More Time to Prepare — IMDS REC 019 Deactivation Delayed

The International Material Data System (IMDS) Recommendation 019 (REC 019) was scheduled to be deactivated on July 1, 2020. Then COVID-19 and SCIP reporting requirements made this timeline unfeasible for the industry. The deactivation has been delayed until Q1 of 2021 and will occur in conjunction with the release of IMDS 13.0.

For electronics suppliers, preparing for the deactivation will take time. Suppliers and manufacturers will likely need to be contacted. Current REC 019 datasheets must be collected and new processes to fulfill the requirements must be put into place. Use this delay to your favor — prepare now for the future challenges the REC 019 deactivation will bring and prevent future submission issues.

REC 019 Deactivation Delay

IMDS REC 019 was developed to ease the burden of reporting for electronics suppliers. These suppliers gained access to standard modules reported as semi-component data sheets with fixed weights and materials, saving them a significant amount of time.

In September 2019, the IMDS Steering Committee voted to deactivate REC 019 because materials were not being properly investigated or accurately reported.

This deactivation, planned for 2020, has now been delayed until 2021 due to COVID-19 impacts, which hinder suppliers’ ability to fully make the transition away from REC 019 while still being able to fulfill Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) requirements.

Even with the delay, the supply chain must comply as soon as possible. Suppliers must confirm their data is accurate and reporting requirements are fulfilled. REC 019 should be used sparingly, if at all, and only when suppliers have full and complete knowledge of the substance composition of the material.

How to Find REC 019 MDSs in Your Company’s IMDS Library 

To prepare for the REC 019 deactivation, it is important to know if your products are referencing any REC 019 published datasheets. If they are, you can take a proactive approach by obtaining IMDS component data from the manufacturers. Once you have the manufacturer data, you can start updating your IMDS product datasheets by replacing the REC 019 data with the manufacturer information.

All REC 019 datasheets are semi-components published under the company name “ZVEI-Rec019.” On the IMDS FAQ page, DXC Technology has included instructions on how to find these 22 published datasheets.

To determine where these REC 019 datasheets exist within your company’s IMDS library, harness the power of the Where-Used Analysis tool.

  • Click on the Where-Used Analysis icon (pink beaker).
  • Set up the “Analysis type” section.
    1. Analysis type = MDS.
    2. Type of MDS = Component, Semi-component or MDS/Module (as applicable for your product type).
    3. Selection type = Rule based selection.IMDS
  • Set up the “Analysis Parameter” section.
    • Click on the magnifying glass icon.
    • Search for the REC 019 datasheets, as described in the DXC Technology guide.
    • You may only select one datasheet at a time as the analysis parameter, so this will be an iterative process — 22 times for each REC 019 datasheet.IMDS
    • Set up the “MDS to analyze” section.
      1. This section narrows down the analysis a bit more and helps you know which types of MDSs in your company library contain the REC 019 datasheets you want to find.
        1. If your company uses electronics in its assemblies but does not manufacture electronics itself, you will most likely want to select “accepted MDSs” and uncheck “owns MDSs” and “own Modules.”
        2. If your company manufactures electronics, you will most likely want to select “accepted MDSs,” “own MDSs” and “own Modules.”
    • Select “Analyze.”
        • The results that appear are the datasheets that may need to be resubmitted by your supplier (if an accepted MDS) or updated by your company (if an MDS or Module).

For many companies, this activity will prove to be a tedious and time-consuming process. Begin performing an internal review of your data now in order to prevent future delays in your IMDS submissions to your customers. It is likely that suppliers and manufacturers will need to be contacted to request IMDS data that does not include related REC 019 published datasheets.


If you need assistance with preparing for the deactivation of IMDS REC 019, contact Tetra Tech’s IMDS team. We also have online IMDS trainings available to level-up your company’s compliance team and IMDS expertise. With these new changes coming to IMDS reporting, we can help you make sure your compliance team is fully prepared.

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