eur-lex.europa.eu
Referenced sections
- Grounds the cybersecurity, privacy, personal-data and fraud-protection Article 3(3)(d), (e) and (f) scope for covered radio equipment and the 1 August 2025 application date.
"It shall apply from 1 August 2025."
By Sorena AIPublished Updated
RED
EU Radio Equipment Directive (RED)
Classify under Directive 2014/53/EU, map essential requirements, plan CE evidence and track cybersecurity and common-charger dates.
- Applies
- Transition ends
- Cyber applies
- Marking
Understand EU Radio Equipment Directive (RED)
Start with the finished product: RED generally covers electrical or electronic products that intentionally emit or receive radio waves for radio communication or radiodetermination, including a product that needs an accessory such as an antenna to do so. Then identify the economic-operator role, applicable requirements, and evidence needed before the product is first supplied on the EU market.
Check the complete Annex I and State-use exclusions before choosing the RED route. A radio module's reports do not automatically establish conformity of the host product: intended and reasonably foreseeable use, every operating configuration, antenna and software version, spectrum restrictions, delegated requirements, and the final conformity route must be assessed for the equipment that will actually be sold.
Use the reading path below in order: finished-product scope and exclusions, operator role, requirement selection, standards and conformity route, technical evidence, market dates, then series-production and corrective-action controls.
Quick scan
Scope
Confirm if it's (and which exclusions apply).
Cybersecurity
Since 1 August 2025, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 activates selected (3)(d), (e), and (f) requirements for defined categories. EN 18031-1, EN 18031-2, and EN 18031-3 are cited in the Official Journal with restrictions, so teams must check the applicable standard, every notice attached to its citation, and any uncovered requirement before choosing the Article 17 route.
CE evidence
Before market placement, complete the product-specific technical documentation, conformity assessment, EU declaration of conformity, , instructions, labelling, and test evidence. Keep the technical documentation and declaration for 10 years after placement.
What this RED hub helps you decide
- 1
Scope and exclusions
Document the intentional transmit or receive function. Then check amateur- not made available on the market, covered marine equipment, specified airborne aviation equipment, professional custom-built R&D evaluation kits, exclusive State uses, and other product-specific boundaries before treating RED as the route to market.
- 2
Your role in the supply chain
Separate manufacturer, authorised representative, importer, and distributor duties. The manufacturer owns design conformity and the technical documentation; importers and distributors perform specified checks. An importer or distributor becomes the manufacturer when it sells under its own name or changes equipment in a way that may affect conformity.
- 3
Which essential requirements apply
Map (1) safety and health, Article 3(1) EMC, Article 3(2) spectrum, and any Article 3(3) requirements activated for the product category.
- 4
What evidence route to use
Check the current Official Journal citation and every restriction attached to . For (2) and 3(3), incomplete or absent standards coverage changes the available Article 17 route; it does not make a mandatory for every RED requirement.
Key dates for radio equipment teams
Track RED publication, entry into force, application, transition end, cybersecurity activation under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30, common-charger application dates, and standards milestones that affect product releases and test cycles.
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Choose the next RED product decision
New to RED? Start with the finished product, exclusions, and economic-operator role. If those decisions are documented, jump to coverage, conformity evidence, launch dates, enforcement, or a comparison guide.
Start here: product scope and role
Decide whether the finished product is , record exclusions and intended configurations, and identify which organisation is manufacturer, authorised representative, importer, or distributor.
Select the applicable requirements
Map the baseline safety, electromagnetic compatibility, and spectrum requirements, then test product-specific (3), cybersecurity, common-charger, labelling, and restriction branches.
- RED Article 3 Requirements: Safety, EMC, Spectrum and Cyber
- RED Article 3 requirement selection workflow
- EU RED Common Charger Obligations: USB-C scope, dates, labels
- EU RED Cybersecurity Product Categories: 2022/30 scope
- RED Cybersecurity Requirements for Radio Equipment
- RED Cybersecurity Delegated Act Guide | Article 3(3)(d/e/f)
- RED Article 10 labelling, instructions, and restrictions
- RED EMC and LVD Safety Interplay for Radio Equipment
Conformity route and evidence
Turn the requirement map into an OJEU standards matrix, test plan, Article 17 route decision, technical documentation, declaration, , release gate, and controlled change record.
