RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU Annex III
EU amended the exemptions for lead
18 May 2018, the European Commission has published seven Delegated Directives to amend Annex III to Directive 2011/65/EU on the restriction of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS) regarding the exemptions for lead content.
These Directives shall impose deadlines for some exemptions from lead content restriction and shall be applied from 1 July 2019.
The amendments to Annex III of Directive 2011/65/EU are summarized as follows:
| Exemption number | Application | Applicable product category | Expiry date of exemption |
| 6(a) | Lead as an alloying element in steel for machining purposes and in galvanized steel containing up to 0.35 % lead by weight | Categories 8 and 9 other than in vitro diagnostic medical devices and industrial monitoring and control instruments | 21 July 2021 |
| Category 8 in vitro diagnostic medical devices | 21 July 2023 | ||
|
Category 9 industrial monitoring and control instruments, and Category 11 |
21 July 2024 | ||
| 6(a)-I | Lead as an alloying element in steel for machining purposes containing up to 0.35% lead by weight and in batch hot dip galvanized steel components containing up to 0.2% lead by weight |
Categories 1 to 7, 10 |
21 July 2021 |
| 6(b) |
Lead as an alloying element in aluminum containing up to 0,4 % lead by weight |
Categories 8 and 9 other than in vitro diagnostic medical devices and industrial monitoring and control instruments | 21 July 2021 |
| Category 8 in vitro diagnostic medical devices | 21 July 2023 | ||
| Category 9 industrial monitoring and control instruments, and Category 11 | 21 July 2024 | ||
| 6(b)-I | Lead as an alloying element in aluminum containing up to 0,4 % lead by weight, provided it stems from lead-bearing aluminium scrap recycling | Categories 1 to 7, 10 | 21 July 2021 |
| 6(b)-II | Lead as an alloying element in aluminum for machining purposes with a lead content up to 0.4 % by weight | Categories 1 to 7, 10 | 3 years after publication of Delegated Directive in Official Journal |
| 6(c) | Copper alloy containing up to 4 % lead by weight | Categories 1 to 7, 10 | 21 July 2021 |
| Categories 8 and 9 other than in vitro diagnostic medical devices and industrial monitoring and control instruments | 21 July 2021 | ||
|
Category 8 in vitro diagnostic medical devices |
21 July 2023 | ||
|
Category 9 industrial monitoring and control instruments, and Category 11 |
21 July 2024 | ||
| 7(a) |
Lead in high melting temperature type solders (i.e. lead-based alloys containing 85 % by weight or more lead) |
Categories 1 to 7, 10 (except applications covered by point 24 of Annex III) |
21 July 2021 |
| Categories 8 and 9 other than in vitro diagnostic medical devices and industrial monitoring and control instruments | 21 July 2021 | ||
|
Category 8 in vitro diagnostic medical devices |
21 July 2023 | ||
|
Category 9 industrial monitoring and control instruments, and Category 11 |
21 July 2024 | ||
| 7(c)-I |
Electrical and electronic components containing lead in a glass or ceramic other than dielectric ceramic in capacitors, e.g. piezoelectronic devices, or in a glass or ceramic matrix compound |
Categories 1 to 7, 10 (except applications covered by point 24 of Annex III) | 21 July 2021 |
| Categories 8 and 9 other than in vitro diagnostic medical devices and industrial monitoring and control instruments | 21 July 2021 | ||
| Category 8 in vitro diagnostic medical devices | 21 July 2023 | ||
| Category 9 industrial monitoring and control instruments, and Category 11 | 21 July 2024 | ||
| 18(b) |
Lead as activator in the fluorescent powder (1% lead by weight or less) of discharge lamps when used as sun tanning lamps containing phosphors such as BSP (BaSi2O5:Pb) |
Categories 8 and 9 other than in vitro diagnostic medical devices and industrial monitoring and control instruments |
21 July 2021 |
| Category 8 in vitro diagnostic medical devices | 21 July 2023 | ||
|
Category 9 industrial monitoring and control instruments, and Category 11 |
21 July 2024 | ||
| 18(b)-I | Lead as activator in the fluorescent powder (1 % lead by weight or less) of discharge lamps containing phosphors such as BSP (BaSi2O5:Pb), when used in tanning equipment or in medical phototherapy equipment - excluding applications covered under point 34 of Annex IV | Category 5 | 21 July 2021 |
| 24 |
Lead in solders for the soldering to machined through hole discoidal and planar array ceramic multilayer capacitors |
Categories 1 to 7, 10 | 21 July 2021 |
| Categories 8 and 9 other than in vitro diagnostic medical devices and industrial monitoring and control instruments | 21 July 2021 | ||
| Category 8 in vitro diagnostic medical devices | 21 July 2023 | ||
| Category 9 industrial monitoring and control instruments, and Category 11 | 21 July 2024 | ||
| 34 |
Lead in cermet-based trimmer potentiometer elements |
Categories 1 to 7, 10 | 21 July 2021 |
| Categories 8 and 9 other than in vitro diagnostic medical devices and industrial monitoring and control instruments | 21 July 2021 | ||
| Category 8 in vitro diagnostic medical devices | 21 July 2023 | ||
| Category 9 industrial monitoring and control instruments, and Category 11 | 21 July 2024 |
Unless exempted by Annexes III and IV of Directive 2011/65/EU, electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) shall not contain lead exceeding 0.1 % by weight of homogeneous materials.
Categories of EEE covered by Directive 2011/65/EU:
- Large household appliances
- Small household appliances
- IT and telecommunications equipment
- Consumer equipment
- Lighting equipment
- Electrical and electronic tools
- Toys, leisure and sports equipment
- Medical devices
- Monitoring and control instruments including industrial monitoring and control instruments
- Automatic dispensers
- Other EEE not covered by any of the categories above
