EU Batteries Regulation 2027: Removability and Exemptions

TL;DR. From 18 February 2027, Article 11 of the EU Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 requires portable batteries in products sold in the EU to be readily removable and replaceable by the end user, with spare batteries available for five years after the last unit of the model is sold.

On 14 July 2026 the Commission adopted a delegated act that replaces Article 11(2) in full and expands the derogation list from two items to eight, adding a new miniaturisation route for wearable devices, plus electric toys until 2030, food probes, ATEX products, on-body drug delivery systems and agricultural telematics.

That act is not yet in force. It was still in the Parliament and Council scrutiny period as at 22 August 2026 and has not been published in the Official Journal. And a derogation is not an exit: the spare parts duty, the software prohibition and the information duty all survive it.

What Article 11 of the EU Batteries Regulation requires

Article 11(1) of the Batteries Regulation is short and unforgiving:

"Any natural or legal person that places on the market products incorporating portable batteries shall ensure that those batteries are readily removable and replaceable by the end-user at any time during the lifetime of the product. That obligation shall only apply to entire batteries and not to individual cells or other parts included in such batteries."

Article 96(2) applies it from 18 February 2027. That is roughly six months from today, which sounds survivable until you count backwards through tooling, certification and a production cycle. For anyone with a sealed-battery product currently in design, the decision point is now, not next year.

Note who the duty binds: "any natural or legal person that places on the market products incorporating portable batteries", not the battery manufacturer. If you are a non-EU OEM selling through an EU importer, the importer is the person placing on the market. The design constraint, however, is unambiguously yours.

Is your battery "portable" under the EU Batteries Regulation?

Everything turns on the Article 3 definitions. Get this wrong and you either over-engineer a product that was never caught, or ship one that was.

There is no de minimis. A button cell in a wearable is a portable battery. A 200 mAh lithium-polymer pouch in a pair of earbuds is a portable battery. The 5 kg threshold is the only weight test, and virtually nothing in consumer electronics comes close to it.

There is also a separate category worth flagging: a portable battery of general use is one in a common interoperable format, meaning AA, AAA, AAAA, C, D, 9V (PP3), A23, 4.5V (3R12) or a button cell. This matters for the derogations, as we will see.

What "readily removable" means under Article 11

Article 11(1), second subparagraph sets the test:

"A portable battery shall be considered readily removable by the end-user where it can be removed from a product with the use of commercially available tools, without requiring the use of specialised tools, unless provided free of charge with the product, proprietary tools, thermal energy, or solvents to disassemble the product."

Parse that carefully, because the sentence is badly punctuated and routinely misread. The "unless provided free of charge" clause attaches only to specialised tools.

Proprietary tools, thermal energy and solvents are absolute prohibitions. You cannot cure a heat-activated adhesive by shipping a heat gun in the box.

The Commission guidelines map this onto EN 45554:2020:

Practically:

• Screws are fine. A standard driver is commercially available.
• Adhesives requiring heat or solvent are prohibited outright. Pull-tab adhesives are permissible only where no thermal energy or solvent is needed.
• Non-reusable fasteners are permitted only if you also stock them as spare parts.

Who counts as the end user under Article 11?

The guidelines define the end user as "a person having attained the age of majority without any specific experience or related qualifications related to removing or replacing batteries."

That is the EN 45554 "layman" level. Design to a person who has never opened a device, not to an enthusiast with a spudger.

What "replaceable" adds beyond removability

Article 11(6): a battery is readily replaceable where, after removal, "it can be substituted by another compatible battery without affecting the functioning, the performance or the safety" of the appliance. So beyond getting the old one out:

1. Third-party compatible batteries must work. The guidelines are explicit that devices must be designed to allow "both original and compatible batteries".
2. Re-assembly must be non-destructive. No damage to battery or device on removal or replacement.
3. No software lockout. Article 11(8) prohibits using software to impede replacement of a battery or its key components with a compatible one. The guidelines name parts pairing and serialisation as the target practice.

