Substance prohibition summary for Perfluorooctanoic acid, its salts and precursors (PFOA)

Disclaimer

This information has been prepared for convenience of reference only and is not to be understood as a legal document. This information does not supersede or modify any act, regulations or legal obligation, including an obligation to comply under any instruments referred to under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.

Context

Perfluorooctanoic acid, which has the molecular formula C₇F₁₅CO₂H, its salts, and its precursors (PFOA) and products containing PFOA are subject to the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2012 (PCTSR 2012) which will be repealed and replaced by the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2025 (PCTSR 2025) when the PCTSR 2025 comes into force on June 30, 2026. These Regulations are made under the authority of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.

Prohibition and exemptions under PCTSR 2012

The PCTSR 2012 will be in force until June 30, 2026. The PCTSR 2012 prohibit the import, manufacture, use, sale and offer for sale of PFOA and products containing PFOA, with the following exemptions:

the import, manufacture, use, sale and offer for sale of a product containing PFOA, if PFOA is incidentally present
the import, manufacture, use, sale and offer for sale of PFOA or a product containing it, before January 1, 2017, if it is designed for use in water-based inks or in photo media coatings
the import, use, sale and offer for sale of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) for fire-fighting operations that contain PFOA
the import, use, sale or offer for sale of manufactured items containing PFOA
the use or import of products containing PFOA, if the product is for personal use
The use, sale or offer for sale of:
- products containing PFOA if manufactured or imported before the Regulations come into force
- water-based inks and photo media coatings containing PFOA that were manufactured or imported before January 1, 2017
- PFOA or products containing it if they were manufactured or imported in accordance with a permit

Prohibition and exemptions (authorized activities) under PCTSR 2025

The PCTSR 2025 further restricts PFOA activities in Canada. Once the PCTSR 2025 come into force on June 30, 2026, the following changes to authorized activities will be in effect:

the exemption allowing the import and use of products containing PFOA for personal use will be repealed
the exemption allowing the use, sale or import of aqueous film forming (AFFF) containing PFOA used in firefighting will be repealed, but will continue to exempt:
- the use of AFFF containing PFOA to test firefighting systems, provided that all releases are contained and disposed of in an environmentally sound manner, and to suppress liquid fuel vapour and liquid fuel fires in emergency situations
  - until December 31, 2028, in the case of mobile fire-fighting systems on military ships and vehicles
  - until December 31, 2030, in the case of fixed fire-fighting systems that are part of military ships and infrastructure
  - until December 31, 2027, in the case of any other firefighting
- the sale of AFFF containing PFOA between mutual aid partners in the event of fires located in Canada, as part of the reconciliation of inventories and costs following an authorized emergency use until June 30, 2028
the exemption allowing the use, sale, offer for sale and import of manufactured items containing PFOA will be repealed, but will continue to exempt:
- the use and sale of manufactured items containing PFOA that were in use or in inventory up to the coming into force of the PCTSR 2025 (June 29, 2026, inclusively)
- until December 31, 2026, the use, sale and import of land-based motor vehicle parts containing PFOA and the manufacture and import of land-based motor vehicles containing such parts
- until December 31, 2041, the use, sale and import of replacement parts containing PFOA to service and repair vehicles that are no longer mass-produced as of January 1, 2027
- until December 31, 2026, the use, sale and import of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) parts containing semi-conductors manufactured by photolithography or etch processes for non-land-based motor vehicles applications and the manufacture and import of EEE containing such parts
- until December 31, 2026, the use, sale and import of EEE replacement parts containing a semi-conductor above to service and repair EEE
- the ongoing use and sale of exempted land-based motor vehicles and EEE
the exemption allowing the use, sale, and offer for sale of products (that are not manufactured items) containing PFOA that were manufactured or imported before December 23, 2016, will be repealed

Further detail on the authorized activities for PFOA may be found under Schedule 1 of the PCTSR 2025.

Permits

There are currently no permits available under the PCTSR 2012. Please note that once the PCTSR 2025 comes into force on June 30, 2026, permits will be available for certain substances and certain activities.

The PCTSR 2025 allows for permits to be issued for one year and renewed twice (for a total maximum of up to 3 years) to temporarily allow the continuation of eligible activities for certain products.

The import of manufactured items that contain PFOA other than those already authorized under Schedule 1 of the 2025 Regulations is eligible for permit application.

How to submit a permit application through the Regulatory Services Platform

Permit applications must be submitted during the permit application period between July 1, 2026, and July 30, 2026 (30 days after the day the 2025 Regulations come into force) using ECCC's Regulatory Services Platform.

On the platform, users will be able to:

Create an account;
Submit permit applications

More information relating to permits can be found on the Information for Permit Applications or Renewal for the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2025 webpage.

Exempted laboratory uses

The prohibitions under the PCTSR 2012 and PCTSR 2025 do not apply to listed toxic substances, or to any products containing them, that are to be used in a laboratory for analysis, in scientific research or as a laboratory analytical standard.

A report must be submitted for every calendar year for the use or anticipated use of toxic substances.

How to submit a laboratory and research use report

Users of any listed toxic substance, or product containing it, for the above purposes are required to report the information set out in the Regulations using ECCC's Regulatory Services Platform before the use of more than 10 grams of each substance each calendar year.

Further details relating to exempted laboratory uses and instructions on how to report can be found on the Information for laboratories using certain toxic substances webpage.

More information

More information can be found on the CEPA registry webpage for the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2025.

Inquiries on the Regulations can be made by emailing interdiction-prohibition@ec.gc.ca or by phoning the Substances Management Information line at:

1-800-567-1999 (Toll free in Canada)
1-819-938-3232 (Outside of Canada)

Definitions

EEE

Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) are commonly understood to encompass a wide variety of products ranging from relatively simple mechanical devices (e.g. hair dryers) to major appliances and complex integrated systems such as computers and mobile phones. The EEE sector is typically broken down into two major subsectors: electronic equipment, and electrical equipment.

Incidental presence

Incidental presence is generally understood to be a residual, a trace contaminant or impurity that was not intentionally added to the formulation.

Manufactured item

A manufactured item is generally understood to be a product formed into a specific physical shape or design during its manufacture and that has, for its final use, a function or functions dependent in whole or in part on its shape or design.

Page details

2025-12-31

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