EU RoHS Directive Applicability test

Directive 2011/65/EU applies to electrical and electronic equipment in the Annex I categories. EEE is equipment dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields to work properly, or equipment for generating, transferring, or measuring those currents or fields, within the Directive's voltage limits.

Make the decision for the item and configuration that will be placed or made available on the EU market. Record its intended functions, voltage rating, whether electricity or electromagnetic fields are needed for at least one intended function, and the Annex I category. Since the open-scope expansion, EEE that meets the definition belongs in one of the 11 categories unless an Article 2 exclusion applies.

The Commission FAQ gives practical, non-binding examples. A gas cooker with an electrical clock, a singing teddy bear, lighted sports shoes, and petrol equipment with electric ignition can be EEE because an intended function depends on electricity. By contrast, if lighting and a wardrobe are separable and each remains fully functional, the lighting can be EEE while the furniture is not. Use those examples as reasoning aids, then apply the Directive to the actual marketed configuration.

Article 2(4) excludes specific equipment types, including military/security equipment, space equipment, certain equipment specifically designed for excluded equipment, large-scale stationary industrial tools, large-scale fixed installations, means of transport other than non-type-approved electric two-wheel vehicles, professional non-road mobile machinery, active implantable medical devices, certain photovoltaic panels, business-to-business R&D equipment, and pipe organs.

Cables and spare parts need a separate check. Article 4 covers EEE placed on the market, including cables and spare parts for repair, reuse, updating functionality, or upgrading capacity, but it also contains dated carve-outs tied to the original equipment. Record the original EEE type and placing-on-market date before applying one.

If the item is in scope, Article 4 points to Annex II maximum concentration values by weight in homogeneous materials. The current consolidated Annex II lists lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) at 0.1%, and cadmium at 0.01%. A homogeneous material is assessed at material level, not at finished-product average level.

Exemptions are not general waivers. Article 4(6) points to Annex III and Annex IV applications, and Article 5 sets time-limited exemption procedures. An applicability record should identify the exact exemption entry, product category, substance, application wording, expiry status, and any renewal dependency rather than saying only that the product is RoHS exempt.

For in-scope EEE, the manufacturer must draw up technical documentation, carry out or have carried out the internal production control procedure, draw up an EU declaration of conformity when compliance is demonstrated, affix the CE marking, and keep the technical documentation and declaration for 10 years after placing the EEE on the market.

Importers and distributors also have RoHS checks. Importers must place only compliant EEE on the Union market and verify that the manufacturer has carried out conformity assessment, drawn up technical documentation, provided CE marking, and supplied required documents. Distributors must act with due care, including checking CE marking and required documents before making EEE available.

Weak RoHS records usually fail because they stop at a broad label such as electronic product, spare part, supplier declared, or CE marked. The applicability decision has to show why the specific article is in scope, excluded, exempted, or covered by a dated transition or spare-part rule.

The record should also keep RoHS separate from adjacent regimes. RoHS substance restrictions can overlap with REACH, POPs, batteries, WEEE, Low Voltage, EMC, and sector legislation, but each regime has its own trigger and evidence. A RoHS conclusion should not imply that those other duties are resolved.