The Poison Centres Notification (PCN) format structures the information on hazardous mixtures classified for health or physical hazards. This information has to be submitted to the Member States appointed bodies. The format is XML based and defined by the requirements laid out in Annex VIII to the CLP Regulation.

The information to be submitted includes the full chemical composition, toxicological information, relevant product and mixture details including the intended use (EuPCS), in addition to the label elements such as the unique formula identifier (UFI). The PCN format aims to harmonise and ensure consistency of the information available to poison centres in cases of poisoning incidents in the EU.

The PCN format is compatible with IUCLID, a tool developed by ECHA in collaboration with the OECD, which promotes the harmonisation of chemicals data. You can find additional information about this tool on the IUCLID website.

Version 1 of the format was published in April 2018 and followed by a pilot project run by ECHA in conjunction with stakeholders. In April 2019, version 1.1 of the format is published and will be used for the submission of notifications via the PCN portal provided by ECHA.

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To help with the IT implementation of this format, the following is available:

• PCN format (version 1.1, published on 9 April 2019): the format is made available as a set of XML schema definition files (XSDs). There is also a data model that shows all relevant fields and their interconnections.
  • Download the PCN format (54 KB | .zip)
  • Download the PCN data model (401 KB | .pdf)
• Part A - Preparing a PCN dossier: this document provides a technical background and offers a practical guide to the industry on how to encode, prepare and complete a dossier compliant with the PCN format. The XML content and the inner structure of the PCN format is explained in a simple manner avoiding technical details or jargons. The picklist elements used in the format are also provided as a separate annex.
  • Download Part A – Preparing a PCN dossier (1,516 KB | .pdf)
  • PCN format annex - Picklists (106 KB | .xlsx)
• Part B - Developers' guide to the IUCLID format: in IUCLID, the exchange of chemical information is facilitated via a zip/archive file with the extension .i6z (IUCLID 6 zip). The information can be exported from one IUCLID 6 installation and imported into another. This file contains information concerning all (inter)related IUCLID 6 entities (documents and attachments), in a well-defined and structured format. This guide explains the structure of the IUCLID file in order for developers to build other systems than IUCLID 6 which can generate this format.
  • Download Part B – Developers’ guide to the IUCLID format (1,259 KB | .pdf)
• An example Poison Centre Notification is also provided:
  • Notification example, IUCLID dossier (114 KB | .i6z). This example is for an initial notification for a product containing a Mixture in Mixture (MiM), covering multiple markets and different languages.
  • Notification preview (730 KB | .pdf), generated by the IUCLID PCN wizard to be made available as part of the PCN portal and the IUCLID version published at the end of April 2019.

  Note: the PCN example, provided in i6z format is compatible with the release of IUCLID 6.3, available since October 2018, on the IUCLID 6 website.