Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542

Last reviewed: October 2026 · Sources listed at the end of this page.

Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2023 concerning batteries and waste batteries — the "Battery Regulation" — repealed and replaced Directive 2006/66/EC. It applies progressively from 18 February 2024, with key provisions for CE marking, performance and durability, carbon footprint, recycled content, removability, and the Battery Passport phasing in from 2024 into the 2030s. Published as OJ L 191, 28.7.2023, p. 1. The Regulation is the most extensive overhaul of EU battery legislation since the original 1991 Directive and substantially raises both placing-on-market and end-of-life requirements.

Legal status and timeline

Adopted 12 July 2023; in force 17 August 2023; general application 18 February 2024. Directive 2006/66/EC was repealed from 18 August 2025, with some provisions kept longer. Dates marked "floor" apply on that date or after a set period following the relevant Commission act, whichever is later.

Scope: products covered

Article 1 applies to all batteries placed on the EU market or put into service, regardless of their shape, volume, weight, design, material composition, chemistry, use, or purpose. Article 3 distinguishes five battery categories:

• Portable battery — sealed; weighs 5 kg or less; not designed for industrial use; not an electric vehicle, light means of transport (LMT), or SLI (starting, lighting, ignition) battery.
• Light means of transport (LMT) battery — sealed; weighs 25 kg or less; designed to provide electric power to wheeled vehicles that can be propelled by an electric motor (e-bikes, e-scooters).
• Starting, lighting, ignition (SLI) battery — designed to supply electric power for starter, lighting, or ignition.
• Industrial battery — battery designed for industrial use, with the exception of any battery that falls into another category.
• Electric vehicle (EV) battery — battery specifically designed to provide traction to hybrid or electric vehicles for road transport.

Sustainability and safety requirements

Chapter II of the Regulation introduces sustainability, safety, and labelling requirements:

• Article 6 — Restrictions of substances. Batteries must not contain substances restricted in Annex I: mercury above 0.0005% by weight (all batteries), cadmium above 0.002% (portable batteries) and, from 18 August 2024, lead above 0.01% (portable batteries; portable zinc-air button cells until 18 August 2028).
• Article 7 — Carbon footprint. EV, LMT and rechargeable industrial batteries above 2 kWh must have a carbon footprint declaration covering the life cycle. Performance classes (Article 7(2)) follow, from 18 August 2026 for EV batteries at the earliest to 18 February 2032 for industrial batteries with exclusively external storage. Maximum thresholds (Article 7(3)) start from 18 February 2028 for EV batteries at the earliest, and reach 18 August 2033. Each stage waits for its Commission act, so none had been triggered at this review.
• Article 8 — Recycled content. Industrial batteries above 2 kWh (excluding those with exclusively external storage), EV and SLI batteries must document, then meet, minimum recycled shares: from 18 August 2031, 16% cobalt, 85% lead, 6% lithium and 6% nickel; from 18 August 2036, 26% cobalt, 85% lead, 12% lithium and 15% nickel. LMT batteries come in later, as shown in the table above.
• Article 9 — Performance and durability requirements. Minimum performance for portable batteries of general use, excluding button cells, from 18 August 2028 or 24 months after the Commission's delegated act, whichever is later.
• Article 10 — Performance and durability for rechargeable industrial, LMT and EV batteries. A document with the Annex IV values has been required since 18 August 2024. Minimum values follow for industrial batteries above 2 kWh and for LMT batteries.
• Article 11 — Removability and replaceability. From 18 February 2027, products must be designed so that portable batteries are readily removable and replaceable by the end user, and LMT batteries replaceable by an independent professional. Commission guidelines are in Notice C/2025/214.
• Article 12 — Safety of stationary battery energy storage systems — including fire safety.

Conformity assessment

Article 17 and Annex VIII provide modules:

• Module A — Internal production control (Annex VIII, Part A) — available for the requirements of Articles 6, 9, 10, 12, 13 and 14.
• Module D1 — Quality assurance of the production process (Part B), for batteries manufactured in series, or Module G — Conformity based on unit verification (Part C), for batteries not manufactured in series — alternatives to Module A for those requirements, and mandatory for the carbon footprint (Article 7) and recycled content (Article 8) requirements (Article 17(2), applicable 12 months after the first publication of the list of notified bodies).

Where third-party assessment is required, a Notified Body designated under the Regulation is involved. The four-digit identification number appears next to the CE marking.

Technical documentation

Annex VIII Module-specific provisions set the contents. The technical file includes: battery description and category; design and manufacturing information; carbon footprint and recycled content documentation; performance and durability test reports; safety assessment; restricted substances analysis; conformity assessment certificates; instructions for safe handling. Retention: 10 years (Article 38). See technical documentation.

EU Declaration of Conformity

Article 18 and Annex IX. See EU Declaration of Conformity.

Marking, labelling, and Battery Passport

Article 13 and Annex VI require labelling on each battery:

• From 18 August 2025 — the separate collection symbol (crossed-out wheeled bin), with the chemical symbol Cd or Pb beneath it where the battery contains more than 0.002% cadmium or 0.004% lead;
• From 18 August 2026, or 18 months after the Commission's labelling implementing act enters into force if later (the act was due by 18 August 2025 and had not been reported as published at this review, so this duty has not yet been triggered) — a label with the general information in Annex VI, Part A (including the chemistry), capacity information for rechargeable portable, LMT and SLI batteries, and minimum average duration and a ‘non-rechargeable’ label for non-rechargeable portable batteries;
• From 18 February 2027 — a QR code giving access to the Battery Passport (LMT, industrial >2 kWh and EV batteries) or, for other batteries, to the required product information and the Declaration of Conformity.

