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Amendments to the Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Concentration Limits for Automotive Refinishing Regulations - Consultation Document

Table of contents

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to inform stakeholders of potential amendments to the Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Concentration Limits for Automotive Refinishing Products Regulations (the Regulations) and to invite comments on the proposals.

This document also shares the results of an internal review of the Regulations conducted by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), and provides an opportunity to provide feedback on how the Regulations could better support innovation, reduce administrative burden, and encourage the development and use of new technologies or best practices.

The publication of a consultation document aligns with the Government of Canada’s Red Tape Reduction initiative by promoting early and transparent engagement with stakeholders. By seeking input at the outset of the regulatory process, the consultation document helps identify potential administrative or compliance burdens, allows for consideration of less burdensome alternatives, and supports the design of efficient, flexible risk management approaches. This proactive engagement helps to ensure that proposed regulations are informed, streamlined, and tailored to achieve environmental and health objectives while minimizing unnecessary regulatory burden on businesses and Canadians.

Background

The Regulations were published in 2009 as part of Canada’s commitment to reduce VOCs from consumer and commercial products. The Regulations also contribute to Canada’s international obligations to reduce VOC emissions under the Ozone Annex to the Canada-US Air Quality Agreement and under the Gothenburg Protocol.

Since the Regulations were put in place, emissions from automotive refinishing (AR) products were reduced by about 40%. This is roughly consistent with the overall decline in anthropogenic emissions of key air pollutants, some of which have reduced by more than half since the mid-1990s. However, 2018 data show that emissions of VOCs have started rising slightly. Despite improvements in air quality over the past 2 decades, the burden of air pollution on the health of Canadians and the environment remains substantial. In Health Canada’s latest air pollution health burden assessment, it is estimated that exposure to air pollution from industry, transportation and other human activities, as well as natural events, results in 17,400 premature deaths annually in Canada. Both fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3), for which VOCs are precursors, affect health at all concentration levels, even in areas of the country with very good air quality. Therefore, Canada is determined to continue its efforts to control VOC emissions.

It has been 15 years since the Regulations were put in place. Since then, new technologies have improved the performance of coatings while reducing their VOC content. In 2021, ECCC initiated a review of the Regulations (the stock review), in accordance with section 7 of the Cabinet Directive on Regulation, to ensure they remain effective and efficient. The review identified areas for improvement, including:

More details on the review findings, and the proposals to address them, are outlined below.

In 2022, ECCC published the renewal of the Federal Agenda on the Reduction of Emissions of Volatile Organic Compound from Consumer and Commercial Products, which stated the Government’s intent to amend the Regulations. The amendments would address issues identified in the review and would align with the requirements set in the Ozone Transport Commission Model Rule 2011 - Motor Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Non-Assembly Line Coating Operations Phase II (OTC Model Rule 2011).

In 2023, to assist the development of the regulatory amendments, ECCC commissioned a study on the AR sector in Canada. The study, which included a survey targeting Canadian manufacturers and importers of AR products, gathered VOC content data from the categories of AR products whose VOC limits would be amended and analyzed potential VOC reductions and associated costs.

Review findings and proposed solutions

This section summarizes the regulatory review findings and recommends areas for improvement The headings below are the same as those found in the Regulations.

Section 1 Interpretation

The purpose of the Interpretation section is to define terms used in the Regulations.

Automotive refinishing

The current definition for “automotive refinishing” is as follows: “any activity relating to the servicing, maintenance, repair, restoration or modification of motor vehicles or mobile equipment, or their parts, involving the application of a coating or surface cleaner.”

The scope of this definition may go beyond the scope of “automotive refinishing”, as it could also capture other activities included in regular automobile maintenance, such as the application of cleaners during servicing and maintenance.

ECCC is proposing to amend the definition to better reflect the intended regulatory scope. The modified definition could be based, for example, on the one included in the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) guidelines entitled National Standards for the VOC Content of Canadian Commercial/Industrial Surface Coating Products – Automotive Refinishing (PN 1288): “The application of coatings to motor vehicles or their parts that is subsequent to the original coating applied at an original equipment manufacturing plant.” It will, however, be necessary to ensure that the definition also covers certain cleaning products used in the context of automotive refinishing activities.

Coating

The Regulations currently define a “coating” as follows: “coating means a product that forms a film when applied to a surface for protective or any other automotive refinishing purpose. It excludes products used in carrying out metal plating and lacquer topcoats and any oil-based enamel paints used for the restoration of motor vehicles of mobile equipment made on or before 1985 and their parts.”

