© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) are desirable owing to their high specific strength and rigidity. Traditional recycling methods for these products such as thermal decomposition cause considerable damage to the carbon fibers. In search for better recycling methods, we explored the use of electrical treatment for the separation of resin. Herein, we investigated the effects of annealing on the separation of resin from a CFRP cross-ply laminate molded from unidirectional prepreg (carbon fiber/epoxy) using electrical treatment. The annealing of the CFRP cross-ply laminate [0°/90°]2s was performed at temperatures ranging from 60 °C to 450 °C, followed by the electrical treatment. Experimental results demonstrated that the separation of resin, without the carbon fiber damage, could be achieved by annealing at temperatures close to the epoxy decomposition temperature. For the non-annealed CFRP specimens, the separation of resin was achieved with considerable damage to the carbon fibers.