Artifact GuideEU

EU RoHS Directive Timeline

RoHS restricts hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment at homogeneous-material level, with technical documentation, CE marking, supplier evidence, exemptions, and testing controls.

Use this EU RoHS Directive timeline page to turn RoHS dates, exemptions, substance amendments, and transition points into clear scope decisions, owner actions, evidence records, and source-linked next steps.

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Author
Sorena AI
Published
May 9, 2026
Updated
May 9, 2026
Sections
3

Structured answer sets in this page tree.

Primary sources
5

Cited legal and guidance references.

Publication metadata
Sorena AI
Published May 9, 2026
Updated May 9, 2026
Overview

Timeline under EU RoHS Directive is a practical compliance question: decide scope, map the duty to the cited source, assign an owner, and keep evidence that can survive release reviews, procurement questions, and authority requests.

Section 1

Which EU RoHS Directive dates matter for Timeline?

Use the Timeline as a decision tool, not only as a date list. For RoHS, the milestones visitors usually need are the directive history, the transposition deadline, the repeal date for RoHS 1, and the later substance transition dates for phthalates and other scope changes.

Key dates include: Directive 2011/65/EU was adopted on 8 June 2011 and published on 1 July 2011; Member States had to adopt national measures by 2 January 2013; Directive 2002/95/EC was repealed with effect from 3 January 2013; Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2015/863 was published on 4 June 2015; the phthalates DEHP, BBP, DBP and DIBP applied from 22 July 2019 for most EEE and from 22 July 2021 for medical devices and monitoring and control instruments.

  • 8 June 2011: Directive 2011/65/EU adopted, setting the RoHS 2 framework.
  • 1 July 2011: Directive 2011/65/EU published in the Official Journal.
  • 2 January 2013: deadline for Member States to adopt national implementing measures.
  • 3 January 2013: Directive 2002/95/EC repealed.
  • 4 June 2015: Delegated Directive (EU) 2015/863 published, adding DEHP, BBP, DBP and DIBP to Annex II.
  • 22 July 2019: the phthalates restriction applied for most EEE placed on the market from this date.
  • 22 July 2021: the phthalates restriction applied to medical devices and monitoring and control instruments.
Sources for this answer
Directive 2011/65/EU on restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS)
Binding consolidated RoHS source for scope, substance thresholds, exemptions, technical documentation, CE marking, and categories.
Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2015/863 adding phthalates to RoHS Annex II
Binding source for the four phthalates added to RoHS Annex II.
Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/659 on EN IEC 63000
Official source for EN IEC 63000 as RoHS technical-documentation standard.
European Commission - RoHS Directive implementation
Commission implementation source for exemption requests, renewals, and evaluation timing.
Section 2

What evidence should be kept for Timeline under EU RoHS Directive?

Keep evidence that a reviewer can follow without knowing the project history. The file should show what was assessed, what rule was applied, what was tested or reviewed, what changed, who approved it, and what still needs monitoring.

For RoHS, the core evidence set is BOM and material declarations, restricted-substance matrix, exemption register, supplier declarations, test plan, lab reports where needed, EN IEC 63000 technical file, EU declaration of conformity, and change-control records. Add a short assumptions note to explain assumptions, exclusions, and unresolved issues.

  • Maintain a dated scope memo and cross-reference it to Directive 2011/65/EU.
  • Attach standards, tests, declarations, supplier inputs, authority correspondence, and remediation logs where they support the conclusion.
  • Reopen the record when the product, supplier, market, harmonised standard, guidance, or legal deadline changes.
Sources for this answer
Directive 2011/65/EU on restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS)
Binding consolidated RoHS source for scope, substance thresholds, exemptions, technical documentation, CE marking, and categories.
Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2015/863 adding phthalates to RoHS Annex II
Binding source for the four phthalates added to RoHS Annex II.
Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/659 on EN IEC 63000
Official source for EN IEC 63000 as RoHS technical-documentation standard.
European Commission - RoHS Directive implementation
Commission implementation source for exemption requests, renewals, and evaluation timing.
Recommended next step

Use this RoHS guide as a cited evidence workflow

Turn this EU RoHS Directive page into a repeatable workflow for product, legal, quality, procurement, support, and engineering teams. Keep citations, owners, evidence, and review triggers together.

Research workflow
Open Research Copilot

Answer RoHS scope, timing, and interpretation questions with cited outputs.

Explore next step
Talk to Sorena
Talk through implementation

Review your scope, evidence model, controls, and next actions.

Explore next step
Section 3

Implementation checklist for Timeline under EU RoHS Directive

Treat the checklist as a decision workflow, not as a static policy. The goal is to get a documented yes/no/needs-escalation answer that product, legal, quality, regulatory, and support teams can reuse.

  • Confirm the exact product, service, role, and market placement fact pattern.
  • Map the relevant obligation to a source, owner, artifact, and due date.
  • Decide whether harmonised standards, notified-body input, supplier declarations, test evidence, or authority guidance are needed.
  • Write the residual-risk, exception, or escalation decision in plain language.
  • Schedule review after release, supplier change, incident, complaint, standard update, or regulatory amendment.
Sources for this answer
Directive 2011/65/EU on restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS)
Binding consolidated RoHS source for scope, substance thresholds, exemptions, technical documentation, CE marking, and categories.
Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2015/863 adding phthalates to RoHS Annex II
Binding source for the four phthalates added to RoHS Annex II.
Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/659 on EN IEC 63000
Official source for EN IEC 63000 as RoHS technical-documentation standard.
European Commission - RoHS Directive implementation
Commission implementation source for exemption requests, renewals, and evaluation timing.
Primary sources

References and citations

European Commission - harmonised standards overview
single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu
Referenced sections
  • Official Commission overview used for standards, OJEU citation, and presumption-of-conformity context.
"Harmonised standards are European standards adopted on the basis of a request."
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