Cypermethrin biocide wood: EU revokes extension and urgent action required

Key data

Manufacturers and distributors of biocidal products containing cypermethrin for wood treatment face a top-level regulatory alert. Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1113, dated 22 May 2026, repeals the previous Decision 2025/362, which had delayed the expiration date of the approval of this active substance.

The result is immediate: the approval of cypermethrin as a product type 8 biocide (wood protection) recovers its original expiration date in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 528/2012. There is no additional margin. The extension that provided extra time has disappeared.

What does this regulation establish?

To understand the scope of this decision, it is necessary to know the regulatory context:

• Regulation (EU) 528/2012 regulates the marketing and use of biocidal products in the EU. Every active substance must be approved in order to be used in biocidal products.
• Decision 2025/362 had delayed the expiration date of cypermethrin approval for product type 8 (wood protection), giving the industry an additional time margin.
• Decision 2026/1113 repeals that extension. By becoming ineffective, cypermethrin approval recovers its original expiration date.

If cypermethrin does not obtain new approval before its current authorization expires, biocidal products containing it for use on wood cannot be legally marketed in the EU.

Economic and operational impact

The consequences for affected companies are direct and potentially serious:

• Risk of product withdrawal from the market: If approval expires without renewal, biocidal products containing cypermethrin for wood must be withdrawn from marketing throughout the EU.
• Need for reformulation: Companies that cannot wait for possible new approval will need to evaluate alternative active substances approved for product type 8, which involves development costs, testing and new product authorization.
• Impact on the supply chain: Distributors holding stock of affected products must review their legal situation to avoid marketing unauthorized products.
• Professional users: In sectors such as construction and industrial wood treatment, the use of unauthorized products may result in legal liability and sanctions according to the regulations of each Member State.

The revocation of the extension eliminates the time buffer that the industry had. The urgency is real and the margin for action depends on when exactly the original approval of cypermethrin under Regulation 528/2012 expires, a fact that each company must verify in its specific situation.

Who does it affect?

• Manufacturers of biocidal products containing cypermethrin formulated for product type 8 (wood protection).
• Distributors and marketers of these products in the European market.
• Professional users applying wood treatments with products containing cypermethrin: construction companies, industrial carpentry shops, structural wood treatment companies.
• Biocide manufacturing sector in general, as a reference for how the Commission manages approvals and their extensions.
• Compliance officers and technical directors of companies in the chemical and construction sectors.

Practical example

A Spanish company manufacturing preservative products for structural wood has in its catalog a type 8 biocide whose formulation includes cypermethrin as an active substance. Until now, Decision 2025/362 gave it an additional time margin to continue marketing it while the process of renewing the approval of cypermethrin was being resolved.

With the entry into force of Decision 2026/1113 on 22 May 2026, that extension disappears. The company must now:

1. Verify what is the original expiration date of cypermethrin approval for type 8 under Regulation 528/2012.
2. Check whether there is an active renewal file before the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and at what stage it is.
3. If approval expires before the renewal is resolved, assess whether it can continue to market the product under any transitional regime or whether it must withdraw it from the market.
4. Analyze whether reformulating the product with an alternative approved active substance is technically and economically viable.

This scenario equally affects distributors holding that product in stock and construction companies that regularly use it in their projects.

What should companies do now?

1. Identify all affected products: Review the catalog and detect which biocidal products contain cypermethrin as an active substance for product type 8 (wood protection).
2. Verify the original expiration date: Consult Regulation (EU) 528/2012 and ECHA records to know the exact expiration date of cypermethrin approval for type 8, since the extension of Decision 2025/362 has become ineffective.
3. Check the status of the renewal process: Verify whether there is an active renewal file before ECHA and at what stage it is, to estimate whether there will be approval in force before expiration.
4. Evaluate formulation alternatives: If the risk of expiration without renewal is high, begin analyzing alternative active substances approved for type 8 and the costs of reformulation and new product authorization.