Supplier Declaration (Material Declaration)

A supplier declaration (also called a material declaration or substance declaration) is a written statement from a component or material supplier confirming the substance content of their supplied material or component relative to RoHS restricted substances. Under EN IEC 63000:2018, supplier declarations are the primary evidence mechanism for demonstrating RoHS compliance, particularly for substances in homogeneous materials that cannot be practically tested at the receiving manufacturer’s level. Declarations must specify: which substances are present; their concentration per homogeneous material; reference to the applicable standard; and the signatory’s name and date.

EN IEC 63000:2018 (Section 5.3 — Supplier Declarations); Directive 2011/65/EU, Article 8 (Technical Documentation requirements).

Supplier declarations form the backbone of RoHS technical documentation for finished EEE manufacturers. A robust supplier declaration programme requires: standardised declaration formats; clear substance scope (all ten Annex II substances); material-level (not component- or product-level) declarations; regular update cycles (particularly after Candidate List or Annex II changes); and verification against spot-test results. Suppliers who refuse to provide declarations or provide vague composite declarations create compliance gaps that manufacturers must address through testing or supplier substitution.