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Annex III, Class I, point 12

Are routers, modems and switches important products under the CRA?

Yes. Annex III Class I point 12 covers routers, modems intended for the connection to the internet, and switches. A home or office router is an important product with digital elements.

ClassImportant - Class I
What that class requiresSelf-assessment only if harmonised standards applied; else notified body

The category, quoted in full:

Routers, modems intended for the connection to the internet, and switches

Annex III, Class I, point 12, Regulation (EU) 2024/2847

The modem half carries a qualifier the other two do not: intended for the connection to the internet. A modem for a closed industrial link is a different reading from a cable modem.

Frequently confused with:

A worked example:

SOHO router manufacturerA home and small-office router matches Annex III Part I, so it classifies Important Class I: self-assessment only where harmonised standards apply.

Obligations that apply to every product in scope, whatever its class:

  • Essential requirements (Annex I) - secure by design & default
  • Machine-readable SBOM
  • Coordinated vulnerability disclosure policy
  • Security updates across support period (~5 yrs)
  • Technical documentation (Annex VII)
  • Conformity assessment (route depends on class)
  • CE marking + EU Declaration of Conformity
  • 24h / 72h reporting to ENISA + CSIRT (from Sep 2026)

What a manufacturer is assessed against:

  1. Cybersecurity risk assessment Art 13(2)
  2. Secure-by-design essential requirements Annex I Pt I
  3. Vulnerability-handling process Annex I Pt II
  4. Software bill of materials (SBOM) Annex I Pt II §1
  5. Coordinated vulnerability disclosure policy Art 13 · Annex I Pt II
  6. Security updates & support period Art 13(8)
  7. Technical documentation (Annex VII) Annex VII
  8. Conformity assessment & EU Declaration of Conformity Art 28 · Annex V
  9. CE marking Art 30
  10. Vulnerability & incident reporting readiness Art 14 (from 11 Sep 2026)
  11. Economic-operator & market-surveillance obligations Art 13/19–24 · Annex II

The dates that matter:

  • 11 September 2026 - reporting obligations for actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents apply.
  • 11 December 2027 - full compliance applies.
  • Market-surveillance authorities can order corrective action, withdrawal or recall, and fines reach €15 million or 2.5% of global annual turnover.

Check your own products against this

The same rulebook that produced this page runs the free check. It reads your products, classifies each one against Annex III and IV, and gives you an indicative verdict with the reasoning and citation for every product.

All categories
Network management systemsNetwork management systems are Annex III Class I. The category is the management plane that configures network devices, not the routers and switches themselves.Network interfacesAnnex III Class I point 10 covers physical and virtual network interfaces, so a network interface card and a virtualised interface are both in the category.Product classificationWhich class each Annex III and IV category falls in, quoted from the regulation, with the conformity route it carries and the categories it is most often confused with.MethodologyThe versioned methodology behind every verdict: the six-step scoping flow, the four product classes, the eleven readiness checkpoints, and the Article each rests on.

Indicative assessment - not legal advice and not a conformity assessment.