Specific Exemptions and Acceptable Purposes

A register of specific exemptions is established in accordance with Article 4 of the Stockholm Convention, to identify Parties that have registered specific exemptions listed in Annex A or Annex B. The register has been amended by various decisions of the Conference of the Parties.

Two registers of acceptable purposes have been established in relation to DDT and PFOS, its salts and PFOSF. The registers have also been amended by various decisions of the Conference of the Parties.

Please click to access the List of Specific Exemptions and the List of Acceptable Purposes.

Frequency of registration

Any State may, on becoming a Party, by means of a notification in writing to the Secretariat, register for

  1. one or more types of specific exemptions listed in Annex A or Annex B (Article 4); and/or
  2. one or more types of acceptable purposes listed in Annex B.

Acceptable purposes are registered as provided for in various decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties.

Format for registration

The Conference of the Parties has adopted forms for notifications of specific exemption(s) for:

The Conference of the Parties has also adopted forms for notifications of acceptable purposes for:

Procedures and Processes of the Secretariat

Parties are requested to send the duly completed form to the Secretariat by e-mail (brs@un.org). It is important to note that exemptions and acceptable purposes may only be registered as allowed by the relevant decision(s) of the Conference of the Parties and/or the Convention.

The form must be submitted by an entity duly authorized by the Government to communicate such information to the Secretariat. The Secretariat will check that the notification form is submitted by such an entity; that the information transmitted is in the appropriate format, the specific exemption or acceptable purpose is available, and that the information is unambiguous and complete. Information transmitted will be included in the register of specific exemptions or in the register of acceptable purposes, as applicable, which are maintained by the Secretariat and made available on the website of the Stockholm Convention.

Registers

Under Article 4 of the Convention, the Register of specific exemptions must include:

  1. A list of types of specific exemptions, as set out in Annex A and Annex B;
  2. A list of Parties with specific exemptions listed in Annex A or Annex B; and
  3. The expiry dates for each registered specific exemption.

Parties may at any time withdraw an entry from the Register for a specific exemption upon written notification to the Secretariat. The withdrawal takes effect on the date indicated in the notification. Please see the individual registers for withdrawal notifications.

Notification forms English French Spanish
Notification of Acceptable Purpose(s) for Production and Use of DDT
Notification forms English French Spanish
Notification of Acceptable Purpose(s) for Production and Use of PFOS, its salts and PFOSF
Notification forms English French Spanish
Notification of Specific Exemption(s) for Production and Use of PFOS, its salts and PFOSF
Notification forms English French Spanish
Notification of Specific Exemption(s) for Production and Use of Technical Endosulfan and its related isomers

Notification forms English French Spanish
Notification of Specific Exemption(s) for Production and/or Use of a Chemical Listed in Annex A