As its main waste from wastewater treatment, sewage sludge reflects the growing diversity of wastewater pollution and the growing demands on the quality of treated water from wastewater treatment plants. In the municipal sewage sludge, a number of nutrients are captured, such as nitrogen, carbon and especially phosphorus. According to available data, sewage sludge can cover about a quarter of the annual consumption of phosphorus for agriculture. In addition to nutrients, the sludge also contains a number of contaminants, including pathogenic microorganisms, drug residues, day care products (cosmetics, drugstores) and toxic metals, which enter the municipal sewage sludge together with treated industrial wastewater or the release of metals from pipelines. It is the presence of these contaminants that significantly reduces the suitability of direct use of sludge on agricultural land, which is the most widespread use of phosphorus from sludge so far. This is also reflected in the legislation of European countries, where in response to the presence of contaminants, the conditions under which sludge can be applied to agricultural land is tightened. The article analyzes the difference of legislative approaches in EU countries and the impact of the new directive on fertilizers on the agricultural use of sludge-based products.