WEEE categories · Directive 2012/19/EU
Six WEEE categories. Five questions find yours.
And whether the register counts it as household or professional.
A WEEE register asks for both when you register. This check reads them in the directive's own text, says when a product falls outside it, and names the article behind each answer. Nothing you tick leaves this page.
The check
Five questions at most. Each answer names its article.
One product at a time, in the order the directive follows. A question that no longer applies drops out when you change an answer above it.
Check one productIndicative · 5 questions at most
Category 1: Temperature exchange equipment
What it does decides it, whatever its size.
Annex IV lists Refrigerators, Freezers, Equipment which automatically delivers cold products, Air conditioning equipment, Dehumidifying equipment, Heat pumps, Radiators containing oil and other temperature exchange equipment using fluids other than water for the temperature exchange.
Annex III, point 1; Annex IV
Category 2: Screens, monitors, and equipment containing screens having a surface greater than 100 cm²
A screen of more than 100 cm² decides it, whatever its size.
Annex IV lists Screens, Televisions, LCD photo frames, Monitors, Laptops, Notebooks.
Annex III, point 2; Annex IV
Category 3: Lamps
The light source itself. A light fitting is a luminaire, in category 4 or 5.
Annex IV lists Straight fluorescent lamps, Compact fluorescent lamps, Fluorescent lamps, High intensity discharge lamps - including pressure sodium lamps and metal halide lamps, Low pressure sodium lamps, LED.
Annex III, point 3; Annex IV
Category 4: Large equipment (any external dimension more than 50 cm)
Any outside dimension over 50 cm, and not in categories 1 to 3.
Annex IV lists Washing machines, Clothes dryers, Dish washing machines, Cookers, Electric stoves, Electric hot plates, Luminaires, Equipment reproducing sound or images, Musical equipment (excluding pipe organs installed in churches), Appliances for knitting and weaving, Large computer-mainframes, Large printing machines, Copying equipment, Large coin slot machines, Large medical devices, Large monitoring and control instruments, Large appliances which automatically deliver products and money, Photovoltaic panels.
Annex III, point 4; Annex IV
Category 5: Small equipment (no external dimension more than 50 cm)
No outside dimension over 50 cm, and not in categories 1 to 3 or 6.
Annex IV lists Vacuum cleaners, Carpet sweepers, Appliances for sewing, Luminaires, Microwaves, Ventilation equipment, Irons, Toasters, Electric knives, Electric kettles, Clocks and Watches, Electric shavers, Scales, Appliances for hair and body care, Calculators, Radio sets, Video cameras, Video recorders, Hi-fi equipment, Musical instruments, Equipment reproducing sound or images, Electrical and electronic toys, Sports equipment, Computers for biking, diving, running, rowing, etc., Smoke detectors, Heating regulators, Thermostats, Small Electrical and electronic tools, Small medical devices, Small Monitoring and control instruments, Small Appliances which automatically deliver products, Small equipment with integrated photovoltaic panels.
Annex III, point 5; Annex IV
Category 6: Small IT and telecommunication equipment (no external dimension more than 50 cm)
IT or telecom equipment with no outside dimension over 50 cm.
Annex IV lists Mobile phones, GPS, Pocket calculators, Routers, Personal computers, Printers, Telephones.
Annex III, point 6; Annex IV
Household equipment (B2C)
You declare it as household equipment when you register, and the financing of its waste follows the rules for waste from private households.
Annex X, Part A, point 4; Article 12
Household equipment (B2C), because households are likely to use it
The directive settles dual use: waste from equipment likely to be used by both households and other users counts as household waste in every case. You declare it as household equipment.
Article 3(1)(h); Annex X, Part A, point 4
Equipment other than household (B2B), while no household is likely to use it
If households are likely to use it too, it counts as household equipment. The waste of equipment used only by businesses is financed under its own article.
Article 3(1)(h); Article 13
Not electrical and electronic equipment under the directive
The directive covers equipment that depends on electric currents or electromagnetic fields to work properly, and equipment that generates, transfers or measures them. A product that works properly without any is outside it.
Article 3(1)(a)
Above the directive's voltage ceiling
Its definition of electrical and electronic equipment stops at a voltage rating of 1,000 volts for alternating current and 1,500 volts for direct current.
Article 3(1)(a)
Excluded from the WEEE Directive
The directive lists it among the equipment it does not apply to. A battery inside it and its packaging still have rules of their own.
Article 2(3)(a)
Excluded, if every condition holds
The part must be specifically designed and installed in equipment that is itself excluded or outside the directive, and work only as part of it. Keep the reasons in the product file.
Article 2(3)(b)
Excluded from the WEEE Directive
The directive lists it among the equipment it does not apply to. A battery inside it and its packaging still have rules of their own.
Article 2(3)(c)
Excluded from the WEEE Directive
The directive lists it among the equipment it does not apply to. A battery inside it and its packaging still have rules of their own.
Article 2(4)(a)
Excluded from the WEEE Directive
The directive lists it among the equipment it does not apply to. A battery inside it and its packaging still have rules of their own.
Article 2(4)(b)
Excluded from the WEEE Directive
The directive lists it among the equipment it does not apply to. A battery inside it and its packaging still have rules of their own.
Article 2(4)(c)
Excluded from the WEEE Directive
The directive lists it among the equipment it does not apply to. A battery inside it and its packaging still have rules of their own.
Article 2(4)(d)
Excluded from the WEEE Directive
The directive lists it among the equipment it does not apply to. A battery inside it and its packaging still have rules of their own.
