Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) are documents required by the REACH regulation and are essential when placing chemical substances and mixtures on the market. Many companies ask: how many pages should an SDS have? Do the regulations specify a minimum or maximum length?

Is the number of SDS pages defined by the regulations?

No. Regulation (EU) 2020/878, which sets out the requirements for SDS preparation, does not specify the number of pages an SDS should have. Instead, it focuses on the completeness of the information and compliance with the required scope of data.

How many pages will a compliant SDS have?

The length of an SDS depends on several factors:
🔹 Type of product – simple substances often require less data than complex mixtures.
🔹 Complexity of composition – the more components and classification data, the longer the SDS.
🔹 Availability of toxicological and ecological data – the SDS must include all available information. If the product contains many well-researched components, the volume of relevant data can significantly increase the document length (however, only essential data should be included – not everything available for a given substance).
🔹 SDS type – extended safety data sheets (eSDS) with annexes for exposure scenarios are usually much longer. Depending on the number of scenarios, an eSDS can be shorter or longer.
🔹 Document formatting – while obvious, SDSs do not have a regulated layout, so font size, font type, and section heading formatting can also affect the total page count.

Example SDS lengths

In practice, with standard formatting, the most common SDS lengths are (these are only illustrative ranges):

📄 6–12 pages – standard SDS for a substance or a simple mixture
📄 13–20 pages – more complex products or extended SDSs (eSDS)
📄 >20 pages – products with multiple exposure scenarios and detailed toxicological data

Some eSDSs can reach several dozen pages, depending on the number of annexes.

What does this mean when preparing SDSs?
 

🔸 Do not shorten information just to "fit" a specific number of pages. The SDS must contain all required data – missing information may be considered a regulatory violation.
🔸 Clarity matters. Even a long SDS should be easy to read, well-formatted, and logically structured. Include only data that is relevant to classification and the purpose of the SDS – do not include every piece of information available about the substance or mixture.
🔸 An extended SDS (eSDS) requires an annex with exposure scenarios – this significantly increases the document size.

Summary

Preparing an SDS is not just a formality – it requires expertise, accuracy, and knowledge of the regulations. There is no fixed number of pages an SDS should have. Its length depends on the product type, the available data, and any required annexes.

Remember: a complete and up-to-date SDS is a key document for ensuring user safety and compliance with EU regulations.

Want to make sure your SDSs meet REACH and CLP requirements?
👉 Contact us – we offer professional SDS preparation in multiple languages.