UAE RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances)

UAE RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances)

A Professional Approach to Halal

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Regulation limits the use of dangerous materials in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). Companies are required to survey their supply chains and make declarations on products containing restricted substances above a specific threshold.

The restricted substances affected by this regulation are

  • Lead (Pb)
  • Mercury (Hg)
  • Cadmium (Cd)
  • Hexavalent chromium (Vi)
  • Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB)
  • Polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDE)
  • Bis (2-ethyhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)
  • Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP)
  • Dibutyl phthalate (DBP)
  • Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP)

Regulated categories under the UAE RoHS scheme are

  • Large household appliances
  • Small household appliances
  • IT and telecommunication equipment
  • Consumer equipment and photovoltaic panels
  • Lighting equipment
  • Electrical and electronic tools (except large-scale stationary industrial tools)
  • Toys, leisure, and sports equipment
  • Medical devices (except all implanted and infected products)
  • Monitoring and control instruments
  • Automatic dispensers
  • Other EEE, not covered by any of the above categories

Two options are available to show compliance with the UAE RoHS requirements.

The first option is mandatory under the Emirates Conformity Assessment Scheme (ECAS). In case a full assessment for RoHS is not completed the applicant submits a risk assessment together with at least three test reports of the critical components. Furthermore, a declaration of conformity (DoC) shall be issued. The Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) then verifies compliance and issue the certificate which will be valid for one year.

The second option is under the Emirates Quality Mark (EQM) scheme. The applicant will issue a DoC and a risk assessment based on IEC 63000, IEC 62476 and IEC 62474. To confirm compliance an on-site factory audit will be performed by a certification body approved by ESMA, such as RACS. In case compliance can be verified, the use of the EQM on the product may be used. Under this option the approval is valid for three years.

The implementation timeline of the regulation is as follows:

Use of Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg), Hexavalent Chromium (Cr), PBB, and PBDEs
Implementation Date Products Group
January 1, 2020 Medical devices, in vitro diagnostic medical devices, monitoring and control instruments, industrial monitoring and control instruments A
January 1, 2022 Cables and spare parts for products mentioned above in group A B
January 1, 2018 All other regulated EEE, except for the "other" category, as well as cables and spare part for their repair, reuse, update of functionalities, or upgrade of the capacity of the EEE C
January 1, 2020 All other EEE not mentioned under the groups above D


Use of Bis (2-ethyhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP)
Implementation Date Products Group
January 1, 2022 Medical devices, in vitro diagnostic medical devices, monitoring and control instruments, industrial monitoring and control instruments A
January 1, 2022 Cables and spare parts for products mentioned above in group A B
January 1, 2020 All other regulated EEE, except for the "other" category, as well as cables and spare part for their repair, reuse, update of functionalities, or upgrade of the capacity of the EEE C
January 1, 2020 All other EEE not mentioned under the groups above D

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