Article 2(4)(e)
Excluded from the WEEE Directive
The directive lists it among the equipment it does not apply to. A battery inside it and its packaging still have rules of their own.
Article 2(4)(f)
Excluded from the WEEE Directive
The directive lists it among the equipment it does not apply to. A battery inside it and its packaging still have rules of their own.
Article 2(4)(g)
Indicative: the register decides, not this check. National registers sometimes split these six categories more finely, and the scheme you join can depend on the category. The scope check maps the rest, country by country.
A battery inside the product is filed apart, in the battery stream. Find my battery category
Annex III and Annex IV
Three categories go by what the product does. Three go by its size.
Categories 4 and 5 leave out what belongs to 1 to 3, so a fridge longer than 50 cm stays temperature exchange equipment. Annex IV gives examples for each and says the list is not exhaustive: a product it does not name can still be in scope.
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Temperature exchange equipment
What it does decides it, whatever its size.
Annex IV Refrigerators, Freezers, Equipment which automatically delivers cold products, Air conditioning equipment, Dehumidifying equipment, Heat pumps, Radiators containing oil and other temperature exchange equipment using fluids other than water for the temperature exchange.
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Screens, monitors, and equipment containing screens having a surface greater than 100 cm²
A screen of more than 100 cm² decides it, whatever its size.
Annex IV Screens, Televisions, LCD photo frames, Monitors, Laptops, Notebooks.
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Lamps
The light source itself. A light fitting is a luminaire, in category 4 or 5.
Annex IV Straight fluorescent lamps, Compact fluorescent lamps, Fluorescent lamps, High intensity discharge lamps - including pressure sodium lamps and metal halide lamps, Low pressure sodium lamps, LED.
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Large equipment (any external dimension more than 50 cm)
Any outside dimension over 50 cm, and not in categories 1 to 3.
Annex IV Washing machines, Clothes dryers, Dish washing machines, Cookers, Electric stoves, Electric hot plates, Luminaires, Equipment reproducing sound or images, Musical equipment (excluding pipe organs installed in churches), Appliances for knitting and weaving, Large computer-mainframes, Large printing machines, Copying equipment, Large coin slot machines, Large medical devices, Large monitoring and control instruments, Large appliances which automatically deliver products and money, Photovoltaic panels.
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Small equipment (no external dimension more than 50 cm)
No outside dimension over 50 cm, and not in categories 1 to 3 or 6.
Annex IV Vacuum cleaners, Carpet sweepers, Appliances for sewing, Luminaires, Microwaves, Ventilation equipment, Irons, Toasters, Electric knives, Electric kettles, Clocks and Watches, Electric shavers, Scales, Appliances for hair and body care, Calculators, Radio sets, Video cameras, Video recorders, Hi-fi equipment, Musical instruments, Equipment reproducing sound or images, Electrical and electronic toys, Sports equipment, Computers for biking, diving, running, rowing, etc., Smoke detectors, Heating regulators, Thermostats, Small Electrical and electronic tools, Small medical devices, Small Monitoring and control instruments, Small Appliances which automatically deliver products, Small equipment with integrated photovoltaic panels.
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Small IT and telecommunication equipment (no external dimension more than 50 cm)
IT or telecom equipment with no outside dimension over 50 cm.
Annex IV Mobile phones, GPS, Pocket calculators, Routers, Personal computers, Printers, Telephones.
Annex X and Article 2
The register also asks who uses it. When households are likely to, it is household.
Every producer declares the type of equipment when it registers: household, or other than household. Waste from equipment likely to be used by both households and other users counts as household waste in every case.
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Household equipment (B2C)
Sold to private households, or likely to be used by both households and other users.
Article 3(1)(h); Annex X, Part A, point 4
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Other than household (B2B)
Used only by professionals, while no household is likely to use it. Its waste is financed under its own article.
Article 3(1)(h); Article 13
What the directive leaves out
- Equipment needed to protect a member state's essential security interests, including arms, munitions and war material for specifically military purposesArticle 2(3)(a)
- A part specifically designed and installed in other equipment that is itself excluded or outside the directive, and that only works as part of itArticle 2(3)(b)
- A filament bulbArticle 2(3)(c)
- Equipment designed to be sent into spaceArticle 2(4)(a)
- A large-scale stationary industrial tool, installed and used by professionals in a factory or a research facilityArticle 2(4)(b)
- A large-scale fixed installation: assembled by professionals as a permanent part of a building or structure, and replaceable only by the same specifically designed equipmentArticle 2(4)(c)
- A means of transport for people or goods. An electric two-wheeler that is not type-approved is not excluded: pick “None of these”Article 2(4)(d)
- Non-road mobile machinery made available only for professional useArticle 2(4)(e)
- Equipment designed solely for research and development, sold only business to businessArticle 2(4)(f)
- A medical device expected to be infective before its end of life, or an active implantable medical deviceArticle 2(4)(g)
What we do with the answer
If you sell at a distance into a country where you are not established, you register in that country, yourself or through an authorised representative (Article 16(1)). We prepare and file that WEEE registration in each country you ship to, with the category and the type the register asks for. National registers sometimes split the six categories more finely, and the scheme you join can depend on the category.
WEEE registration, country by countryThe authorised representative
The category is one line of the file. The scope check maps the rest.
Tell us where your company is registered and where you ship. You'll get an indicative map of what you owe, stream by stream and country by country, on screen, before anyone asks you for a card.
Free. No card. A person answers.
shippeu.com is a private service. It is not an authority, a register or a collective scheme.
Figures on this page come from published guidance. Last source review: 11 Nov 2026. Rules change. The scope check is reviewed by a person before any quote.