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Chemical inventory and SDS register template

A chemical inventory and SDS register is the list of every chemical product kept on a site, with where it is, how much there is, how hazardous it is, and whether its safety data sheet (SDS) and label are in order. Each row holds the product, the supplier, the place, the container and the most kept on site, a main hazard class, whether an SDS is on file and its date, whether the container is labelled, the protective equipment and an owner. A second view groups the products by place, so you can see when classes that react together, such as a flammable and an oxidiser, or an acid and a base, are stored in the same place. This template has four landscape pages: the register, checks for each safety data sheet, container and storage place, the hazard classes with the storage rules and a review log, and a worked example of a made-up machine shop with 12 products. The Excel version works out the age of each sheet against a review limit you set, flags missing sheets, old sheets and unlabelled containers, counts each place by hazard class and flags places that must keep products apart, and summarises it all. It is a general starting point, not legal advice: follow each product's own sheet, your local rules and your own procedure.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the chemical inventory and SDS register templateFields for site, area, compiler and date above a register table with columns for product, supplier, place, container, quantity, hazard class, safety data sheet, label, PPE and owner.
Register with sheet age and flagsHazard classesKeep-apart rulesChecks for sheets, containers and placesReview logSheet age and flagsWorked example
Filled-in Chemical inventory and SDS register template: a small machine shop with 12 products
The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 4 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to use a chemical inventory and SDS register

  • When nobody can say what chemicals are on site, or the list is in several places and out of date.
  • Before an audit, an insurer visit or an inspection that will ask for the list and the safety data sheets.
  • When a new product comes in, to check the sheet and the label and decide where it can be stored.
  • After a spill, a near miss or a change of storage, to check that products that react together are apart.
  • Not as a substitute for the safety data sheet: the sheet and the label say how to handle and store each product.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Walk the site and list every product

    Go through every store, cabinet, bay, bench and vehicle. Include cleaning products, aerosols, oils and gas cylinders, not only process chemicals. One row for each product.

  2. 2

    Fill in the details from the label and the sheet

    Write the supplier, the container and size, the most kept on site, and the owner. Choose one main hazard class from the list on the register.

  3. 3

    Get a safety data sheet for each product

    Mark whether a sheet is on file and enter its revision date. A product with no sheet gets one requested from the supplier, and the sheets are kept where anyone who works with the product can reach them.

  4. 4

    Check the label and the container

    Every container needs a label with the product name and the main hazard. A container filled from another needs its own label. Replace damaged labels and lids.

  5. 5

    Check storage by place

    Group the products by where they are kept. Look for flammables with oxidisers, acids with bases and acids with oxidisers such as bleach in the same place, and separate them, then check section 7 and 10 of each sheet.

  6. 6

    Review on a schedule

    Review the register at least once a year and when a product is added, removed or moved. Set a limit for the age of a sheet from your local rules and review any that are older.

What to check

The 18 checks on the chemical register

Three groups: each safety data sheet, each container and each place where chemicals are kept. Use them when a product comes in and at each review. They are general good practice; your local rules and each product's own sheet have the last word.

Each safety data sheet

Check when a product comes in and at each review

  1. 1The product name on the sheet matches the label and the register entry
  2. 2The supplier name and an emergency phone number are on the sheet
  3. 3The hazards and the signal word are stated, and match the label
  4. 4First aid, firefighting and spill measures are stated
  5. 5Handling and storage advice, and what the product must not be stored with, are stated
  6. 6Exposure controls and the protective equipment to wear are stated
  7. 7Disposal advice is stated
  8. 8The revision date is recent enough for your local rules, and the sheet is in a language your people can read

Each container

Where the product is used and moved

  1. 9The original label is on the container, readable and not damaged
  2. 10A container filled from another has a label with the product name and the main hazard
  3. 11The lid or cap is fitted and the container is in good condition
  4. 12The quantity on site is no more than the place and the rules allow

Each place where chemicals are kept

Cabinets, stores, bays and benches

  1. 13Products that must be kept apart are in separate cabinets, trays or areas
  2. 14Flammable products are away from heat and ignition sources
  3. 15Spill containment and a spill kit are in place for the quantities kept
  4. 16The place is signed, ventilated and locked or controlled where needed
  5. 17The safety data sheets for what is kept there can be reached by anyone who works there, without a password
  6. 18Eyewash and first aid are within reach where corrosive products are kept

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: a made-up machine shop with 12 products, checked as of 25 October 2026. The products, places and dates are invented.

  • The register lists solvents, bleach, an acid and a base, oils, a coolant, grease, two gas cylinders and an aerosol, in six places.
  • One product, a glycol coolant, has no safety data sheet. Two sheets are older than the three-year limit the shop has set: a parts washer solvent from 2019 and a grease from 2022. One container, a hydraulic oil pail, has no label.
  • The place list shows three storage problems: in chemical store A, an acid is beside a base and beside bleach, and in the welding bay a fuel gas cylinder stands with an oxygen cylinder.
  • None of the fixes needs a purchase: a shelf rearranged, a cage divider, a label written, a sheet requested and two sheets replaced.

The register turned a vague worry about chemicals into a short list of fixes with owners. The products and dates are invented to show how the register is used.

Common mistakes

  • Listing only the process chemicals

    Cleaning products, aerosols, oils, grease and gas cylinders are chemicals too, and often the ones in the wrong place. List everything in the building.

  • Sheets nobody can find

    A sheet in a locked office or behind a password does not help someone who has spilled it. Keep the sheets where the people who work with the product can reach them.

  • Storing by convenience, not by hazard

    Putting everything liquid on the same shelf puts acids, bases, oxidisers and fuels together. Store by hazard class and check the sheet.

  • Never reviewing the sheets

    Formulations and the advice on the sheet change. Set a review limit and replace any sheet that has passed it.

  • A register that is not kept up to date

    A list that is right on the day it is made is wrong a month later. Add each new product at the door, and review the register on a schedule.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite safety procedures start from marketplace templates, including risk assessments; anyone reports a hazard as a tag from a QR code, and a serious hazard can become a CAPA project with root cause analysis.

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FAQ

Chemical inventory and SDS register template: common questions

  1. A chemical inventory is a list of every chemical product kept on a site, with its location, the quantity, the hazards and whether the safety data sheet and label are in order. It is the starting point for safe storage, training and emergency planning.

  2. An SDS, or safety data sheet, is a document from the supplier that describes a product's hazards and how to handle, store, transport and dispose of it, and what to do in an emergency. Many countries use a 16-section format.

  3. Rules differ by country and by product. In general, hazardous chemicals need a sheet that workers can reach, and some products are exempt. Check the rules that apply to you and ask the supplier for a sheet if you are unsure.

  4. Suppliers update a sheet when they learn new information, and some places set a maximum age for the sheet you hold. Set a review limit from your local rules, and use the age column in the Excel version to find the ones that have passed it.

  5. Check section 7 and section 10 of each safety data sheet. As a general rule, keep flammables away from oxidisers, acids away from bases and acids away from oxidisers such as bleach. The register flags places that hold these pairs.

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