CompoundList exists to make legitimate chemical trade easier and safer. Some chemicals can be misused to make illegal drugs, chemical weapons or explosives, or are banned or tightly controlled by international conventions and national laws. This policy explains which substances cannot be traded through CompoundList, which can be traded only with extra checks, and what we do to enforce it. It forms part of our terms of use.
1. Information pages stay open
Chemical information pages, including those for controlled substances, can remain visible because identifiers, hazards and regulatory status are useful to researchers, regulators, safety professionals and compliance teams. For controlled substances, offers, quote requests and contact features are blocked or restricted as described below.
2. Prohibited: never allowed
The following cannot be listed, offered, requested or discussed for sale on CompoundList:
- Narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances controlled under the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 and the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971, India's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) and equivalent national schedules, such as US DEA Schedules I and II
- New psychoactive substances and designer drugs, including synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinones, fentanyl analogues and nitazenes, whether or not they are yet listed in a particular country
- Chemical weapons agents and chemicals in Schedule 1 of the Chemical Weapons Convention
- Explosives, initiating explosives and improvised explosive precursors sold for that purpose
- Items under sanctions or embargoes, or any product where the buyer, seller or destination is subject to applicable sanctions
- Any product that is illegal to sell or buy in the country of the supplier or the buyer
Labels such as "for research use only", "not for human consumption" or "for laboratory use" do not make a prohibited listing acceptable.
3. Restricted: allowed only with checks
The following can be listed only by suppliers whose company documents and relevant licences we have reviewed, and requests for them are held for manual review:
- Drug precursors listed in Tables I and II of the UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988, and controlled substances under India's NDPS (Regulation of Controlled Substances) Order, 2013, such as ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, acetic anhydride, potassium permanganate, phenylacetone and safrole related precursors
- Chemical Weapons Convention Schedule 2 and Schedule 3 chemicals, and chemicals on export control lists such as India's SCOMET list and the Australia Group lists
- US DEA List I and List II chemicals where the trade involves the United States
- Prescription active pharmaceutical ingredients with high misuse potential, such as anabolic steroids and peptide drugs, which may be offered only to licensed buyers
- Ozone depleting substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol
- Chemicals subject to the Rotterdam Convention prior informed consent procedure and persistent organic pollutants under the Stockholm Convention
- Highly hazardous pesticides and other chemicals that are banned or severely restricted in many countries
For restricted substances, buyers may be asked to upload a licence, registration or end use statement before a request is sent to suppliers. Suppliers remain responsible for checking their customers and for every licence, permit and declaration required for each sale.
4. How we enforce this policy
- We keep a restricted substances list, matched by structure (InChIKey), CAS number, name and synonyms, and review it regularly.
- Listings, catalogue uploads, requests for quote and messages are screened automatically against this list, and matches are blocked or sent for review.
- Our team reviews documents and licences for restricted listings and flagged requests.
- We remove listings, suspend accounts and keep records of attempts to trade prohibited substances.
- Where we believe there is a risk of illegal activity, we may report it to the competent authorities, such as the Narcotics Control Bureau in India or the national authority for the Chemical Weapons Convention, and we cooperate with lawful requests.
5. Your responsibilities
Buyers must buy only for lawful purposes, hold any licence or registration required in their country and give truthful information about the intended use.
Suppliers must hold every licence required to make, store, sell and export the products they list, apply know your customer checks proportionate to the risk, keep the records the law requires and refuse suspicious orders.
Both buyers and suppliers must comply with export controls, sanctions and import rules in every country involved.
6. Reporting
If you see a listing, request or message that may break this policy, use the Report link on the page or write to compliance@compoundlist.com. Tell us what you saw and where. Reports are reviewed by our compliance team and can be made without signing in.
7. Changes
Controlled substance lists change as governments and international bodies add new substances. We update our restricted list and this policy accordingly. The examples above are not complete lists.
Questions about this policy: compliance@compoundlist.com