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As reported in our September 12, 2025, blog item, under the 2016 Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act) amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), most confidential business information (CBI) claims will expire after ten years unless reasserted and substantiated. This means that a CBI claim made in 2016 will expire in 2026 unless the claim is reasserted and resubstantiated before the end of the ten-year period. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 6, 2025, its intended process for implementing the statutory requirements associated with expiring CBI claims, including confirming how EPA will notify companies of expiring claims and how companies may request and substantiate the need for an extension of their CBI claims. 91 Fed. Reg. 371. EPA states in a January 5, 2026, press release that in early spring 2026, it will post the first list of claims expiring in June 2026 on its TSCA CBI website. EPA states that it will also send direct notices to submitters with expiring claims via the Central Data Exchange (CDX). EPA recommends that companies review lists of submissions with expiring CBI claims to determine if an extension is necessary. EPA notes that the expiration date for chemical identity claims can be found on the TSCA Inventory in the column labeled "EXP." To request extension of an expiring CBI claim, companies must submit a request electronically via CDX no later than 30 days prior to the expiration date of the claims. The request must include substantiation of the need to extend the period of CBI protection.
EPA states that it is developing a new tool in CDX to collect extension requests and expects to have the CDX tool in place prior to June 2026, when the first claims begin to expire. According to EPA, if completion of the tool is delayed, it will provide notice of the delay and an estimated date of completion on the TSCA CBI website. EPA notes that it will not release any information subject to expiring claims until companies are given the opportunity to submit extension requests. EPA will review extension requests and either grant an extension or deny the request. If EPA does not receive a request for extension at least 30 days prior to the claim expiration, EPA "is not required to safeguard the CBI from disclosure, and the information may be made public without further notice to the submitter."
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