ECHA (European Chemicals Agency) — RoHS Role

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has been formally entrusted with scientific and technical tasks under the RoHS Directive following the adoption of Directive (EU) 2025/2456 (published December 12, 2025). Under this amendment: ECHA is responsible for preparing dossiers for substance restrictions under Annex II; restriction proposals may be prepared by Member States or by ECHA upon Commission request; ECHA processes exemption applications (previously handled by the European Commission); and the Annex II substance list must be reviewed regularly by ECHA, at least once every four years.

Directive (EU) 2025/2456 (amending Directive 2011/65/EU), OJ L, December 12, 2025.

Manufacturers and industry associations seeking RoHS exemptions must now submit applications to ECHA instead of the European Commission. ECHA’s involvement brings the RoHS exemption and restriction process into closer alignment with REACH methodology, which may mean more rigorous technical and scientific assessments of exemption requests. Companies with exemptions expiring should verify the new ECHA submission procedures and deadlines, as the process may differ from previous European Commission procedures.