As our readers know, Brazil RoHS has been in development since 2018. It is now in force. CONAMA Resolution 516/2026 was published July 10th and took effect immediately. For companies already selling electronics or electrical equipment in Brazil, or planning to, this is the moment to shift attention from what the rule restricts to what it requires locally.

What Is Brazil RoHS?

This is Brazil’s equivalent to the EU’s Directive on Restriction of Hazardous Substances in electric and electronic products (RoHS).

The Familiar Part of Brazil RoHS: The Chemistry

The substance restrictions will look immediately recognizable to anyone familiar with EU RoHS. The same ten substances are restricted at the same concentration limits: lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and four phthalates. Cadmium carries a tighter limit of 0.01 percent by mass of homogeneous material; the rest are capped at 0.1 percent.

Staggered Deadlines: PBB and PBDE restrictions applied as of publication. Mercury follows at 180 days. Lead, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium phase in over three years. The phthalates have a four-year runway. For companies already EU RoHS compliant, this staggered timeline gives additional breathing room, but it doesn’t change the underlying conclusion: product design and materials chemistry are the easy part of this rule.

The Hard Part: Local Compliance Hurdles

Brazil is layering market access obligations on top of the substance restrictions that go well beyond the EU model. This is where companies should focus attention:

Mandatory product registration in a national database is required before placing products on the market. This is not an EU requirement and will require advance planning. Registration must be completed, and a self-declaration of conformity issued, within one year of the online registration system becoming available. That online system has not yet launched, so the compliance clock has not started. However, companies should not wait to get their own compliance systems in order.

A Brazil-specific declaration of conformity will be required. An EU Declaration of Conformity will not substitute. Companies will need individualized, localized self-declarations for each product, model, or product family.

Local legal responsibility means importers, distributors, and retailers can be treated as manufacturers for compliance purposes in specific circumstances: selling under their own brand, altering equipment in a way that affects substance compliance, or failing to obtain the manufacturer’s self-declaration before distributing. The obligation does not rest solely with the foreign producer, and companies further down the distribution chain should confirm which of these triggers applies to their role.

Labeling and traceability requirements apply on a two-stage timeline. Portuguese-language product marking takes effect once the self-declaration is issued. The separate reverse-logistics disposal symbol, the crossed-out waste bin familiar from WEEE labeling, is not required until two years after that declaration is issued.

Local inspection readiness means products must be prepared for testing and inspection by Brazilian authorities.

The practical implication is direct: a company can be fully EU RoHS compliant on chemistry and still not be market-ready in Brazil. The gap is not engineering but compliance infrastructure. Companies will need a Brazil-based responsible entity, registered products, localized declarations, and documented traceability before they can legally sell into the Brazilian market.

Exemptions: A Narrower Path Than Companies May Assume

Temporary exemptions from the substance restrictions exist, but existing EU RoHS exemptions do not automatically carry over. Each exemption requires its own Brazilian application and approval, decided by the environment ministry, with defined renewal timelines and a wind-down period if an exemption is denied or revoked. Companies relying on an EU exemption for a specific application should treat Brazilian exemption approval as a separate, parallel workstream.

Non-Conformity: What Happens When a Product Fails to Meet the Standard

The resolution sets out a specific notification, correction, and recall sequence for products already in the market found not to meet the substance restrictions, including a public notice requirement at the manufacturer’s or importer’s expense. This is a meaningful operational exposure beyond registration and labeling, and companies should understand the recall mechanics before they need them.

Enforcement: How Inspections and Testing Work in Practice

Federal environmental authorities can request product samples and order testing at accredited laboratories at their discretion, and can seize samples during inspections of distributors and retailers. Companies bear the cost of testing, seizure, and disposal if a violation is confirmed. Brazil’s inspection regime is active rather than complaint-driven, and companies should plan for it accordingly.

Obligations by Role: A More Granular Picture

Manufacturers and importers carry parallel, detailed obligations covering documentation, record retention, and traceability, running as long as five years past a product’s discontinuation. Distributors and retailers carry a lighter but real obligation to confirm a valid self-declaration before selling a product. Companies should map which obligations attach to their specific role in the supply chain rather than assuming the manufacturer’s burden is the only one that matters.

A Note for Companies Selling to Government Buyers

Federal government purchasers are not bound by the phase-in timeline and can require compliance with the substance restrictions immediately. Companies with government contracts in Brazil should not assume the general phase-in schedule applies to those sales.

Scope: Broader Exclusions Than Expected

The resolution excludes defense and security equipment, space equipment, large fixed industrial installations, most transport equipment, off-road professional machinery, implantable medical devices, permanently installed photovoltaic systems, batteries, and equipment used exclusively for business-to-business research and development. Two exceptions are worth noting: self-propelled individual mobility devices, such as electric scooters, remain covered despite the general transport exclusion, and non-implantable medical devices, including in vitro diagnostic instruments, remain covered even though implantable devices are excluded.

Defense and security equipment remains excluded from the resolution entirely, and that exclusion was broadened during the approval process to also cover dual-use equipment with both civilian and military applications.

What’s Next?

Three implementing measures are due within 180 days of publication:

• Initial list of exempted equipment and applications
• Procedure for requesting and renewing exemptions
• Technical documentation standard manufacturers and importers must maintain in Portuguese

None of these exists yet.

Companies selling electrical and electronic equipment in Brazil should begin mapping their product portfolios against the registration and documentation requirements now, ahead of the registration system launch and the exemption procedures still to come.

Link to Resolution:

https://www.in.gov.br/web/dou/-/resolucao-conama-n-516-de-8-de-julho-de-2026-718408936

Questions on compliance with Brazil RoHS? We are standing by to support at www.ambientelegal.com or email mowen@ambientelegal.com

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Tracking Brazil’s new chemical management law? Visit www.BrazilREACH.com for plain-English guidance on Law 15.022/2024, including what an Only Representative structure means in practice.

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