What is the Radio Equipment Directive (RED)?

What does the Radio Equipment Directive cover?

The Radio Equipment Directive, RED for short, is EU law 2014/53/EU. It applies to any electrical or electronic product that intentionally sends or receives radio waves for communication.1 An analog PMR446 radio, a DMR radio, an Android PoC radio and the Bluetooth or Wi-Fi part of a device all fit that wording.12

A few products sit outside it, such as certain amateur kits and marine equipment listed in Annex I, and radios used only for public security, defense or State security.1 TETRA stays inside, because it is not used only for those purposes.2

What are the essential requirements of the RED?

Article 3 sets the essential requirements. Every radio meets three: safety and health, electromagnetic compatibility, and efficient use of the radio spectrum. The Commission can add more points for chosen categories through a delegated act. Three of those added points cover cybersecurity and privacy, and they matter most for internet-connected radios.1

• Safety and health (3(1)(a)). The radio is safe for the user.
• Electromagnetic compatibility (3(1)(b)). It does not disturb other devices and works next to them.
• Spectrum use (3(2)). It uses the radio spectrum efficiently and avoids harmful interference.
• Extra requirements by delegated act (3(3)). The Commission can switch on further points for chosen categories. Three of them are the cybersecurity points in the next section.

The other 3(3) points cover interworking with accessories such as common chargers, emergency services, accessibility and software loading.1

What do Article 3(3)(d), (e) and (f) mean?

They are the three cybersecurity and privacy points of the RED. Point (d) protects the network, point (e) protects personal data and privacy, and point (f) protects against fraud. They bind only the categories that a delegated act names, and Delegated Regulation 2022/30 names them for internet-connected radios.13

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 gives the details: point (d) for any radio that can communicate over the internet, directly or through other equipment; point (e) for internet-connected radios, childcare equipment, toys and wearables that can process personal, traffic or location data; point (f) for internet-connected radios that enable money or virtual currency transfers.3

In practice, a radio that runs an internet protocol, such as an Android PoC radio, is inside. An analog PMR446 radio with no internet protocol is outside (d), (e) and (f). The Commission's RED Guide says the maker assesses this case by case.2

When did the cybersecurity rules start to apply?

The rules of Delegated Regulation 2022/30 apply from 1 August 2025. The first date was 1 August 2024, and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2444 moved it by one year. A covered radio first placed on the EU market from 1 August 2025 meets points (d), (e) and (f) before it gets the CE mark.34

Check the current text with the Commission before you plan around a date.

What is EN 18031 and how does it help?

EN 18031-1, -2 and -3 are the harmonized standards for points (d), (e) and (f). The Commission cited them in the Official Journal on 30 January 2025, in Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/138.5 A radio built to a cited standard gets a presumption of conformity with the matching point.25

Using the standards is voluntary (RED Article 16). A maker can pick another route, which then involves a notified body.1

What do the restrictions on EN 18031 mean for makers?

The Decision cites the standards "with restrictions", and the Annex lists four. They remove the presumption of conformity in specific cases: the rationale and guidance sections, a password-free setup, missing parental or guardian access control, and the secure update assessment criteria. For a maker this means the standard alone does not prove conformity there.5

The four restrictions in detail:

• The "rationale" and "guidance" sections give no presumption of conformity.
• No presumption where clauses 6.2.5.1 and 6.2.5.2 let the user set no password at all.
• For EN 18031-2, no presumption where parental or guardian access control is not ensured (childcare equipment, toys).
• For EN 18031-3, no presumption from the assessment criteria in clause 6.3.2.4, the secure update clause.

In practice, a maker whose design relies on one of these clauses cannot lean on the standard for that point. The RED then allows another route, with a notified body.1

What is the CE mark on a radio?

The CE mark is the maker's statement that the radio meets the RED. It goes on the radio itself, and with module H the notified body number follows it.1 The mark is required for every radio sold in the EU, with or without the cybersecurity rules.

The EU declaration of conformity stands behind it. The next section explains how to ask for one.

What is an EU declaration of conformity and how do you ask for one?

The EU declaration of conformity (DoC) is a short document in which the maker declares that the radio meets the RED. Article 18 requires it, Annex VI sets its structure, and Annex VII gives a simplified form.1 In practice the maker issues it for each model.

To ask a seller for it, write one line:

> Please send the EU declaration of conformity under Directive 2014/53/EU for [model], including the standards applied, and the maker's EU contact address.