The current definition appears too broad, as it also could catch surface protective products, such as car wax, which is not the intent of the AR Regulations. It is proposed that this definition be amended to focus on products for automotive refinishing purposes only. The amended definition could be based, for example, on the one in the OTC Model Rule 2011:

“A material applied to a substrate for decorative, protective, or functional purposes. The term does not include the following materials:

  1. decorative, protective, or functional materials that consist only of protective oils for metal, acids, bases, or a combination of these substances.
  2. paper film or plastic film that may be pre-coated with an adhesive by the film manufacturer.
  3. adhesives, sealants, maskants, or caulking materials.
  4. temporary protective coatings, lubricants, or surface preparation materials.
  5. in-mold coatings that are spray applied in the manufacture of reinforced plastic composite parts."

Excluded compounds

The Regulations define “excluded compounds” as follows: “compounds that are excluded under item 65 of Schedule 1 to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 as well as acetic acid, 1,1–dimethylethyl ester (C6H1202).”

When the Regulations were published in 2009, acetic acid, 1,1–dimethylethyl ester (C6H1202), also known as t-butyl acetate, was not included in the list of excluded VOCs within Schedule 1 to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) but was excluded for the purpose of the Regulations using the above definition. Since this substance has now been added to the CEPA VOC exclusion list, it is no longer necessary to specify the exclusion of this substance within the Regulations.

Also, Schedule 1 to CEPA was restructured in 2023 and the VOC exclusion list is now located under item 60, Part 2 of the Schedule. Amendments are required to reflect these changes.

Surface cleaner

The Regulations currently define a “surface cleaner” as: “surface cleaner means a product used to prepare the surface of motor vehicles or mobile equipment by removing unwanted matter from the surface before applying a coating. It excludes products used for cleaning automotive refinishing equipment and hand-held spray bottle spot cleaners used to prepare surfaces prior to sanding.”

Since the Department intends to align with the OTC Model Rule 2011, 2 types of cleaners are being included in the amendment process: Solvent Cleaner as well as Plastic Part Cleaner and Wax and Grease Remover. Bug and tar remover are already regulated under the Volatile Organic Compound Concentration Limits for Certain Products Regulations. It is being proposed to replace the current Surface Cleaner category and add requirements for Cleaning Solvent as well as Plastic Cleaner and Wax and Grease Remover.

Formulated to be applied

In the Schedule, the term “formulated to be applied” is used to define product categories. It is proposed to replace it with “designed for” and the definition for “designed” be added in section 1, Interpretation to clarify this term. It could be similar, for example, to the definition used in the Volatile Organic Compound Concentration Limits for Certain Products Regulations “For the purposes of these Regulations, any reference to a product that is designed for a particular purpose includes a product that, according to information on its container or included in any documentation relating to the product that is supplied by the product’s manufacturer, importer, seller or their authorized representative, may be used for that purpose.”

Section 5 (Permit) Conditions of Issuance

Subsection 5(3) states that “A permit expires 24 months after the day on which it is issued unless, within the period of 30 days before the day on which the permit expires, the applicant submits an application for renewal in accordance with section 4.”

It is proposed to extend the 30-day period to 90 days to provide the Department with sufficient time to collect information for a thorough review of the renewal application before the existing permit expires.

Subsection 5(3) also states that “The validity of the first permit may only be extended once for an additional 24 months for a given product and the same use.” It is proposed to make clear that the maximum period for a product being sold when its VOC content exceeds the VOC limit is 48 months through a permit.

Section 9 Accredited Laboratory

Section 9 on accredited laboratory stipulates that “Any laboratory that performs an analysis for the purposes of these Regulations must be accredited under the International Organization for Standardization standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005, entitled General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories and its accreditation must include the analysis in question within its scope of testing.”

The Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations and the Standards Council of Canada raised issues with respect to the wording of laboratory accreditation. Namely, that the laboratory accreditation provisions in regulations made under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 were problematic for varying reasons. Some of these regulations did not provide certainty as to which bodies can grant accreditation to labs, while others required retesting in Canada of products that were tested by appropriately accredited laboratories in other countries. Minor changes were also needed to correct inconsistencies, ambiguities and redundancies in some of the regulations.

