EU Battery Regulation: what applies to batteries and products with batteries
Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 replaced the 2006 Batteries Directive and has applied since 18 February 2024 (Article 96). It covers every battery placed on the EU market, on its own or built into an appliance, a light means of transport or a vehicle. Several duties start later: some on fixed dates, others counted from Commission acts that are not adopted yet.
Checked against the sources on 6 October 2026
Which category is your battery?
| Category | What it is (Article 3) |
|---|---|
| Portable battery | Sealed, 5 kg or less, not designed for industrial use, and not an LMT, SLI or electric vehicle battery: phone, laptop, tool and toy batteries, button cells, AA and AAA cells |
| LMT battery | Sealed, 25 kg or less, powers e-bikes, e-scooters and other light electric vehicles |
| SLI battery | Starting, lighting and ignition battery for vehicles, other means of transport or machinery |
| Industrial battery | Designed for industrial use, or any other battery over 5 kg that is not an LMT, SLI or electric vehicle battery, such as home energy storage |
| Electric vehicle battery | Powers the traction of hybrid or electric cars, vans, buses and lorries, or of light vehicles when it weighs more than 25 kg |
Who has duties
- Manufacturer of the battery: conformity assessment, technical documentation, EU declaration of conformity and CE marking, which apply since 18 August 2024 (Articles 17 and 96).
- Whoever places a product with a portable battery on the market: from 18 February 2027 the battery must be readily removable and replaceable by the end user with commercially available tools, and the product must come with instructions on removing and replacing it (Article 11).
- Producer, for extended producer responsibility: whoever first makes batteries available in a Member State, including batteries inside appliances and vehicles. A seller outside the EU that sells directly to end users there by distance contract is a producer too (Article 3(1), point 47).
- Larger companies: battery due diligence on raw materials applies from 18 August 2027, and only to operators with a net turnover of €40 million or more (Articles 47 and 48, date as amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/1561).
Selling directly to EU consumers from outside the EU
A seller outside the EU that sells batteries, or products containing them, directly to end users in a Member State must register as a producer in that Member State before selling there (Article 55) and appoint, by written mandate, an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility in each Member State where it sells (Article 56(3)). Producers finance the collection and treatment of waste batteries. These rules apply since 18 August 2025 (Article 96).
Key dates
| Date | What applies | Article |
|---|---|---|
| 18 February 2024 | The regulation applies | 96 |
| 18 August 2024 | Conformity assessment, EU declaration of conformity, CE marking. Portable batteries: at most 0.01 % lead (zinc-air button cells exempt until 18 August 2028). All batteries: at most 0.0005 % mercury; portable batteries at most 0.002 % cadmium | 17, 96, Annex I |
| 18 August 2025 | Crossed-out wheeled bin symbol for separate collection on all batteries. Producer registration and extended producer responsibility in each Member State | 13, 55, 56, 96 |
| 18 February 2027 | QR code on all batteries. Portable batteries in products removable and replaceable by the end user. Battery passport for LMT batteries, industrial batteries over 2 kWh and electric vehicle batteries | 11, 13, 77 |
| 18 August 2027 | Due diligence on raw materials, for operators with a net turnover of €40 million or more | 47, 48 |
| 18 August 2026 or 18 months after the implementing act, whichever is later | Label with general information, capacity, and 'non-rechargeable' where relevant. The implementing act was still a draft when we checked on 7 October 2026, so these labels are not yet required | 13 |
| From 2025 to 2030, each date or later once the Commission acts apply | Carbon footprint declaration for electric vehicle batteries, rechargeable industrial batteries and LMT batteries | 7 |
| 18 August 2028 or later | Documentation of recycled cobalt, lead, lithium and nickel for industrial batteries over 2 kWh and other categories listed; minimum recycled shares from 18 August 2031 | 8 |
What to do now
- Work out the category of every battery you sell, including the ones built into your products.
- Ask your battery supplier for the EU declaration of conformity, and check the CE marking and the collection symbol.
- If you sell directly to consumers in EU countries, register as a producer and appoint an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility in each of them before you sell.
- If your product has a portable battery glued or sealed in, plan a design change before 18 February 2027.
- Plan the QR code, and for LMT, industrial over 2 kWh and electric vehicle batteries the battery passport, for 18 February 2027.
The capacity and general information labels wait for a Commission implementing act; we will update this page when it is adopted. Not sure which other EU rules apply to you? Use the EU rules finder.