A Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is a standardized document that lists the hazards, safe handling instructions, and emergency information for a chemical product. You can find one at your workplace, on the chemical manufacturer’s website, or through free public databases. Where you look depends on whether you need it for a job, a lab, or personal use.
At Your Workplace
If you work with or near hazardous chemicals, your employer is legally required to keep SDSs available to you during every shift. Under OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard, you must be able to access them immediately without leaving your work area. In practice, this means one of a few setups:
- A physical binder or filing cabinet near the work area, often labeled “SDS” or “Right to Know,” organized alphabetically or by department.
- A computer terminal or kiosk with an electronic SDS management system. Many larger facilities use dedicated software that lets you search by product name or chemical name.
- A central location on multi-employer sites. On construction sites or other shared worksites, contractors often keep SDSs in a shared trailer or office. Every employer on site must make sure their workers can reach those sheets at all times.
If your workplace uses a digital system, your employer must also have a backup plan for power outages or equipment failures. That backup can be as simple as a printed set of sheets, an auxiliary power system, or a phone number employees can call to have hazard information read to them. OSHA considers “readily accessible” to mean immediate access, and the only scenario where a delay of up to two hours is acceptable is when the primary system has failed and physical delivery is the fastest option.
Employees who travel between job sites during a shift (delivery drivers, field technicians, maintenance crews) are a special case. Their employer can keep the SDSs at the primary workplace and provide a phone-in option for emergencies. The expectation is that these workers review relevant SDSs before leaving the main site and can call in for information if something goes wrong on the road.
On Manufacturer and Supplier Websites
Every chemical manufacturer and distributor is required to produce an SDS for their hazardous products. Most publish them directly on their websites, and a simple search on the company’s site will usually turn one up. The major scientific suppliers make this especially easy:
- Sigma-Aldrich and Fisher Scientific both let you search by product name from their homepage. Fisher also covers Acros Organics products.
- Avantor (formerly J.T. Baker) hosts sheets for its own chemical lines.
- Airgas and Praxair specialize in gases and let you search by product name or product number.
- VWR allows searches by chemical name, catalog number, manufacturer, or even text within the SDS itself.
If you’re looking for an SDS for a consumer product like a cleaning spray or adhesive, go to the manufacturer’s website and look for a “Safety” or “SDS” section, often buried in the footer. Most major brands (3M, SC Johnson, Clorox, Rust-Oleum) maintain searchable SDS libraries online.
Free Public Databases
When you don’t know the manufacturer, or you want to compare information across brands, third-party databases are the fastest route. Several are free:
- MSDS Xchange offers a free online binder and lets you search by product name or manufacturer across a large collection.
- SIRI MSDS Index provides links to manufacturer sheets and supports searches by CAS number (the unique identifier assigned to every chemical substance), chemical name, or National Stock Number.
- Science Lab lets you look up sheets by CAS number, chemical name, or formula.
- New Jersey Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheets cover more than 1,600 pure substances with health hazard data, exposure limits, protective equipment recommendations, and emergency procedures. Many are also available in Spanish.
- The National Library of Medicine’s TOXNET databases focus on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, and environmental health, and can supplement or cross-reference what you find on an SDS.
The NIH’s Division of Occupational Health and Safety also maintains a resource page linking directly to major supplier SDS search tools, which can be a convenient starting point if you’re not sure where to begin.
In Retail and Consumer Settings
OSHA’s hazard communication rules do not apply to consumers buying products for personal use. However, if you purchase a chemical product for commercial purposes (for a business, not household use), retail distributors are required to provide an SDS upon request. Retailers must also post a sign or otherwise let commercial customers know that SDSs are available.
For everyday household products, the manufacturer’s website is your best bet. You can also try searching the product name plus “SDS” in any search engine. Most results will link directly to a downloadable PDF.
During an Emergency
CHEMTREC maintains a library of more than six million Safety Data Sheets and provides 24/7 emergency response support for incidents involving hazardous materials. Companies that subscribe to CHEMTREC’s SDS Access service can search their sheets from any device at any time. Employees without internet access can call a dedicated phone number for live help around the clock. While CHEMTREC’s services are primarily designed for businesses and emergency responders, the organization is a critical resource during chemical spills, transportation accidents, or exposure incidents when you need hazard information fast.
How to Recognize a Valid SDS
A properly formatted SDS follows an internationally standardized 16-section layout established under the Globally Harmonized System (GHS). If the document you’ve found has exactly 16 numbered sections, starting with “Identification” and ending with “Other Information,” you’re looking at a current-format SDS. Older documents may be labeled “MSDS” (Material Safety Data Sheet) and can have varying formats. These older sheets may still contain useful information, but the standardized 16-section version is what manufacturers have been required to produce since 2015 in the United States.
If an SDS seems incomplete, outdated, or doesn’t match the specific product you’re working with, check the manufacturer’s website for the most recent revision. SDSs are updated whenever new hazard information becomes available, so the version in a workplace binder may not always be current.