In response, the Department developed standardized regulatory text to improve clarity and establish consistency in the laboratory accreditation provisions across multiple regulations. These changes were published through the Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under Subsection 93(1) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 on March 18, 2021.

As such, it is proposed to amend section 9 to include the revised text, as follows:

“Any analysis performed to determine the concentration of VOCs for the purposes of these Regulations must be performed by a laboratory that meets the following conditions at the time of the analysis:

  1. it is accredited
    1. under the International Organization for Standardization standard ISO/IEC 17025, entitled General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories, by an accrediting body that is a signatory to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation Mutual Recognition Arrangement, or
    2. under the Environment Quality Act, CQLR, c. Q-2; and
  2. the scope of its accreditation includes the analysis performed to determine the concentration of VOCs.”

Section 13 Record Keeping

This section sets out the records that must be maintained by persons that manufacture, import and/or sell products subject to the Regulations. It also addresses storage location and time limits for keeping the information related to a permit application.

13 (1) Required information

This subsection sets out the records that must be maintained by persons that manufacture, import and/or sell products subject to the AR Regulations.

To improve transparency and demonstrate compliance, it is proposed to amend the record keeping provisions as follows, where the text in italics indicates existing regulatory requirements, text with (new) are proposed additions and text with (to be deleted) are proposed deletions.

Record Keeping

Required information

13 (1) Any person that manufactures, imports or sells a product set out in the schedule must maintain records containing the following information:

  1. in the case of a person that manufactures,

    1. the quantity of the product manufactured at each manufacturing plant,

    2. the trade mark and trade name of the manufactured product, and (to be deleted)

    3. the date of the product’s manufacture.

    4. the product’s category as per Schedule, (new)

    5. the product’s regulatory VOC content, (new)

    6. the manufacturer’s product name, (new)

    7. current specification sheets, material safety data sheets or technical data sheets. (new)

  2. in the case of a person that imports,

    1. the quantity of the product imported,

    2. the trade mark and trade name of the product imported, (to be deleted)

    3. the port of entry where the product was imported, (to be deleted)

    4. the name, civic or postal address, telephone number, and, if any, the fax number and e-mail address of the principal place of business of the sender,

    5. the date of import of the product,

    6. the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System number for the product,

    7. the importer number for the product shipped, and (to be deleted)

    8. the copies of the bill of lading, invoice and all documents submitted to the Canada Border Services Agency for the product shipped; (to be deleted)

    9. the product’s category as per Schedule, (new)

    10. the product’s regulatory VOC content, (new)

    11. the manufacturer’s product name, (new)

    12. the manufacturer’s name, (new)

    13. the importer’s product name, if different, (new)

    14. current specification sheets, safety data sheets or technical data sheets. (new)

  3. in the case of a person that sells to a supplier, wholesaler or retailer,

    1. the quantity of the product sold,

    2. the trade mark and trade name of the product sold, (to be deleted)

    3. the date of the sale of the product,

    4. the delivery date of the product, and (to be deleted)

    5. the name, civic or postal address of each supplier, wholesaler and retailer to whom the product was sold.

    6. the product’s category as per Schedule, (new)

    7. the product’s regulatory VOC content, (new)

    8. the product’s name, as given by the manufacturer, (new)

    9. the manufacturer’s name, (new)

    10. the seller’s product name, if any, (new)

    11. current specification sheets, safety data sheets or technical data sheets.(new)

13 (3) Location and duration of records

This subsection specifies the storage location and time limit requirements for information required for subsection 4(3) related to permit applications.

It is proposed to set out requirements for the storage location and time limits in subsection 13(2) for information required in subsection 13(1).

It is also proposed to amend Subsection 13(3) to clarify that, when the documents are stored electronically, the hard drive, server or removable device where the data is stored must be located in Canada.

Schedule

This schedule to the Regulations provides the VOC limit for each product category and the definition of each category.

At the time when the Regulations were developed, the VOC limits were aligned with those in the jurisdictions of our trading partners, to provide a level playing field for manufacturers and importers of automotive refinishing products and to provide consistent treatment across jurisdictions. Since then, more stringent measures have been adopted by these jurisdictions while the Regulations remain unchanged.

It is proposed to align the VOC concentration limits in the Schedule of the Regulations with those included in the OTC Model Rule 2011. This entails amending the VOC limit for 3 coating product categories, removing Category 14 Surface Cleaner and adding 2 categories of cleaning products: Solvent Cleaner as well as Plastic Part Cleaner and Wax and Grease Remover.

