LVD - Directive 2014/35/EU

What LVD is and why it matters

The Low Voltage Directive (LVD) — formally Directive 2014/35/EU on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits — is the EU’s core safety law for the vast majority of mains-powered and battery-charged electrical products. If you make, import or sell electrical equipment that operates within the directive’s voltage range, the LVD almost certainly applies to you, and CE marking under it is a precondition for placing the product on the EU market.

The LVD matters because it sets the baseline electrical-safety requirements that protect people, domestic animals and property against hazards arising from electrical equipment — electric shock, fire, overheating, mechanical and radiation hazards, and the dangers that come from foreseeable misuse. It is one of the oldest and most widely applied CE directives, and for most electrical products it is the rule that determines whether the product can lawfully be sold at all. Importantly, the LVD relies on self-assessment by the manufacturer: there is no notified body in the conformity route, which makes the responsibility on the manufacturer to get the technical evidence right especially heavy.

📄 Official text: Directive 2014/35/EU on electrical equipment within certain voltage limits — on EUR-Lex →

Who LVD applies to

The LVD applies to electrical equipment designed for use with a voltage rating of between 50 and 1000 V for alternating current and between 75 and 1500 V for direct current. Within that voltage band it covers a very broad range of products — household appliances, power tools, lighting, IT and consumer electronics, power supplies, cables and wiring accessories, and most equipment that plugs into the mains.

The directive sets obligations across the supply chain. The duties scale with your role, but every link is covered:

Manufacturers — anyone who makes electrical equipment, or who has it made and markets it under their own name or trademark. They carry the heaviest obligations: ensuring the equipment meets the safety objectives, drawing up the technical documentation, performing the conformity assessment, issuing the EU declaration of conformity and affixing the CE marking.
Authorised representatives — a person established in the EU appointed in writing by the manufacturer to perform defined tasks on their behalf, such as keeping documentation available to authorities.
Importers — businesses bringing electrical equipment from outside the EU into the Union market. They must verify the manufacturer has carried out the conformity assessment and drawn up the documentation, add their own identification, and only place compliant equipment on the market.
Distributors — wholesalers and retailers further down the chain who must act with due care, check that the CE marking, documents and required information are present, and not make available equipment they know or should presume to be non-compliant.

Annex II of the directive lists categories of equipment and phenomena that fall outside the LVD’s scope — for example equipment for use in explosive atmospheres, electrical parts of goods and passenger lifts, electricity meters, plugs and socket-outlets for domestic use, and specialised equipment for use on ships, aircraft or railways covered by other rules.

Core requirements

Safety objectives in Annex I

At the heart of the LVD are the safety objectives set out in Annex I. Electrical equipment may only be placed on the market if, having been constructed in accordance with good engineering practice in safety matters, it does not endanger people, domestic animals or property when properly installed, maintained and used for its intended purpose. Annex I groups these objectives into general conditions (markings or documentation for safe use, identification of the manufacturer and the equipment), protection against hazards arising from the equipment (such as electric shock, temperature, arcs and radiation), and protection against hazards that external influences may cause to the equipment. These objectives are outcome-based: they describe the safety result that must be achieved rather than prescribing a single technical solution.

Harmonised standards and presumption of conformity

Because the safety objectives are expressed as outcomes, manufacturers usually demonstrate compliance by applying harmonised standards. Where a product conforms to harmonised standards whose references have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, it benefits from a presumption of conformity with the safety objectives those standards cover. Using harmonised standards is voluntary — a manufacturer may instead show, through its own analysis and testing, that the equipment meets the Annex I objectives directly — but in practice the standards (such as the IEC/EN 60335 series for household appliances or EN 62368-1 for IT and audio/video equipment) are the most efficient and defensible route. The presumption of conformity makes documenting the standards applied a central part of the technical file.

Technical documentation

The manufacturer must draw up technical documentation that makes it possible to assess the equipment’s conformity with the applicable requirements. As set out in Annex III, this documentation includes a general description of the equipment, conceptual design and manufacturing drawings, descriptions and explanations needed to understand those drawings, a list of the harmonised standards applied (and descriptions of the solutions adopted where standards have not been applied), the results of design calculations and examinations, and test reports. The documentation must be retained and made available to market surveillance authorities for ten years after the equipment has been placed on the market.

