The anodic dissolution of cobalt is investigated in neutral and alkaline electrolytes at high current densities. Beside electrochemical measurements, the amount of dissolved cobalt is investigated by UV-vis-spectroscopy. The measurements are completed by optical measurements of the metal removing. It is shown that cobalt can be anodically dissolved in alkaline solutions by using a complexing agent. In this case the current efficiency is approximately 91%. The continuous anodic dissolution of cobalt starts in the transpassive range. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.