CE marking is required under Articles 19 and 20 for batteries placed on the market from 18 August 2024. The Notified Body identification number appears where a Notified Body has been involved.

Battery Passport (Article 77)

From 18 February 2027, each LMT, industrial >2 kWh, and EV battery placed on the market or put into service must have an individual Battery Passport accessible via a QR code on the battery. The Battery Passport contains performance, durability, chemical composition, repair, repurposing, and recycling information, with tiered access for different stakeholders (manufacturers, repairers, recyclers, market surveillance authorities, end-users). The implementing act on access rights was due by 18 August 2026 and was reported as not adopted in early October 2026; that does not change the date. Commission passport guidance was reported in August 2026. See Digital Product Passport.

Supply-chain due diligence (Chapter VII)

Economic operators placing batteries on the market must operate a due diligence policy covering raw materials such as cobalt, lithium, natural graphite and nickel, with third-party verification (Articles 48 to 52). Regulation (EU) 2025/1561, adopted on 18 July 2025, moved the start from 18 August 2025 to 18 August 2027 and the deadline for Commission guidelines to 26 July 2026. Operators with net turnover below EUR 40 million are exempt. A Commission proposal to raise that threshold to EUR 150 million is not law; check the outcome of Omnibus IV before relying on it.

Producer responsibility for waste batteries

Chapter VIII (Articles 54–76) imposes extended producer responsibility (EPR) obligations on producers placing batteries on the EU market: registration with a national producer registry, financing of collection and recycling, collection rate targets for portable batteries (63% by 31 December 2027, 73% by 31 December 2030; for LMT batteries 51% by 31 December 2028, 61% by 31 December 2031), recycling efficiency targets per chemistry, and waste battery recovery targets. The provisions on waste batteries are outside the CE marking framework but apply to the same economic operators.

Recent and upcoming changes

• Adopted: Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 (due diligence delay); Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/606 (recycling efficiency and recovery methodology, published 4 July 2025); Notice C/2025/214 (removability guidelines).
• Outstanding at this review: carbon footprint delegated and implementing acts; the labelling implementing act; the passport access-rights implementing act. Check the Official Journal, because each publication starts a clock.
• Pending: Omnibus IV, indicatively before Parliament on 23 November 2026, and the Environmental Omnibus proposal on EPR authorised representatives. Neither is law.

Related legislation

• Ecodesign Regulation 2024/1781 — applies in parallel for battery-containing products subject to delegated regulations.
• RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU — restrictions on hazardous substances in EEE that contain batteries.
• Medical Devices Regulation 2017/745 — for batteries integrated in medical devices.
• Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU — for batteries integrated in radio equipment.
• Recreational Craft Directive 2013/53/EU — for batteries used in electric/hybrid recreational craft.
• Regulation (EU) 2018/858 on motor vehicle type approval — for EV batteries integrated in vehicles (the vehicle is type-approved; the battery has additional Battery Regulation obligations).
• Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 on critical raw materials — recycled content and supply chain due diligence requirements overlap.

Common errors

• Assuming 18 August 2026 label duties are live. The separate collection symbol is mandatory now. The general label runs from the later of 18 August 2026 and 18 months after the implementing act. Check the current position, and prepare the data.
• Treating due diligence as a 2025 duty. It was postponed to 18 August 2027.
• Failure to register for EPR. Producer registration is required in each Member State where batteries are made available.
• Confusing portable battery removability with consumer-replaceability. Article 11 applies to portable batteries incorporated in products and requires design that allows end-user replacement, with narrow derogations (Article 11).
• Underestimating carbon footprint declaration complexity. The carbon footprint calculation requires detailed life-cycle analysis under Commission methodology; declared values are subject to verification.
• Missing Notified Body assessment where required. Conformity with the carbon footprint (Article 7) and recycled content (Article 8) requirements, which concern EV, LMT, industrial and (for recycled content) SLI batteries, must be assessed under Module D1 or G, both involving a Notified Body, once those requirements apply.

Frequently asked questions

When does the EU battery passport start?

On 18 February 2027, for LMT batteries, EV batteries and industrial batteries above 2 kWh placed on the market from that date. The date has not been changed.

Has battery due diligence been postponed?

Yes. Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 moved the start from 18 August 2025 to 18 August 2027. Operators with net turnover below EUR 40 million are exempt.

Do the battery labels apply since 18 August 2026?

The separate collection symbol has applied since 18 August 2025. The general label applies from 18 August 2026 or 18 months after the Commission's labelling implementing act, whichever is later, and that act had not been reported as published at this review.

Do batteries need a Notified Body?

Not for most requirements: Module A covers Articles 6, 9, 10, 12, 13 and 14. The carbon footprint and recycled content requirements need Module D1 or G, which involve a Notified Body, once they apply.

Must phone batteries be user-replaceable?

From 18 February 2027, portable batteries in products must be readily removable and replaceable by the end user, subject to the narrow derogations in Article 11. Ask whether your product fits a derogation before designing on that basis.

Sources

• Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (Batteries) — EUR-Lex consolidated text.
• Directive 2006/66/EC (predecessor) — EUR-Lex.
• European Commission — Batteries (DG ENV).
• Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 (due diligence postponement) — Linklaters quick guide.
• Staged dates by article — ComplianceGate timeline, read with Batteriepasswerk on Article 7.
• Commission Notice — Blue Guide 2022 — EUR-Lex.