Harmonized codes for reporting
Substance function codes and application codes (formerly known as Consumer and Commercial codes) are used by the Government of Canada to identify the application and function of substances regarding their purpose in consumer or commercial settings. These codes are used in Information gathering initiatives, such as section 71 notices, and in New Substances Notifications.
The Government of Canada has updated these codes by incorporating the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s proposed internationally harmonized functional, product and article use categories (OECD codes). The updated codes provide an increased level of detail such as method of application (for example, spray or liquid) and areas of exposure (for example, hair or skin products). In addition, certain new codes were added, and revisions were made to some of the proposed codes to reflect the Canadian context.
These harmonized codes are expected to better inform activities under the Chemicals Management Plan and facilitate consistent reporting by industry across jurisdictions.
The updated harmonized codes lists are available below:
To facilitate the use of the updated codes, a side-by-side comparison (“crosswalk”) of the old and updated codes has been developed: