RoHS & REACH Compliance for Connectors: What "Compliant" Actually Requires

What Does "RoHS Compliant" Actually Mean?

RoHS — the EU's Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (2011/65/EU, as amended) — restricts exactly 10 substances in electrical and electronic equipment sold in the EU. The original 6 were joined by 4 phthalates in a 2015 amendment (sometimes called "RoHS 3"), and the list hasn't changed since:

• Lead (Pb): maximum concentration 0.1%.
• Mercury (Hg): maximum concentration 0.1%.
• Cadmium (Cd): maximum concentration 0.01% — tenfold stricter than the rest.
• Hexavalent chromium (Cr VI): maximum concentration 0.1%.
• Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB): maximum concentration 0.1%.
• Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE): maximum concentration 0.1%.
• Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP): maximum concentration 0.1%.
• Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP): maximum concentration 0.1%.
• Dibutyl phthalate (DBP): maximum concentration 0.1%.
• Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP): maximum concentration 0.1%.

Since July 2019, RoHS has "open scope" — it covers essentially all electrical and electronic equipment across 11 categories (large/small appliances, IT equipment, consumer devices, lighting, tools, toys, medical devices, monitoring instruments, automatic dispensers, and a catch-all for everything else) unless a specific exemption applies. A RoHS-compliant product carries the CE mark, with its EU Declaration of Conformity citing 2011/65/EU.

What Does "REACH Compliant" Actually Mean?

REACH (Regulation (EC) 1907/2006) is a much broader EU chemical regulation than RoHS — it covers essentially any substance in any article placed on the EU market, not just electronics. The practical starting point for a connector buyer is ECHA's Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC), which currently stands at 253 entries (most recently expanded in February 2026) and is updated roughly twice a year.

The key trigger is a 0.1% weight-by-weight threshold, assessed at the individual article level. Crossing it creates real obligations:

• Article 33 communication: the supplier must disclose the substance to customers and respond to a consumer request within 45 days.
• Article 7(2) notification: required when a substance exceeds 0.1% w/w and the manufacturer/importer's total annual quantity of it exceeds 1 tonne.
• SCIP database registration: required for articles placed on the EU market containing a Candidate List substance above the threshold.

Being on the Candidate List does not automatically mean a substance is banned — that's a common point of confusion, addressed directly below.

RoHS vs. REACH: Why They're Not the Same Certification

These get conflated constantly, but a connector can be fully RoHS compliant and still carry a REACH disclosure obligation — they're separate regulations, checked separately:

• Substance list: RoHS is fixed at 10 substances since 2015. REACH's Candidate List currently sits at 253 and keeps growing, roughly twice a year.
• What crossing the threshold means: RoHS imposes a hard ban above the limit (with narrow, specific exemptions). REACH is mostly a disclosure/notification obligation, not an automatic ban.
• Scope: RoHS covers electrical/electronic equipment only. REACH covers any substance in any article sold in the EU.
• Required before CE marking?: Yes for RoHS. No for REACH — its obligations run alongside CE marking, not through it.

The one REACH tier that does function like a ban is Annex XIV (the Authorisation List) — substances there require explicit authorization to keep using past a sunset date. Annex XVII restrictions can prohibit or limit specific uses outright. For connector sourcing, Candidate List substances mean "ask for disclosure"; Annex XIV/XVII substances mean "this may not be usable in your application at all" — worth knowing which tier a flagged substance actually sits in before assuming either extreme.

Connector-Specific Compliance Checklist

• RoHS Declaration of Conformity: get one referencing 2011/65/EU (as amended) and the current 10-substance list.
• REACH declaration or Article 33 communication: confirm SVHC status — and ask which version of the Candidate List it was checked against, since a declaration checked against an older, shorter list can miss a recently added substance.
• Contact and terminal plating alloys: check specifically — legacy tin-lead or cadmium-based platings are one of the more common lingering RoHS risks, especially on parts also sold outside the EU market.
• Housing flame retardants and plasticizers: check housing flame retardants for PBB/PBDE, and cable jacket or potting compound plasticizers for the four restricted phthalates (DEHP, BBP, DBP, DIBP).
• SCIP database registration: confirm if the part is placed on the EU market and contains a Candidate List substance above 0.1% w/w.
• Two separate documents: don't assume one certificate covers both regulations — request RoHS and REACH documentation as two separate items.

How Do I Select RoHS/REACH-Compliant Connectors?

Start by requesting both declarations from the manufacturer directly, rather than relying on a general "RoHS/REACH compliant" line in a datasheet — that phrasing alone doesn't tell you which substance list version was checked or when. For REACH specifically, ask for the Candidate List version/date the declaration references, since the list changes roughly twice a year and a connector qualified against last year's list may not reflect a substance added since.

Next, look specifically at the parts of the connector most likely to carry a flagged substance: plating alloys on contacts, flame retardants in the housing resin, and plasticizers in any cable jacketing or potting compound. Finally, if the part is being placed on the EU market and contains a Candidate List substance above 0.1% w/w, confirm SCIP registration has actually been filed — not just that the substance has been disclosed to you.

Where to Go Deeper

This page covers RoHS and REACH generally — for other standards in this section, see the OCP/ORV3 Compliance Requirements Checklist, the UL 94 Flammability Rating Guide, and the MIL-DTL-38999 Connector Series Guide.

Disclaimer

General guidance only. This page is an informational overview of RoHS and REACH as they generally apply to electronic connectors — it is not a substitute for reviewing the current, complete text of Directive 2011/65/EU (as amended) and REACH Regulation (EC) 1907/2006 directly, or ECHA's own published Candidate List.

Not affiliated. connectorselection.com is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) or the European Commission.

Not legal or compliance advice. RoHS exemptions and the REACH SVHC Candidate List are both updated periodically (the SVHC list is typically revised about twice a year). Always verify current requirements and obtain a manufacturer's specific Declaration of Conformity and REACH declaration before making a sourcing, design, or compliance decision.