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EU battery removability exemptions adopted on 14 July 2026

This is the part that has not been properly reported, and it is the reason to revisit a design decision you may already have made.

As the law stands today, Article 11(2) offers a partial derogation, meaning the battery need only be removable and replaceable by an independent professional, for exactly two things: wet-environment appliances, and professional medical imaging, radiotherapy and IVD devices.

On 14 July 2026 the Commission adopted a delegated act, C(2026) 5031 final, under the empowerment in Article 11(4). It does not add to Article 11(2). It replaces Article 11(2) in its entirety and expands the list to eight.

Which wearables could qualify for the new derogation?

Point (c) would create a miniaturisation route that does not require any wet-environment claim. Smartwatches, fitness trackers, smart glasses, hearables and wearables integrated into clothing would have a derogation argument based on size and sealed construction alone.

The recital explains the reasoning: the battery is "so tightly encapsulated in its receptacle that its removal may create a non-negligible risk of damage or piercing of the battery", and the "nature of the product hinders its redesign (anatomic or ergonomic considerations)".

The revised guidelines adopted the same day, C(2026) 5032 final, add a new section 3.2.3 confirming that the wearable route operates independently of the wet-appliance route.

The safety condition now attaches to seven derogations, not one

Under the current text, the "only applicable where required to ensure the safety of the user and the appliance" condition attaches to point (a) alone. Under the new text it attaches to (a), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g) and (h), meaning every derogation except the medical devices one.

That is a tightening. More categories would qualify, but each of them must clear a safety-necessity test that most did not previously face.

The 14 July 2026 delegated act is not yet in force

Article 89(6) gives the European Parliament and the Council three months from notification to object, extendable by a further two months at the initiative of either.

The act was adopted on 14 July 2026, so scrutiny runs to approximately 14 October 2026, or 14 December 2026 if extended. It then enters into force on the twentieth day after publication in the Official Journal.

As at 22 August 2026, it has not been published in the Official Journal and is not in force. The Commission's own announcement uses the future tense.

The planning implication is specific. If it clears scrutiny it will be in force comfortably before 18 February 2027, so you can design to it, but you would be committing tooling against an instrument that could still be objected to.

Build the fallback. If your product only survives on derogation (c), know what the removable version looks like and what it would cost.

Article 11(2) versus 11(3): partial and full derogations

This distinction is where most of the commercial risk sits.

Article 11(2) is not an exit from removability. It changes who performs it. A device that can only be opened destructively does not satisfy Article 11(2). Only Article 11(3) releases you from the design duty entirely.

And the guidelines close off the argument most consumer IoT companies will reach for. The data-integrity limb of Article 11(3) expressly does not cover devices that collect data as "an additional feature beyond its main function", nor devices that "do not pose a risk of data integrity loss, due to, for example, the presence of non-volatile memory".

If your device has flash, the data-integrity route is closed.

What survives an Article 11 derogation

Claiming a derogation under 11(2) or 11(3) does not switch off the rest of Article 11.

1. The five-year spare parts duty (Article 11(7)) survives in full. Nothing in 11(2) or 11(3) derogates from it. See below.
2. The software prohibition (Article 11(8)) survives in full. No parts pairing, derogation or not.
3. The information duty survives. Article 11(1) requires products to be accompanied by instructions and safety information on use, removal and replacement, "made available permanently online, on a publicly available website, in an easily understandable way for end-users." A permanent public web page, not a PDF in the box.
4. The evidence duty. The guidelines require "evidence in the product documentation when placing the product on the market" both that end-user replacement would compromise safety and that there is no way to redesign with current state-of-the-art technology. That is a self-assessment you must be able to hand to a market surveillance authority.

What does not attach is equally worth knowing. There is no labelling duty, no notification duty, no registration and no Commission approval for relying on a derogation.

You self-assess and you document. Nobody signs it off in advance, which means nobody validates your reasoning until an authority tests it.