Unit: g/litre AR Regulations (2009) Proposed Limits OTC Rule (2011)1 CARB Rule (2005)2 SCAQMD Rule 1151 (2014)3
Primer Sealer 340 250 2504 250 2505
Adhesion Promoter 840 540 540 540 540
Single-stage Coating 420 340 340 340 340
Solvent Cleaner not defined 25 25 25 256
Plastic Part Cleaner andWax and Grease Remover not defined 780 780 not available 7807

Notes:

  1. Ozone Transport Commission (OTC), Motor Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Non-Assembly Line Coating Operations Phase II (2011)
  2. California Air Resources Board (CARB), Suggested Control Measure for Automotive Coatings (2005)
  3. South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), Rule 1151- Motor Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Non-Assembly Line Coating Operations- Last Amended September 5th, 2014
  4. The category name in OTC Rule (2011) is Automotive Primer
  5. The category name in SCAQMD Rule 1151 (2014) is primer
  6. SCAQMD Rule 1151 does not specify the VOC limit for solvent cleaner; however, it refers to Rule 1171 Solvent Cleaning Operations where a 25 g/litre VOC limit is set for it
  7. SCAQMD Rule 1151 does not specify the VOC limit for solvent cleaner; however, it refers to Rule 1171 Solvent Cleaning Operations where a 780 g/litre VOC limit is set for it

In the OTC Model Rule 2011, a solvent cleaner is defined as:

“A fluid containing organic compounds designed to perform coating stripping, surface preparation, or cleaning of surface coating equipment.”

As well, it is proposed to add a new category entitled “Plastic Part Cleaner and Wax and Grease Remover” for products designed to remove foreign matter and contaminants such as wax and grease from and to clean plastic parts, for surface preparation purpose.

The 2023 study commissioned to assist regulatory amendments, gathered and analyzed information for all categories of products listed in the table above, which would be subject to the regulatory amendments. It showed that the estimated VOC reduction potential that would have been achieved by aligning with the current OTC Model Rule 2011 limits was 255.7 tonnes of VOCs in 2022. The potential compliance cost per tonne of VOC reduction was also calculated based on information provided by survey respondents considering the capital cost and operational cost for reformulating the product. The cost varies depending on the product category with the average being C$47,249.8 per tonne of VOC reduction.

ECCC is aware of the upcoming amendments to SCAQMD Rule 1151 (2014) to phase-out tert-butyl acetate (tBAc) and para-chlorobenzotrifluoride (pCBtF). To allow time for industry to phase-out these substances from their products, SCAQMD has indicated that they will temporarily set higher VOC limits. ECCC is not currently considering relaxing the requirements set out in the AR Regulations, as there are currently no short-term plans to prohibit these substances in paint products.

The State of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Report published in March 2025 by the Government of Canada concluded that the class of PFAS, excluding fluoropolymers as defined in the report, are toxic to the environment and human health under CEPA. The substance pCBtF meets the definition for PFAS as defined in this report. Also on March 8, 2025, the Government of Canada published a proposed Order adding the class of PFAS, excluding fluoropolymers, to Part 2 of Schedule 1 to CEPA, and a Risk Management Approach for PFAS, excluding fluoropolymers, for a 60-day public comment period. The Government of Canada is proposing a phased approach to manage PFAS with Phase 2 targeting consumer products such as paints and coatings.

If, in the future, the Government of Canada decides to develop a risk management measure for tBAc or pCBtF in automotive refinishing products, ECCC may consider similar measures to those proposed by SCAQMD to provide industry with the time required to reformulate their products.

Regulatory review

In addition to comments on these proposed regulatory changes, stakeholders are invited to provide comments on other aspects of the Regulations with a view to improving their effectiveness.

Your ideas and input are sought on the following questions:

Any other comments related to ways to further improve and modernize the Regulations are welcome.

It is expected that the outcome of the review and a summary of feedback will be published as part of ECCC’s regular online updates on the regulatory stock review plan once the review is completed.

Submission of comments

The Department encourages you to submit your feedback before [insert Date] to Produits-Products@ec.gc.ca with the subject line “Consultation - Amendments to the VOC Concentration Limits for Automotive Refinishing Products Regulations.”

Should you send your comments by mail, please address to:

Chemical Production Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada
Place Vincent Massey, 9th Floor
351 St-Joseph Boulevard
Gatineau, Quebec  J8Y 3Z5

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2025-09-22