- EU RED Requirements Map: CE and Article 3
- RED Compliance Checklist for Radio Equipment
- EU RED compliance evidence guide
- RED conformity assessment and CE marking
- RED notified body route selection under Article 17
- RED Notified Body Trigger Workflow: Article 17 evidence guide
- RED Harmonised Standards and Test Plans: OJEU evidence guide
- RED Conformity Assessment Template
- RED software update impact for radio equipment
- RED Cyber Compliance Workflow for Article 3(3)(d/e/f)
Dates, surveillance, and enforcement
Separate historical RED dates from current product gates, track category-specific cybersecurity and common-charger dates, and prepare corrective-action and authority-response evidence.
Compare regimes or answer a specific question
Understand where RED replaces or incorporates safety and EMC objectives, where other market-access or cybersecurity regimes remain separate, and use the FAQ for a focused product question.
- RED vs EMC Directive: which law applies to radio equipment?
- RED vs LVD: electrical safety for radio equipment
- RED vs Market Surveillance Regulation for radio equipment
- RED vs Cyber Resilience Act for radio equipment
- RED vs ETSI EN 303 645: what the IoT standard proves
- RED vs UK PSTI for connected radio products
- EU RED FAQ: Scope, CE and USB-C
Sources
eur-lex.europa.eu
Referenced sections
- Adds EN 18031-1:2024, EN 18031-2:2024, and EN 18031-3:2024 to the RED harmonised-standards list with notices that limit the presumption of conformity for specified content and implementation choices.
eur-lex.europa.eu
Referenced sections
- Primary legal text for RED scope, Article 3 essential requirements, economic-operator duties, conformity assessment, technical documentation, EU declaration of conformity, CE marking, and transitional provisions.
"radio equipment shall be constructed"
etsi.org
Referenced sections
- Supports the explanation that harmonised standards provide technical detail for essential requirements and that cited standards can support presumption of conformity.
"presumption of conformity"
single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu
Referenced sections
- Official explanation of the listed device categories, USB-C and USB Power Delivery requirements, charger unbundling option, consumer pictogram and label, and the 28 December 2024 and 28 April 2026 application dates.
"28 April 2026"
single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu
Referenced sections
- Official source for harmonised standards under RED, supporting the hub's guidance on standards cited in the Official Journal and presumption of conformity.
"Harmonised Standards"
single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu
Referenced sections
- Official non-binding guidance on RED scope, product combinations, economic operators, conformity assessment, declarations, labelling, and technical documentation. The Directive and later amendments remain controlling where guidance is older.
"Guide to the Radio Equipment Directive"
single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu
Referenced sections
- Official Commission overview supporting the hub's framing of RED market-access scope, safety and health, EMC, radio-spectrum efficiency, guidance, delegated and implementing acts, and the 13 June 2016 / 12 June 2017 dates.
"applicable as of 13 June 2016"
Next steps
Plan RED conformity and cybersecurity assessments
This hub is the shared entry point for RED product classification, requirement mapping, harmonised-standard selection, notified-body route decisions, cybersecurity applicability, common-charger checks, and CE evidence planning.
- Create a scope record for each product, radio technology, intended use, frequency band, restriction or authorisation condition, and economic-operator role.
- Translate into test plans, harmonised-standard coverage, notified-body trigger checks, instructions, labelling, EU DoC, and technical documentation tasks.
- Track Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 cybersecurity applicability separately from core RED safety, EMC, and spectrum evidence.
- Keep legal interpretation, product facts, test evidence, supplier records, standards versions, and approval history connected to the same cited record.
- Open Assessment Autopilot
Convert RED scope, requirements, conformity route decisions, and evidence gaps into owned tasks, evidence requests, and review checkpoints.
- Open SSOT
Keep product facts, legal reference notes, harmonised-standard mapping, test evidence, EU DoC records, instructions, labels, and approvals in one governed system.
Align product, engineering, test lab, regulatory, legal, supplier, and release teams on RED milestones.
- Talk through RED readiness
Review product scope, coverage, cybersecurity applicability, standards strategy, notified-body triggers, and evidence gaps.