RoHS

• Directive number: DIRECTIVE 2011/65/EU
• Announcement date: 2011/7/1
• Effective date: 2013/1/3
• Competent authority: European Commission

It was officially implemented on July 1, 2006, and is a mandatory regulation that manufacturers, retailers, and suppliers of electrical and electronic products exported to the EU must comply with. Its main purpose is to regulate the concentration of restricted substances in electrical and electronic products, including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), hexavalent chromium (Cr6+), polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The concentration of each substance must be below the RoHS limit value of 0.1% or 1,000 ppm by weight of homogeneous material. Cadmium has a stricter limit of 0.01% or 100 ppm.

On June 4, 2015, Directive 2011/65/EU was amended by Directive (EU) 2015/863, adding four phthalates (commonly known as plasticizers), increasing the total number of restricted substances to 10. The enforcement date was July 22, 2019 for categories 1–7, 10, and 11. Categories 8 and 9 (medical devices and monitoring instruments) must comply by July 22, 2021.

In addition, on February 9, 2018, the EU launched a new RoHS revision program, known as RoHS Pack 15. In addition to reviewing restricted substances, it also evaluates new exemption applications under Directive 2011/65/EU. The German Oeko-Institut, the contracted research organization for EU RoHS, released the final report of Pack 15 on March 2, 2021, recommending the addition of medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs) and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBP-A) to Annex II of the RoHS Directive.

This Directive does not apply to:

1. equipment which is necessary for the protection of the essential interests of the security of Member States, including arms, munitions and war material intended for specifically military purposes
2. equipment designed to be sent into space
3. equipment which is specifically designed, and is to be installed, as part of another type of equipment that is excluded or does not fall within the scope of this Directive, which can fulfil its function only if it is part of that equipment, and which can be replaced only by the same specifically designed equipment
4. large-scale stationary industrial tools
5. large-scale fixed installations
6. means of transport for persons or goods, excluding electric two-wheel vehicles which are not type-approved
7. non-road mobile machinery made available exclusively for professional use
8. active implantable medical devices
9. photovoltaic panels intended to be used in a system that is designed, assembled and installed by professionals for permanent use at a defined location to produce energy from solar light for public, commercial, industrial and residential applications
10. equipment specifically designed solely for the purposes of research and development only made available on a business-to-business basis

Applications exempted from the restriction in Article 4(1):

• Annex III & Annex IV

The European Union publishes weekly Safety Gate: the EU rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products notifications based on data sources including market surveillance, customs inspections, and self-reporting by manufacturers and distributors. Each EU Member State has established rules governing penalties for non-compliance with this regulation and must take all necessary measures, such as product withdrawals or recalls, the imposition of fines, and criminal sanctions.

Please refer to RoHS FAQ