The unit's responsibilities comprise:

• The helpdesk answers enquiries, in particular, from small and medium-sized enterprises. It also provides information and holds expert discussions and events. With its website, the helpdesk maintains an extensive online portal. The federal states also receive support on questions of substance relating to the enforcement of REACH and CLP requirements.
• Harmonisation of information on REACH, CLP and biocidal products both nationally and within the EU. At national level, the helpdesk is supported by an expert network of federal authorities and by the assessment units. These include Division 4 "Hazardous Substances and Biological Agents" of the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM). At EU level, the various helpdesk representatives from the EU Member States coordinate their response to frequently asked questions (FAQ) on REACH, CLP and biocidal products via EU's "HelpNet" network and participate in the preparation of EU guidance documents. This harmonised information is published on the website of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
• The unit acts as an interface for the exchange of information between the ECHA, the Assessment Units, and the federal states. This includes, for example, exchanging results from dossier evaluations.
• Coordinating the evaluation of registration dossiers for compliance with the REACH requirements and the testing proposals (dossier evaluation) submitted to ECHA with the relevant federal authorities. Within this context, it provides information to the enforcement authorities of the federal states.
• Supporting the national authorities in enforcement-related tasks after the deadlines specified in the dossier evaluation decisions have expired. In doing so, the expert group acts as a link between ECHA and the enforcement authority in cooperation with unit 5.8 (Chemicals Law, Administration).
• Advising the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the European Commission in their role as competent authorities for the CLP Regulation on matters relating to this Regulation, in particular in the expert committee CARACAL set up for this purpose.
• Policy advice and providing support in the context of REACH, CLP and biocidal procedures on specific overarching issues, e.g. on the distinction between substances, mixtures and articles or on complex substances with variable compositions. This also includes issues relating to nanomaterials, including through participation in the ECHA Expert Group on Nanomaterials.