Scope and exclusions
Scope of the Machinery Regulation: Which Products It Covers and Which It Does Not
Scope of the Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230: the seven Article 2(1) product categories, the 17 Article 2(2) exclusions and what brings a product in.
Summary
Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 covers seven product categories, machinery, five related products and partly completed machinery, and excludes 17 groups of products listed in Article 2(2).
Article 9 narrows it further where more specific Union legislation covers a product's risks, and the Regulation attaches when a product is placed on the market or put into service.
The Regulation applies from 20 January 2027 and is directly applicable in every Member State. Until 19 January 2027, Article 1 of Directive 2006/42/EC sets the scope through national transpositions. This page covers scope only; the rest of the EU Machinery Regulation is explained on the home page.
The sections below set out the categories, the machinery test, the exclusions, a four-question check and the Directive comparison.
What Is the Scope of the Machinery Regulation?
The scope of the Machinery Regulation is set by Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230: machinery, related products and partly completed machinery, together called "products within the scope of this Regulation", minus the 17 exclusions of Article 2(2).
Article 2 of the Regulation replaces Article 1 of Directive 2006/42/EC, as the Annex XII correlation table of the Regulation records. A second filter sits in Article 9 of the Regulation: a product within the scope drops out of the Regulation to the extent that more specific Union harmonisation legislation covers its risks.
The Seven Product Categories of Article 2(1)
Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 lists seven product categories: machinery; five related products, namely interchangeable equipment, safety components, lifting accessories, chains, ropes and webbing, and removable mechanical transmission devices; and partly completed machinery.
Each category has its own definition in Article 3, points 1 to 10, of the Regulation. A safety component is "a physical or digital component, including software" (Article 3(3)), so software placed on the market on its own to fulfil a safety function falls within the scope.
Partly completed machinery is an assembly which is "not yet machinery" because it cannot in itself perform a specific application (Article 3(10)). Each of the product categories of the Machinery Regulation has its own page.
| Category | Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 | Definition | Directive 2006/42/EC definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machinery | First subparagraph | Art. 3(1)(a) to (f) | Art. 2(a) |
| Interchangeable equipment | Point (a) | Art. 3(2) | Art. 2(b) |
| Safety components | Point (b) | Art. 3(3) and (4); physical or digital, including software | Art. 2(c) |
| Lifting accessories | Point (c) | Art. 3(5) | Art. 2(d) |
| Chains, ropes and webbing | Point (d) | Art. 3(6), (7) and (8) | Art. 2(e) |
| Removable mechanical transmission devices | Point (e) | Art. 3(9) | Art. 2(f) |
| Partly completed machinery | Second subparagraph | Art. 3(10), "not yet machinery" | Art. 2(g) |
Together: "products within the scope of this Regulation" (Article 2(1), third subparagraph).
Is It Machinery? The Article 3(1) Definition at a Glance
A product is machinery under Article 3(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 when it is "an assembly, fitted with or intended to be fitted with a drive system other than directly applied human or animal effort, consisting of linked parts or components, at least one of which moves, and which are joined together for a specific application".
Article 3(1) has six limbs, (a) to (f), against five indents in Article 2(a) of Directive 2006/42/EC. Two limbs widen the test.
- Limb (e): an assembly intended for lifting loads whose only power source is directly applied human effort is machinery.
- Limb (f): an assembly missing only the uploading of the software intended for the specific application foreseen by the manufacturer is machinery, and recital 19 confirms that it is neither a related product nor partly completed machinery.
The Commission's Guide to application of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, Edition 2.3 (April 2024), treats hand-driven lawn mowers, hand drills and hand-pushed trolleys as not machinery, because directly applied human effort moves them, while human effort stored in springs or accumulators does not count as directly applied. Every Article 3 term is set out under Machinery Regulation definitions.
What Brings Machinery into Scope: Placing on the Market, Putting into Service and Own Use
Machinery comes under the Regulation when it is placed on the market, meaning "the first making available of a product within the scope of this Regulation on the Union market" (Article 3(12)), or put into service, meaning "the first use, for its intended purpose, in the Union" (Article 3(13)).
Making available is "any supply of a product within the scope of this Regulation for distribution or use on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge" (Article 3(11)).
Recital 13 extends this to all forms of supply, including distance selling. Recital 10 states that the Regulation covers products new to the Union market: new products of a Union manufacturer, and products, whether new or second-hand, imported from a third country.
Own use is the third route. A person who manufactures a product within the scope and puts it into service for its own use is a manufacturer under Article 3(18)(b).
A non-professional user who substantially modifies machinery for its own use is not a manufacturer (Article 18, third paragraph); when a change counts as a substantial modification of machinery is explained separately.
