RoHS-Impacted Product Categories & Exemptions

The RoHS Directive restricts the use of hazardous substances such as lead, mercury, and cadmium in applicable electronic product categories. The restriction applies to all internal and external wires, cables, and connectors associated with these categories as well as the chargers, components, circuit boards, and displays.

The following are the applicable product categories:

• Category 1: Large household appliances such as refrigerators, washers, stoves, and air conditioners.
• Category 2: Small household appliances such as vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, coffee makers, and irons.
• Category 3: Computing & communications equipment such as computers, printers, copiers, phones, satellite TV, cell tower equipment, and antennas.
• Category 4: Consumer electronics such as TVs, DVD players, stereos, and video cameras.

• Category 5: Lighting lamps, lighting fixtures, and light bulbs (some fluorescents are exempt).
• Category 6: Power tools such as drills, saws, nail guns, sprayers, lathes, trimmers, and blowers.
• Category 7: Toys, leisure, and sports equipment: video games, treadmills, talking dolls, Fitbits.
• Category 8: Medical devices and equipment: including in-vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVDs) (also impacted by GMP regulations - FDA 21 CFR 820)
• Category 9: Monitoring and control equipment: thermostats, smoke detectors, fire alarms, including industrial applications.

• Category 10: Automatic dispensers such as vending machines, and ATMs.
• Category 11: Catch-all of all other electronic and electrical equipment not covered under the other categories. Including 2-wheeled electric vehicles, e-cigarettes, and electrical cables that are less than 250V working voltage.

RoHS-Exempted Product Categories

The following product categories are currently exempted from RoHS compliance:

• Military equipment used for defense or national security.
• Space equipment sent into space such as satellites, telescopes, and spacecraft.

• Vehicles used for transport (except 2-wheeled vehicles such as electric motorcycles, electric dirt bikes, and electric bicycles).
• R&D equipment used for professional research and development.
• Non-road mobile machineries (NRMM) such as agricultural, railway, waterway, and construction machinery.
• Large-scale fixed installations (LSFI) including electrical distribution, HVAC, robotic equipment, and lines.
• Large-scale stationary industrial tools (LSSIT) including CNC, milling, metal-forming, testing machines, and cranes.

• Fixed-location photovoltaic panel (PV) installations.
• Active Implantable Medical Devices (AIMDs)  such as pacemakers, implanted defibrillators, and insulin pumps.
• Sub-equipment for out-of-scope equipment.
• Batteries are just the cells, not external wiring.
• Compact fluorescent light bulbs and lamps.

• Spare parts for equipment that came into the market before RoHS took effect.