A radio with internet features also needs the evidence for 3(3)(d), (e) and (f), such as an EN 18031 test report.

When do you need a notified body?

A maker picks a conformity route in Article 17. With harmonized standards, the options are module A (the maker's own production control), B+C, or H. Without them, the options are B+C or H, and a notified body takes part.1 Notified bodies for the RED are listed in the Commission's NANDO database.6

A radio with no cited standard for a point, or one that loses the presumption through a restriction, takes the notified body route for that point.

Which radios need which RED points, and does the USB-C rule apply?

The table below sets each radio type against the RED requirements, points (d), (e) and (f), and the USB-C rule. Entries marked in practice show how the rules apply to each radio type, and the maker's own assessment decides. The examples are the radios readers ask about most.12378

What is the USB-C rule for radios?

Directive (EU) 2022/2380 added Annex Ia to the RED. Since 28 December 2024, handheld mobile phones that charge by wire have a USB Type-C receptacle and USB Power Delivery above 5 V, 3 A or 15 W. The Commission notice decides which radios count as mobile phones.7

The Commission notice answers the radio question. Push-to-talk devices that do not connect to the cellular network and talk over radio frequencies are not "mobile phones". Push-to-talk over cellular devices do fall in the "mobile phone" category.8 So a PMR446 or DMR radio has no USB-C duty, and a rechargeable PoC radio that charges by wire does.

Which delegated act replaces 2022/30 and when?

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/339 of 16 February 2026 repeals Delegated Regulation 2022/30 with effect from 11 December 2027.9 From that date the Cyber Resilience Act takes over the cybersecurity side for radios placed on the market from then on. The table shows which rules apply to which units. See Cyber Resilience Act for radios.

Market surveillance of (d), (e) and (f) continues for radios placed on the market in the first window.9 The RED itself stays: spectrum, EMC, safety, the DoC and the CE mark continue after 11 December 2027.9

RED timeline

The dates below follow the official texts. Two moves matter most: cybersecurity rules for internet-connected radios on 1 August 2025, and their handover to the Cyber Resilience Act on 11 December 2027. The USB-C rule and the EN 18031 citation came earlier, in December 2024 and January 2025.

What does the RED mean for makers, importers, businesses and users?

The RED puts the main duties on the maker, under the directive, with checks by the importer and the shop. Buyers and users do not carry those duties, but the documents help them. Here is what each group does, in short.

Makers. Choose a route under Article 17, issue the DoC and put the CE mark on the radio.1 For an internet-connected radio, add the 3(3)(d), (e), (f) evidence, with EN 18031 or a notified body.

Importers and shops. In practice, check that the radio carries the CE mark and that a DoC exists for the exact model.

Companies buying radios. Ask the supplier for the DoC and, for PoC radios, for the 3(3)(d), (e), (f) evidence. In practice, the duties sit with the supplier. A PoC fleet also raises data questions such as location tracking.

Users. The CE mark and the DoC are the simplest proof that a radio is legal to sell in the EU.

How do you check a radio?

A radio check takes two minutes and needs no tools. You look at the radio, ask the seller for one document, and read what it names. Three items cover it, and the first two apply to every radio sold in the EU.

Three checks take two minutes:

1. CE mark printed on the radio, not only on the box.
2. EU declaration of conformity for the exact model, on the maker's site or from the seller. It names Directive 2014/53/EU.
3. For PoC and other internet-connected radios: a mention of EN 18031 or of a notified body in the declaration or the test report.

Questions

Sources

1. Directive 2014/53/EU, Radio Equipment Directive (OJ L 153, 22.5.2014) · EUR-Lex
2. Radio Equipment Directive (RED) and RED Guide, version 01.10.2026 · European Commission
3. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30, cybersecurity requirements · EUR-Lex
4. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2444, application from 1 August 2025 · EUR-Lex
5. Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/138, EN 18031-1, -2, -3 · EUR-Lex
6. Notified bodies, Radio Equipment Directive (NANDO) · European Commission
7. Directive (EU) 2022/2380, common charger · EUR-Lex
8. Commission Notice C/2024/2997 on the common charger, Q19 · EUR-Lex
9. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/339, repeal of 2022/30 · EUR-Lex
10. Cyber Resilience Act FAQ, section 2.6.1 · European Commission