, not a selection.
• Avoid claims such as “non-toxic”, “harmless”, or “safe” that contradict or play down the classification.
• Do not reuse another product’s SDS, even from the same range, unless the supplier confirms it covers your product.
• Match the language of the hazard information to the market where the listing is shown.
• Make the SDS available to business customers who ask for it, and keep the supplier’s version unaltered.
• Leave classification to the supplier; if the SDS and label disagree, ask the supplier which is correct before publishing.

Working with SDSs at catalog scale

When a chemicals range runs to hundreds of SDS PDFs, the hard part is extracting the right fields consistently and checking them. Doc2Shelf can read SDS PDFs alongside other supplier documents, extract identifiers, hazard information, and physical properties into structured fields, give each extraction a confidence score and a completeness score, and flag missing information for a person to review before anything is published. It does not classify substances or assess compliance; the supplier’s SDS remains the reference.