Why an IP rating alone does not establish the derogation

The guidelines map "splashing water" to roughly IPX4, "water streams" to IPX5 or IPX6, and "immersion" to IPX7. But the 2025 guidelines contained a contradictory sentence suggesting an IP rating alone was sufficient to establish the wet-appliance derogation.

The revised guidelines of 14 July 2026 correct this: the IP rating alone is not sufficient. You need all five indicators: specifically designed for that environment, primarily used in it, intended to be washable, documented safety compromise, and documented impossibility of redesign.

One trap in the same section: the derogation is not available where the appliance uses portable batteries of general use. An electric toothbrush running on AA cells must stay end-user replaceable regardless of how waterproof it is.

The five-year spare battery duty under Article 11(7)

Article 11(7) requires that batteries be available as spare parts "for a minimum of five years after placing the last unit of the equipment model on the market, with a reasonable and non-discriminatory price for independent professionals and end-users."

Read the trigger carefully: five years from the last unit sold, not from first placing and not from end of production. A model that sells for six years carries an eleven-year total spare parts obligation.

On delivery time: there is no delivery-time requirement in Article 11(7) itself. The guidelines offer five working days as a benchmark drawn from ecodesign implementing regulations. Treat it as a non-binding expectation, except where an ecodesign regulation independently covers your product, in which case it binds.

LMT batteries for e-bikes and e-scooters: a stricter regime

If you make e-bikes, e-scooters or similar, Article 11(5) is a different rule and materially harder:

"…shall ensure that those batteries, as well as individual battery cells included in the battery pack, are readily removable and replaceable by an independent professional at any time during the lifetime of the product."

Three differences that matter:

1. Cell-level obligation. Article 11(1) expressly excludes individual cells. Article 11(5) expressly includes them. Welded, potted or fully encapsulated packs are non-compliant.
2. The addressee is the independent professional, not the end user. That is a lower ergonomic bar, but a hard bar on non-destructive disassembly.
3. Neither Article 11(2) nor 11(3) is available for LMT batteries. Both derogations are drafted against paragraph 1 only. There is no exemption route.

Where tools other than commercially available ones are needed, they must be made available to independent professionals at a reasonable and non-discriminatory price.

EU Batteries Regulation timeline: what is live, what is ahead

Several obligations under this Regulation are already live. Writing that they "will apply" is a common and costly error.

EU Batteries Regulation duties already applying in August 2026

EU Batteries Regulation deadlines still ahead

The battery passport: portable batteries are out of scope

This is the most common misreading of the February 2027 date, and it costs people money in unnecessary preparation.

Article 77(1) applies the battery passport to LMT batteries, industrial batteries over 2 kWh, and electric vehicle batteries. If your product contains only portable batteries, you do not owe a battery passport.

What you do owe from the same date is a QR code. Article 13(6) switches it on for all batteries on 18 February 2027, and for batteries other than LMT, large industrial and EV it must resolve to the Article 13(1) to (5) information, the EU declaration of conformity, the due diligence report and the waste prevention and management information.

That information must be "complete, up-to-date and accurate", and the code printed or engraved visibly, legibly and indelibly on the battery, or on the packaging and accompanying documents where the battery's size makes that impossible.

Who is liable under the EU Batteries Regulation from outside the EU

Two separate obligations, and the second one is live today.

An EU responsible person is mandatory under the Batteries Regulation

Article 91 adds the Batteries Regulation to Article 4(5) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. The consequence: a battery, including one incorporated in a product, may not be placed on the EU market unless an economic operator established in the Union is responsible for the Article 4(3) tasks.

That can be an EU manufacturer, an importer, an authorised representative, or an EU fulfilment service provider.

So if you sell through an EU importer of record, they discharge it. If you sell direct to consumers from a third country with no EU importer, you must appoint an AR (or rely on an EU fulfilment service provider).

Under Article 40(2), the AR mandate cannot include essential requirements compliance, the due diligence obligations in Articles 48 to 52, or drawing up the technical documentation. Those stay with you. Our EU Authorised Representative service starts at €1,500 per product category per year.

