- The full formula, with CAS numbers and percentages, is the starting point for every classification.
- Raw-material SDSs supply most of the hazard data, so they need to be current and complete.
- A few measured properties, such as flash point and pH, can decide a classification on their own.
- Markets, pack sizes and the people who use the product decide which rules apply and what the label must show.
A safety data sheet is only as good as the data behind it. Most delays in SDS projects are not about writing; they are about waiting for a missing raw-material SDS or a flash point nobody measured. This is the checklist we use at the start of a project, and why each item matters.
Composition
- Every ingredient, with its CAS number
- Exact percentages or narrow ranges
- Known impurities and additivesSome hazards apply from 0.1%
Raw materials
- The current SDS for each raw material
- Supplier classifications and exposure limits
- Transport data, if available
Measured data
- Flash point and initial boiling pointDecide the flammable liquid category
- pH2 or below, or 11.5 or above, points to corrosivity
- Kinematic viscosity at 40 °CFor products containing hydrocarbons
- State, colour, odour, density
Use and market
- Markets and languages
- Workplace or consumer use
- Pack sizes
- Supplier details and emergency numberFor each market
1. The full composition
List every ingredient with its chemical name, CAS number and concentration, as an exact figure or a narrow range. Include the impurities and additives you know about, even at low levels: some hazards are triggered at very low concentrations. Under the GHS, for example, a mixture is classified as a carcinogen when it contains 0.1% or more of a category 1 carcinogenic ingredient.
Your formula stays confidential. In each market, the identity or exact concentration of an ingredient can be protected in specific circumstances, through a formal claim or by following the rules for alternative names and concentration ranges.
2. Safety data sheets for every raw material
Raw-material SDSs supply most of the hazard data for a mixture: the classification of each ingredient, its specific concentration limits and M-factors, acute toxicity estimates, exposure limits and transport data. Ask your suppliers for their current version, ideally written for the market you sell into. An out-of-date supplier SDS is a frequent reason a finished SDS turns out to be wrong.
3. Physical and chemical data
Some properties have to be measured on the finished product rather than calculated from its ingredients:
- Flash point and initial boiling point decide whether a liquid is flammable, and in which category. A flash point above 60 °C and up to 93 °C makes a liquid category 4 in Canada and the US, a category that the EU's CLP Regulation does not have.
- pH: a pH of 2 or below, or 11.5 or above, points to a corrosive or seriously eye-damaging product unless other data show otherwise.
- Kinematic viscosity at 40 °C, for products containing hydrocarbons: at 20.5 mm²/s or less, an aspiration hazard classification may apply.
- Physical state, colour, odour, density, solubility and vapour pressure for section 9.
4. How the product is used and sold
- Markets and languages: each market sets its own format, supplier details and language requirements.
- Who uses it: products sold to the general public can fall under consumer rules instead of workplace rules. In Canada, consumer chemical products are covered by the Consumer Chemicals and Containers Regulations, 2001 rather than WHMIS.
- Pack sizes: small containers have their own label rules, and pack size matters for transport.
- Transport classification, if you already have one, so that section 14 matches what your carrier uses.
5. Company details
The legal name, address and phone number of the supplier for each market, and an emergency phone number, with its hours if it is not answered around the clock.
What if you do not have everything?
That is normal. A spot-check tells you what is missing and the quote lists it, so gaps are dealt with at the start rather than discovered halfway through. Where a measured value is missing, we will tell you whether it can be estimated from the ingredients or needs a test.
Sources
General information, not legal advice. Checked against the official sources above on 7 October 2026. Rules change: for your own products, ask for a spot-check.