What Falls Outside the Scope: Article 2(2) and Article 9
Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 excludes 17 groups of products, points (a) to (q), from spare-part safety components and fairground equipment to vehicles, seagoing vessels, weapons and certain electrical products, against 12 points in Article 1(2) of the Directive. The table groups them into five families.
| Group | Points of Article 2(2) | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Spare-part safety components supplied by the original manufacturer | (a) | 1 |
| Specific equipment and installations: fairgrounds and amusement parks, nuclear installations, mine winding gear, moving performers | (b), (c), (n), (o) | 4 |
| Weapons, military and police purposes, laboratory research for temporary use | (d), (l), (m) | 3 |
| Transport and vehicles: air, water and rail transport, aeronautical products, motor vehicles and trailers, two- or three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles, agricultural and forestry tractors, competition vehicles, seagoing vessels and mobile offshore units | (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k) | 7 |
| Electrical and electronic products under Directive 2014/35/EU or 2014/53/EU, high-voltage switchgear, control gear and transformers | (p), (q) | 2 |
| Total | (a) to (q) | 17 (Directive Article 1(2): 12) |
Four of the transport points, (e), (g), (h) and (i), exclude the vehicle or means of transport "except machinery mounted on them". Point (k) excludes seagoing vessels and mobile offshore units together with the machinery installed on board.
Point (p) applies to household appliances, audio and video equipment, information technology equipment, ordinary office machinery, low-voltage switchgear and control gear and electric motors "insofar as they fall within the scope of Directive 2014/35/EU or of Directive 2014/53/EU".
Recital 17 adds that e-bikes, e-scooters and other personal mobility devices not subject to EU type approval under Regulations (EU) No 167/2013, No 168/2013 or (EU) 2018/858 are covered, except for the risks of circulation on public roads.
Article 9 removes products partly rather than wholly. Where the Annex III risks of a product are wholly or partly covered by more specific Union harmonisation legislation, "this Regulation shall not apply to that product to the extent that that specific Union legislation covers such risks". Its predecessor is Article 3 of Directive 2006/42/EC.
How to Check Whether a Product Is in Scope of the Machinery Regulation
Four questions decide whether a product is in scope of the Machinery Regulation: is it one of the seven Article 2(1) categories, is it excluded by Article 2(2), does more specific Union legislation cover its risks under Article 9, and is it being placed on the Union market or put into service for the first time.
A product that passes all four questions moves on to the steps of Machinery Regulation compliance.
| # | Question | Legal basis | Where it is answered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Is it machinery, a related product or partly completed machinery? | Art. 2(1), Art. 3(1) to (10) | This page, categories and Article 3(1) sections |
| 2 | Is it excluded? | Art. 2(2)(a) to (q) | Machinery Regulation exclusions |
| 3 | Does more specific Union legislation cover its risks? | Art. 9 | The Machinery Regulation and other EU product laws |
| 4 | Is it placed on the Union market or put into service for the first time, new or second-hand from a third country? | Art. 3(12) and (13); recital 10 | Used machinery and the Machinery Regulation |
The check is the reader's own reading of Articles 2, 3 and 9; this page explains the test and gives no scope decision for a named product.
Scope under the Machinery Directive Compared
Under Article 1 of Directive 2006/42/EC, which applies until 19 January 2027, the scope covered the same seven product categories (points (a) to (g)) and excluded 12 groups of products (Article 1(2)(a) to (l)).
The Regulation changes the scope in three ways.
- The exclusion list grows from 12 to 17 points, partly because the Directive's transport point, Article 1(2)(e), is split into points (e), (g), (h), (i) and (j), and with the new aeronautical point (f) and the Radio Equipment Directive trigger in point (p).
- The machinery definition has six limbs instead of five indents.
- Software can be a safety component (Article 3(3)).
| Point | Directive 2006/42/EC | Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 |
|---|---|---|
| Scope article | Art. 1 | Art. 2 (Annex XII) |
| Product categories | 7, Art. 1(1)(a) to (g) | 7, Art. 2(1) |
| Exclusions | 12, Art. 1(2)(a) to (l) | 17, Art. 2(2)(a) to (q) |
| Machinery definition | Art. 2(a), five indents | Art. 3(1)(a) to (f), six limbs; (f) software upload |
| Electrical exclusion | Low Voltage Directive products only | Low Voltage Directive or Radio Equipment Directive; electrically operated furniture and additive printing machinery stay in scope |
| Aeronautical products | No point | Art. 2(2)(f) |
| Software as safety component | Not covered | Art. 3(3) |
| More specific legislation | Art. 3 | Art. 9 |
Directive 2006/42/EC applies until 19 January 2027, Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 from 20 January 2027.
Products placed on the market in conformity with the Directive before the Regulation's application date may still be made available after it (Article 52(1) of the Regulation). The article-by-article comparison of Machinery Regulation vs Machinery Directive sits on its own page.
What the Scope Check Does Not Decide
Being in scope decides that the Regulation applies; it does not decide which conformity procedure, which documents or which operator duties follow. Those answers depend on the product's status under Annex I of the Regulation and on each operator's role.
Does a Product in Scope Always Need a Notified Body?
No: products in scope that are not listed in Annex I of the Regulation use internal production control (module A) only (Article 25(4)), while the 25 points of Annex I (6 in Part A, 19 in Part B) follow Article 25(2) or (3). The routes and when a notified body is needed are explained on the conformity assessment page.
Do Products Placed on the Market under the Directive Need a New Assessment in 2027?
No: products placed on the market in conformity with Directive 2006/42/EC before 20 January 2027 may continue to be made available after that date (Article 52(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230). There is no parallel period: a product first placed on the market from 20 January 2027 follows the Regulation. Every date is set out in the Machinery Regulation timeline and the transition.