RED Article 3 requirement selection workflow

Do not begin by copying a standards list from a similar device. Article 17 requires conformity assessment against the essential requirements in Article 3 and requires the assessment to take account of all intended operating conditions. If the equipment can take different configurations, the assessment must cover those configurations.

The first output should be a short scope record: what the radio equipment is, how it emits or receives radio waves, which EU markets and operating bands are intended, which accessories and software are needed for intended operation, and which economic operator is making the decision.

Article 3(1) and Article 3(2) are the baseline branches for radio equipment. Treat them as separate evidence questions because safety, EMC, and spectrum performance can be proven by different standards, tests, design files, and risk analyses.

Article 3(1)(a) covers protection of health and safety of persons, domestic animals, and property, including Low Voltage Directive safety objectives without a voltage limit. Article 3(1)(b) covers an adequate level of electromagnetic compatibility. Article 3(2) covers effective use and support for efficient use of radio spectrum in order to avoid harmful interference.

Article 3(3) is not a single universal checklist. It contains category or class requirements that apply where the RED or a delegated act makes them relevant. The selection record should show which point was considered, why it was in or out, and what evidence proves the answer.

The Article 3(3) list includes interworking with accessories, interworking via networks, connection to Union interfaces, network protection, safeguards for personal data and privacy, protection from fraud, access to emergency services, accessibility for users with a disability, and software controls where compliance of the radio equipment and software combination must be demonstrated.

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 is the key source for the Article 3(3)(d), (e), and (f) cybersecurity branch. It applies Article 3(3)(d) to internet-connected radio equipment, applies Article 3(3)(e) based on equipment category and personal, traffic, or location-data processing, and applies Article 3(3)(f) to internet-connected radio equipment that enables transfers of money, monetary value, or virtual currency.

The amended application date is 1 August 2025. Do not describe the cybersecurity branch as a general cybersecurity law for all electronics; it is RED Article 3 routing for specified radio equipment categories and classes.

Common charging is part of RED requirement selection for covered portable radio equipment, not a separate marketing-only label exercise. The routing question is whether the equipment falls within Article 3(4) and Annex Ia categories, then whether wired charging capability, charging power, charger unbundling, pictogram, label, instructions, packaging, and distance-selling presentation are handled.

Commission guidance states that the common-charging requirements apply to listed handheld device categories since 28 December 2024 and to laptops as of 28 April 2026. The legal source adds the Article 3a charger-unbundling and pictogram duties and the Article 10(8) charging-capability information and label duties.

The final decision should state which Article 3 branches apply, which harmonised standards or other technical specifications support each branch, which conformity-assessment module is used, and whether a notified body is involved. The technical documentation should make it possible to assess conformity with the applicable RED requirements and should include the applied standards or the alternative solutions used.

Do not close the file with only a meeting note or a supplier assurance. The RED record should connect Article 3 selection to the technical documentation, EU declaration of conformity, CE marking, instructions, labels where applicable, and review triggers for later changes.