Non-domestic substances list

The Non-domestic Substances List (NDSL) is an inventory of chemicals and polymers that are not used commercially in Canada above trigger quantities specified in the New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers) [the regulations] but are found in other markets. The NDSL lists over 50,000 substances and can be accessed through Substances Search.

A substance cannot be on both the NDSL and the Domestic Substances List at the same time. Like other chemicals and polymers not on the Domestic Substances List, those on the NDSL are considered new to Canada. As such, they are subject to notification under the regulations; however, fewer information requirements apply compared to new chemicals and polymers that are not on the NDSL.

Parts of the NDSL

The NDSL consists of 4 parts, in which substances are divided based on:

substance type – chemicals, polymers, or enzymes
confidentiality – whether the substance identity is confidential

Part I	Sets out chemicals and polymers identified by their Chemical Abstracts Service registry numbers^{Footnote 1}
Part II	Sets out chemicals and polymers identified by their masked names and confidential accession numbers^{Footnote 2} (CANs)
Part III	Sets out enzymes identified by their International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) numbers*
Part IV	Sets out enzymes identified by their masked names and CANs
* For example, a chemical or a polymer can be added to Part III under its Enzyme Commission number, assigned by the IUBMB.

Amendments to the NDSL

The NDSL is amended on average 10 times per year for the following reasons:

To remove substances when they are added to the Domestic Substances List
For annual updates, adding substances that meet the eligibility criteria, including those nominated; or
To maintain the list, for example, by correcting typographical errors

Amendments to the NDSL are published in the Canada Gazette, Part I.

Eligibility criteria

Substances on the Domestic Substances List can not be added to the NDSL. This prohibition also applies to living organisms within the meaning of Part 6 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.

The NDSL is amended annually to add substances that have been on the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Substances Inventory for a minimum of one year.

Certain substances on the TSCA inventory are not added to the NDSL. This applies to substances subject to risk management in Canada or the U.S. and substances subject to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants or the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade. Furthermore, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), as defined in the State of PFAS Report, are not added to the NDSL.

Note: Substances on the confidential portion of the TSCA inventory are not automatically added to the NDSL. Such a substance can be listed either confidentially or publicly on the NDSL if a nominating person demonstrates that the substance has been on the confidential TSCA inventory for a minimum of one year. Substances can be nominated to the NDSL using the Non-domestic Substances List nomination form.

Contact us

Regulatory Operations, Policy, and Emerging Sciences Division
Environment and Climate Change Canada
351 Saint-Joseph Blvd
Gatineau QC K1A 0H3

Telephone: 819-938-3232 or 1-800-567-1999 (Canada only)
Email: substances@ec.gc.ca

Footnotes

Footnote 1

The Chemical Abstracts Service registry number is the property of the American Chemical Society and any use or redistribution, except as required in supporting regulatory requirements and/or for reports to the Government of Canada when the information and the reports are required by law or administrative policy, is not permitted without the prior, written permission of the American Chemical Society.

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Footnote 2

Under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, a person who provides information to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change may submit with the information a request that it be treated as confidential. When the identity of substances is confidential, the Act allows for the publication of masked substance names. Therefore, confidential substances on the NDSL are identified by masked names developed in accordance with the Masked Name Regulations, along with a unique confidential substance identity number assigned by Environment and Climate Change Canada. This number is also referred to as a confidential accession number.

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Date modified:: 2025-08-21

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