REACH vs RoHS: Which Compliance Data Belongs on the Product Record?
REACH vs RoHS compared for product-data teams: substances, scope, declarations, and the fields distributors should enrich.
REACH and RoHS are often bundled into a single supplier-feed column, but buyers and compliance teams do not use them the same way. REACH drives substance disclosure and downstream communication. RoHS is a restricted-substance framework for electrical and electronic equipment. For industrial distributors, the enrichment wedge is simple: a product record should not merely say “REACH/RoHS compliant.” It should say which framework was assessed, which declaration supports it, what exceptions or substances apply, and when the supplier last confirmed the claim.
At a glance
| Dimension | REACH | RoHS |
|---|---|---|
| Primary concern | Chemical substance registration, restriction, and communication across products and supply chains | Restriction of specified hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment |
| Common catalog field | SVHC status, candidate-list declaration, restricted-substance notes | RoHS compliant yes/no, exemption, directive version, declaration date |
| Evidence | Supplier declaration, SVHC statement, SCIP or article-level substance data | RoHS declaration of conformity, test report, exemption statement |
| Update trigger | Candidate-list changes, supplier material changes, regulatory updates | Directive amendments, exemption expiry, product design changes |
| Frequent error | Stored as a static yes/no flag with no declaration date | Assumed to cover all chemical compliance obligations |
Product-record fields to keep separate
| Attribute | Why it belongs on the record |
|---|---|
| REACH declaration status | Shows whether the supplier has assessed the product against REACH obligations |
| SVHC above-threshold indicator | Supports buyer filtering and downstream communication for articles containing candidate-list substances |
| RoHS declaration status | Confirms whether an electrical or electronic item is represented as RoHS compliant |
| RoHS exemption | Prevents a compliant-with-exemption product from being presented as unrestricted |
| Declaration date and supplier | Makes stale compliance data visible before it creates audit risk |
| Source document | Lets reviewers trace each claim back to the exact declaration or datasheet |
How this supports the digital product passport narrative
Digital product passport programs raise the bar for traceable product information. Even before a distributor exposes passport-style data externally, internal records need source-linked compliance attributes: what was claimed, who claimed it, when it was claimed, and which document supports it. REACH and RoHS enrichment is a practical starting point because the information already appears across supplier declarations, SDS documents, compliance portals, and PDFs — but usually in inconsistent formats.
Claro extracts those values, normalizes the field names, and stores provenance with the result. That gives product, compliance, and ecommerce teams one trusted record instead of a spreadsheet stitched together from supplier emails.
Related
Comparison
SVHC vs SCIP vs Annex XVII
How EU substance obligations differ and connect.
Glossary
What Is the SVHC Candidate List?
The candidate-list concept behind many REACH declarations.
Guide
Digital Product Passport
Why traceable product attributes matter for future compliance workflows.
FAQ
What is the difference between REACH and RoHS?
REACH is a broad EU chemicals framework focused on substance registration, restriction, and communication, including SVHC disclosure. RoHS restricts specific hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. Product records often need both, but they require different attributes and evidence.
Does RoHS compliance mean a product is REACH compliant?
No. RoHS and REACH have different scopes and substance lists. A product can have a RoHS declaration and still require REACH SVHC assessment or communication.
What should distributors store for REACH and RoHS?
Store declaration status, declaration date, substance or exemption details where applicable, source document, supplier, and whether the value was extracted from a declaration, datasheet, or direct supplier response.
Claro
Stop maintaining this by hand
Claro keeps product and supplier data trusted as catalogs change — matching, deduplication, enrichment, and validated write-back into the systems you already run.
Book a demo