Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research For wood-based materials, furniture, building products, interior of the road vehicles and other products:
EU-wide regulation of formaldehyde limits from August 6, 2026: Fraunhofer WKI offers “REAC-H-CHO” certification
Formaldehyde emission limits are to be harmonized and will become stricter in all European countries. This affects wood-based materials, furniture, construction products and the interior of road vehicles. The revision of the European Chemicals Regulation REACH is almost finished. The new limits apply from August 6, 2026. As a research and development partner of the wood-based materials industry, the Fraunhofer WKI offers the “REAC-H-CHO” certification based on the new REACH requirements. In this way, we are helping to ensure that innovative materials made from renewable raw materials can be used throughout Europe.
Status Quo
In many EU countries, emission class E1 is currently mandatory, where formaldehyde emissions have to comply with the limit of 0.124 mg/m3 or 0.1 ppm using the EN 717-1 chamber method.
Exception Germany
Germany already decided to change the reference test method from EN 717-1 to a special variant of EN 16516 at the beginning of 2020. This resulted in a halving of the formaldehyde limit value, as the EN 717-1 chamber method can still be used, but the measured value obtained here has to be multiplied by a factor of 2.0.
EU-wide new regulation
The EU-wide new regulation "COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2023/1464 of 14 July 2023, amending Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers“ was signed on July 14, 2023 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union on July 17, 2023.
The new REACH regulation included the following limits:
- 0.062 mg/m³ for wood-based articles and furniture and the interior fittings of road vehicles
- 0.080 mg/m³ for other articles.
In addition, exemptions for products already regulated in other specifications have been proposed and compiled in a REACH list.
Effective date
- As of August 6, 2026: wood-based materials, furniture and articles, and construction products
- As of August 6, 2027: interior of road vehicles
Our offer
We can certify the following products (selection)
| Product Group | ProduCTS |
|---|---|
| Solid wood and wood-based materials | Particleboard, Fibreboard, Plywood, Glulam (glued laminated timber), Laminated veneer lumber, Cross laminated timber, Blockboard and laminboard, Solid wood |
| Floor coverings | Parquet, Laminated flooring, Sport floor |
| Furniture | Seating furniture, Upholstered furniture, Box furniture |
| Wall coverings | Wallpapers, Tapestries |
| Wall elements | Acoustic panels, Wall panels |
| Wood-plastic composites | Wood Plastic Composites (WPC) |
| Insulation material | Thermal insulation products – Wood wool Thermal insulation materials – Wood fibres |
| Other products | Doors, Windows, Skirting boards, Curtains, Car interiors, Pallet blocks, Foams, Abrasives |
More information
Detailed information on certification can be found in our info sheet: Certification "REAC-H-CHO" (PDF)
We are looking forward to your inquiry!
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