Security
Regulation (EU) 2023/1230
Machinery Regulation
Machinery Regulation
The CE-marking rulebook for machines, updated for software, AI and autonomous kit: essential health and safety requirements, and a clearer split of high-risk machines that need notified-body assessment.
Does this hit me?
Safer factory floors and garden machinery. You do not CE-mark a hobby drill you bought as a consumer product — GPSR and sector law share the shelf.
Check in the wizardPick a country in the header to see who enforces this at home. Union text is not the last word for directives.
Next switch-on: in 4 months · 20 Jan 2027 — Machinery Regulation applies
How it rolls in
Jul 2023
Entered into force.
20 Jan 2027
Applies; 2006/42/EC repealed for new placing on the market.
Why it exists
The 2006 Directive predated collaborative robots and software that changes a machine after it is placed on the market. A regulation stops 27 slightly different machinery laws.
What actually changes
- A regulation, not a directive — directly applicable from January 2027.
- Software, including AI, that performs a safety function is in the essential requirements.
- A revised list of machines that need third-party conformity assessment.
- Substantial modification: who becomes manufacturer when a machine is rebuilt.
How it hits you
Safer factory floors and garden machinery. You do not CE-mark a hobby drill you bought as a consumer product — GPSR and sector law share the shelf.
Heard this? Not quite.
Claim: Every robot is now high-risk AI plus machinery.
Machinery safety and AI Act high-risk lists overlap on some uses (e.g. certain safety components), not on every arm in a cage.
Latest official statements
All EU NewsNo tagged Commission, Parliament or Council statement in the current feeds.
Board one-pager
Board one-pager
Who this is for: EU critical entities and ICT providers. Regulation (EU) 2023/1230. in 4 months · 20 Jan 2027.
Scope
- You design, build, import or substantially modify machinery for the EU market.
First 90 days
- This year: Gap the 2006 technical file vs 2023/1230, including software and substantial modification.
- Before 2027: Notified-body need for the revised high-risk list.
Penalties: Market-surveillance withdrawal and fines; workplace-safety overlay if a worker is hurt.
For companies
How to stay on the right side of this file
Practical order of work, not a substitute for counsel. Manufacturers, importers and authorised representatives of machinery and partly completed machinery.
You are probably
Manufacturers, importers and authorised representatives of machinery and partly completed machinery.
Effort
A scoped programme this year beats a scramble at the apply-date.
Budget
SME: owner time plus one honest vendor. Large: a named lead, not a taskforce slide.
Roles in this file
The same company can wear more than one hat. Classify before you buy a tool.
Engineering / regulatory
This pack names Engineering / regulatory as an owner of early work.
Gap the 2006 technical file vs 2023/1230, including software and substantial modification.
Compliance
This pack names Compliance as an owner of early work.
Notified-body need for the revised high-risk list.
Are you in scope?
Build toward- You design, build, import or substantially modify machinery for the EU market.
Usually not, if
- Consumer gadgets that are not machinery (GPSR/radio instead).
- A factory that only uses machines others CE-marked — still check modifications.
First moves
- This yearGap the 2006 technical file vs 2023/1230, including software and substantial modification.Engineering / regulatory
- Before 2027Notified-body need for the revised high-risk list.Compliance
- Partly completed machinery (a kit you sell to an integrator) still needs the right document set.
If you skip this
- A 2006 DoC used after 20 January 2027 for a new unit.
Done looks like
- Declaration of conformity
- Technical file
- Notified-body certificates
- Modification log
Keep this evidence
- Declaration of conformity
- Technical file
- Notified-body certificates
- Modification log
Ask vendors
- Will this model be placed on the market under the 2027 regulation?
- Who is manufacturer after our refurbishment?
Where programmes usually break
- A 2006 DoC used after 20 January 2027 for a new unit.
Call counsel when
- Market-surveillance withdrawal and fines; workplace-safety overlay if a worker is hurt.
- A supervisor letter, a dawn information request, or a deal that warrants this file.
Enforcement
Market-surveillance withdrawal and fines; workplace-safety overlay if a worker is hurt.
Market surveillance for machinery; labour inspectorates on use.
Need a stack, not one file? Open the company desk
Professional briefing
Legal architecture and duties
For counsel, compliance, and policy teams. Not advice. The Official Journal still wins.
- Instrument
- Regulation
- Legal basis
- Art 114 TFEU · Regulation (EU) 2023/1230
- Application
- Applies 20 January 2027 for new placing on the market; 2006/42/EC repealed then.
CE machinery as a regulation, with software/AI safety functions and a revised third-party assessment list. Substantial modification can make a refurbisher the manufacturer.
How the file is built
Essential health and safety requirements
Updated for autonomous and software-driven machines.
Conformity assessment
Revised high-risk list; notified bodies.
Operators
| Role | Who | Core duties |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Places machinery or partly completed machinery on the market. | EHSR, technical file, DoC, marking. |
Scope
Placing on the Union market / putting into service.
In
- Machinery as defined, including partly completed
- Safety components, including software
Out, or narrower than assumed
- Listed exclusions (some vehicles, electrical consumer kit under LVD, etc.) — check Annex
Operative provisions
| Anchor | Rule | What it does in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Art 10–24 | Obligations of economic operators and substantial modification. | A deep refurb can reset who is manufacturer. |
Secondary law and guidance
- Implementing acts on the high-risk list if used
- Harmonised standards
National layer. Market surveillance and notified-body accreditation are national. The requirements are Union-wide.
How it sits with other files
Enforcement and private rights
Who
Machinery market surveillance; labour inspectorates on use.
Tools
Withdrawal, fines.
Private rights
Product liability if a machine injures.
Risk register
| Risk | Signal | Control |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 DoC after the switch | New serial number in 2027 with old declaration | Cut-over plan per SKU. |
Open issues
- Notified-body capacity in 2027.
- Borderline with radio/LVD equipment.
Primary sources
The CE-marking rulebook for machines, updated for software, AI and autonomous kit: essential health and safety requirements, and a clearer split of high-risk machines that need notified-body assessment.
You feel it now
The on-switch is still coming — do not wait for the headline.
Next
Applies from 20 January 2027, replacing the 2006 Directive
Where it lands
| Channel | People | Companies |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 switch | Safer factory floors and garden machinery. You do not CE-mark a hobby drill you bought as a consumer product — GPSR and sector law share the shelf. | A regulation replaces 2006/42/EC for new placing on the market from 20 January 2027. |
| Software as safety | Safer factory floors and garden machinery. You do not CE-mark a hobby drill you bought as a consumer product — GPSR and sector law share the shelf. | AI/software performing a safety function sits in the essential requirements. |
Who gains
Workers and users of machines.
Who pays
Manufacturers, importers, authorised representatives, and notified bodies.
Who pays
Manufacturers, importers, authorised representatives, and notified bodies.
Who benefits
Workers and users of machines.
Read the official text