EU declaration of conformity and CE marking

Before placing equipment on the market, the manufacturer must draw up an EU declaration of conformity (DoC) stating that the fulfilment of the safety objectives has been demonstrated, and affix the CE marking. The DoC follows the model structure in Annex IV: it identifies the equipment, names the manufacturer, declares that the DoC is issued under the manufacturer’s sole responsibility, and lists the relevant Union legislation and the harmonised standards applied. The CE marking is affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly to the equipment — or to its data plate, packaging or accompanying documents where this is not possible — and signifies that the product complies with all the EU legislation that requires CE marking, not the LVD alone.

Conformity assessment via internal production control

The LVD’s conformity-assessment procedure is internal production control (Module A), set out in Annex III. This means no notified body is involved: the manufacturer itself takes responsibility for ensuring and declaring that the equipment satisfies the safety objectives. Under Module A the manufacturer establishes the technical documentation, takes the measures necessary so that the manufacturing process ensures compliance, and affixes the CE marking and draws up the DoC on its own authority. This self-certification route keeps the process under the manufacturer’s control, but it also means the burden of proof — sound design, appropriate standards, real test evidence — rests entirely with the manufacturer.

Obligations by role

Manufacturers — ensure the equipment meets the Annex I safety objectives, draw up and retain the technical documentation, perform internal production control, issue the EU declaration of conformity, affix the CE marking, ensure traceability markings and instructions, and take corrective action for non-compliant equipment.
Authorised representatives — perform the tasks set out in their mandate, including keeping the DoC and technical documentation available to authorities.
Importers — verify the manufacturer has carried out conformity assessment and drawn up documentation, check the CE marking and DoC are present, add their own name and contact details, and refuse non-compliant equipment.
Distributors — check the CE marking, DoC reference, instructions and identification are present, handle and store equipment with due care, and stop making available equipment they believe to be non-compliant.

Enforcement

The LVD is a directive, so it is transposed into national law by each Member State, which also designates the market surveillance authorities that enforce it. In Denmark, the Danish Safety Technology Authority (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen) is the competent authority for electrical equipment safety. Authorities can require corrective action, restrict or prohibit equipment being made available, order withdrawals and recalls, and act against equipment that bears the CE marking but does not in fact meet the safety objectives.

Non-compliant electrical equipment that presents a risk can be shared EU-wide through the Safety Gate rapid alert system, so a problem identified in one Member State can trigger action across the Union. Penalties for non-compliance are set at national level and can include sales bans, mandatory recalls, fines and reputational damage from public alerts. Because the LVD relies on self-assessment, authorities frequently test products taken from the market, and a missing or inadequate technical file is a common reason for enforcement action.

How LVD fits with other CE legislation

The LVD rarely applies on its own. The same product almost always has to satisfy the EMC Directive (2014/30/EU) as well, because electrical equipment that meets electrical-safety objectives must also not cause or be unduly affected by electromagnetic disturbance. Where the equipment intentionally transmits or receives radio waves, the Radio Equipment Directive (2014/53/EU, RED) applies instead of the LVD and the EMC Directive, but RED incorporates the LVD’s safety objectives without the lower voltage limit. Identifying the correct combination of directives early is essential, because a single product typically carries one CE marking covering all of them.

Getting compliant

Confirm the equipment falls within the LVD voltage range and is not excluded under Annex II.
Identify which other directives apply (EMC, and RED for radio products) so the CE marking covers all of them.
Assess the equipment against the Annex I safety objectives, applying relevant harmonised standards to gain the presumption of conformity.
Carry out the necessary design and type testing and record the results.
Compile the technical documentation in line with Annex III and retain it for ten years.
Carry out internal production control (Module A) — no notified body is required.
Draw up the EU declaration of conformity and affix the CE marking.
Apply identification and traceability markings and provide instructions and safety information in the required languages.

How Conphora helps

Conphora monitors the LVD and maps your products against its requirements, flagging gaps in the safety objectives, harmonised standards, technical documentation, the declaration of conformity and CE marking before they become enforcement problems. The platform helps you generate and keep the right documentation, shows how the LVD interacts with the EMC Directive and RED, and alerts you when obligations change so your compliance stays current.

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Sources and further reading

This guide is for general information and is not legal advice.

Last updated: 12 June 2026