The battery EPR authorised representative, one per Member State

This one catches direct-to-consumer sellers hard. Article 3(47)(d) defines as a "producer" anyone who sells batteries, including those incorporated in appliances, by distance contract directly to end users in a Member State while established in another Member State or in a third country.

Article 56(3) then requires such a producer to "appoint an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility in each Member State in which it sells batteries."

Not one for the EU. One per Member State. This is a different appointment from the Article 40 product-compliance AR, and Chapter VIII has applied since 18 August 2025, so this is a live obligation now, not a 2027 problem.

It sits alongside your other EPR registration and reporting duties across WEEE, packaging and textiles.

When your EU distributor becomes the battery manufacturer

Article 44 treats an importer or distributor as the manufacturer where the battery is placed on the market under their own name or trademark, or where they modify it such that compliance could be affected, or modify its purpose.

If your EU distributor rebrands, they inherit full manufacturer liability, which should change how that contract is priced.

How EU Batteries Regulation enforcement is likely to work

Article 93 required Member States to have penalty rules in place by 18 August 2025. They do. There is no EU-level ceiling; quantum is national.

The structural point is more useful than the numbers. Article 11 is a design requirement verifiable by teardown. A market surveillance authority does not need laboratory analysis or supply chain documents to test it. Neither does a competitor, a consumer NGO, or a journalist.

Combined with Article 83 on formal non-compliance, which catches a missing CE mark, label, declaration or technical file without any need to prove risk, this is unusually cheap to enforce.

Expect the first wave in the first half of 2027 to target obvious physical failures: glued batteries, proprietary fasteners, absent spare parts channels. Contested derogation claims will come later.

The Commission's framing in its 14 July announcement signals the policy driver plainly: small lithium-ion batteries not disposed of correctly are causing an increasing number of fires in waste treatment plants, and that is being weighed before exemptions are granted.

EU Batteries Regulation checklist for 18 February 2027

1. Classify every battery in your range. Sealed, 5 kg or under, not industrial, not EV/LMT/SLI means portable, which means Article 11(1) applies.
2. Run a teardown against the tools test. Can a person with no experience remove the battery with a commercially available tool, without heat or solvent, without destroying anything? If not, you have a design change or a derogation argument.
3. If you are relying on a derogation, decide which one and write the evidence file now. That means the documented safety compromise and the documented impossibility of redesign. Both must exist when you place the product on the market.
4. If you are relying on the new wearables route (c), track the scrutiny period. Watch for OJ publication between October and December 2026, and hold a fallback design.
5. Set up the spare parts channel. Five years past the last unit, reasonable and non-discriminatory pricing, available to independent professionals and end users.
6. Audit for parts pairing. Any firmware that rejects a compatible replacement battery breaches Article 11(8), derogation or not.
7. Build the permanent public web page with removal and replacement instructions and safety information. This survives every derogation.
8. If you sell direct to EU consumers, check your EPR authorised representative coverage per Member State. That obligation has been live since August 2025.

What this EU Batteries Regulation guide does not cover

This page covers Article 11 removability and replaceability and the immediately adjacent obligations. It does not cover the carbon footprint declarations in Article 7 or the recycled content requirements in Article 8, and neither applies to portable batteries at all.

It does not cover the due diligence regime in Chapter VII in any depth, nor collection and recycling targets, nor battery transport classification. It does not cover UK requirements, which diverge.

Where the Commission has not yet resolved a question, such as whether the online information duty survives an Article 11(2) derogation, we have said so rather than guessed. It is not legal advice.

EU Batteries Regulation sources and further reading

• Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, the EU Batteries Regulation
• Commission Delegated Regulation C(2026) 5031 final of 14 July 2026 on derogations
• European Commission, "Commission adds exemptions to rules on removability of portable batteries", 14 July 2026
• Revised Commission guidelines C(2026) 5032 final, 14 July 2026
• Commission Notice C/2025/214, the original removability guidelines
• European Commission, batteries and waste batteries

Related reading: EPR registration and reporting · EU Authorised Representative · CE marking for electronics · Product compliance assessment