The Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230
The current Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC) is in the process of being replaced by the new Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230. This will apply fully from 20th January 2027; up until this point, machinery should still be declared to the Machinery Directive.
This will have an impact on all manufacturers placing CE-marked machinery or related products on the market. Note: related product is a new term introduced in the machinery regulation to group other equipment (products) that are also in scope of the Machinery directive/Regulation (e.g. lifting accessories). However, the majority of the Essential Health and Safety Requirements (EHSRs), i.e. the requirements that a manufacturer’s machine/related product must meet (if applicable) to be compliant, are unchanged, and so most manufacturers will only require minor updates. There are significant changes to the following areas:
- Machines with online connectivity (directly or indirectly) now have specific protection requirements against accidental or malicious corruption.They must also record modifications to their software (whether intended or malicious).
- Machinery and/or safety components that use self-evolving behaviour now specifically require Notified Body involvement in the conformity assessment procedures.Internal assessment by the manufacturer alone is not permitted.
- Machinery that a person may enter must be specifically designed to facilitate rescue.
- Certain high-risk machinery (such as Power Take-Off guards and vehicle servicing lifts) must also involve a Notified Body and cannot be fully self-assessed.A full list of affected equipment can be found in Annex I Part A of the Regulation.
- Instructions and Declarations can now be provided digitally (e.g. through QR codes), but paper versions must be made available on request.They must be made available for at least 10 years after the equipment is placed on the market.
- Portable hand-held/hand-guided machinery and mobile machinery must now give more detailed information on hand-arm vibration levels in the instruction manual.
In addition, all Declarations for machinery placed on the market after 20th January 2027 must be updated to reference the new Regulation (rather than the Directive).
Please note that the UK government has not yet published equivalent legislation, so there are no immediate changes for equipment that is UKCA marked for Great Britain alone. However, machines that bear both marks (i.e. CE and UKCA) will need to meet the new requirements. Also, the UK Government has published legislation (SI 2026 No. 867) to continue recognition of CE-marked machinery after the Regulation comes into force.
If you have any questions about complying with the new Machinery Regulation, please contact us.