TSCA Section 8(a)(7) PFAS Reporting Requirements Likely to Become Final in Early 2026

January 20, 2026
Garrett D. Trego, Esq., Wesley S. Stevenson, Esq., and Technical Consultant Michael C. Nines, P.E., LEED AP
MGKF Special Alert - 2026 Federal Forecast

The Trump Administration issued a proposed rule in the Federal Register on November 13, 2025, with the public comment period closing on December 29, 2025, regarding new exceptions and carve outs associated with the onerous TSCA Section 8(a)(7) PFAS reporting requirements. The rule is expected to become final in early 2026, triggering reporting requirements for many commercial and industrial entities.

As a recap of the prior iterations of the rule, TSCA was amended in 2020 to require that any person that manufactures (including imports) or has manufactured (including importation of) PFAS or PFAS-containing articles in any year since January 1, 2011, must electronically report information regarding PFAS uses, production volumes, disposal, exposures, and hazards.  The 2011 date appears in the text of the statute. See 15 U.S.C. § 2607(a)(7). Under the Biden Administration, EPA issued a final rule regarding these recordkeeping and reporting requirements in October 2023 with an effective date of November 13, 2023. The rule established a “lookback” reporting period from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2022 that remains unchanged. Since that final rule was issued, EPA has twice pushed back the deadline for lookback reporting, first in September 2024 and then in May 2025., Under the proposed rule, the current deadline of April 2026 would be extended again to a reporting period that will begin 60 days after the effective date of the final rule and last for a period of three months. 

In addition to extending the reporting period, the proposed rule contains exemptions from the reporting requirement, including for: (1) PFAS manufactured (including imported) in mixtures or products at concentrations 0.1% or lower; (2) imported articles (as otherwise defined by TSCA); (3) certain byproducts; (4) impurities; (5) research and development chemicals; and (6) non-isolated intermediates.  EPA articulated that inclusion of the exemptions—and the related reduced reporting scope under the rule—was more consistent with TSCA’s statutory commands that it be carried out in a reasonable and prudent manner and with due consideration for the economic, environmental, and social costs of any agency action. Under the revised rule, the regulatory burden would be shifted primarily to manufacturers of PFAS, the entities that EPA believes are most likely to have the data and information EPA is seeking. The Agency anticipates the cost savings that would result if the proposed rule is adopted to be in the range of $786–843 million.

The previous iterations of the rule did not include reporting exemptions and those contained in the proposed rule are significant. The most impactful exemptions and their proposed scope are outlined below:

  • De minimis: In the rule, EPA proposes a “de minimis concentration exemption for reportable PFAS in mixtures or articles under which PFAS concentrations below 0.1% would be exempt from reporting.”  The exemption would apply regardless of total production volume of the mixture or article.
  • Imported articles: This proposed exemption would apply to “exempt PFAS imported as part of an article from the scope of reportable activities.”  The proposed rule defines an article by reference to 40 C.F.R. § 704.3 and means a manufactured item that is a specific shape or design, that has an end use dependent on that shape or design, and which will be largely unchanged before its intended end use. Imported articles are exempted from reporting regardless of how much PFAS they may contain.
  • Byproducts, Impurities, and Non-Isolated Intermediates: The proposed rule would exempt manufacturers of PFAS as byproducts, impurities, or non-isolated intermediates as defined under 40 C.F.R. § 720.30(h) from lookback reporting. EPA believes these exemptions reflect a practical approach to the reporting requirement, focusing the Agency on those PFAS that are more commercially relevant while relieving regulated parties of regulatory burden.
  • R&D Chemicals: The exemption would relieve manufacturers of PFAS to be used solely as research and development chemicals from reporting under the proposed rule. This exemption has no threshold limit, as EPA has determined that information regarding such PFAS chemicals is not likely to improve the Agency’s understanding of exposures and risks of PFAS under TSCA.

With the publication of the proposed rule in the Federal Register, EPA expressed interest in receiving comments on the level of the de minimis exemption, including “comments on a 1.0% de minimis exemption for PFAS in mixtures and articles instead of the proposed 0.1% de minimis exemption.”  The Agency also sought comment on the articles exemption and the proposed amendment to the submission period. Thus, it is possible that the scope of these exemptions may expand even further in the final rule.

We anticipate the final rule will be issued in the first quarter of 2026, though it is possible publication may slip to the early summer months. However, under either the current version of the rule or the anticipated final rule, regulated parties should begin to undertake an audit of their operations and assess application of these reporting requirements as soon as possible in the new year.