European Union
RoHS — Restriction of Hazardous Substances
RoHS restricts the concentration of ten substances — lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, PBB, PBDE and four phthalates — in electrical and electronic equipment placed on the EU market. Limits apply at the homogeneous material level, not the finished product, which is why component-level evidence is needed rather than a supplier's blanket statement. Most practical difficulty comes from the exemption annexes: exemptions are granted for a fixed period, and a renewal decision that lands late can leave a product compliant on a technicality and unsellable in practice.
What it obliges you to do
- Hold evidence that each homogeneous material is under the threshold
- Track which exemptions a product relies on, and when each expires
- Keep an EU Declaration of Conformity and technical documentation for ten years
- Re-assess when a supplier changes a formulation or a part is substituted
Latest activity
No machine-readable feed reaches RoHS yet. We ingest the US Federal Register and legislation.gov.uk; neither carries instruments under this name, and the EU publishers that would — ECHA, EUR-Lex, the Commission — refuse automated requests. The primary sources above are the record to watch. This is a gap in available feeds, not an indication that nothing is changing.
Does RoHS actually apply to your products?
Scope is the part a summary cannot answer. Send us your product families and target markets and a steward will tell you which obligations attach, what evidence you would need, and what is already covered by declarations you hold.
- A written read on whether RoHS applies to your range
- The evidence gaps that would surface in an audit
- No obligation, and no sales sequence attached
Not legal advice. This page describes a regulatory framework in general terms and is maintained by people, not generated from the legislature. Requirements change, and scope depends on your product, your role in the supply chain and your markets. Confirm the current consolidated text before acting — or ask us to check it against your portfolio.