Hydrogen permeation transients for passivated chromium-plated steels were measured at room temperature as a function of cathodic charging current density. The passivated film on chromium plating is shown to be an effective barrier to hydrogen at low cathodic charging current density (40 and 100 mu A cm(-2)). The passivated film can be reduced to chromium at higher cathodic charging current density (1 and 10 mAcm(-2)), promoting hydrogen absorption significantly.