IEC National Committees (NCs) overwhelmingly approved the draft IEC 63000 “Technical documentation for the assessment of electrical and electronic products with respect to the restriction of hazardous substances”. Voting closed on July 1, 2016 and the ballot received almost unanimous approval (including from the U.S. and Canada) except for a single no vote.

The no vote is with regard to a CENELEC procedural concern rather than a technical issue. The European CENELEC organization (the standards body that published EN 50581 for EU RoHS) will simultaneously publish the new EN 63000. Once EN 63000 is published, the European Commission will update the harmonized standard for EU RoHS to include EN 63000 which will eventually replace EN 50581. In 2019, after a 3-year transition period, the EN 50581 will be withdrawn by CENELEC.