SPVD - Directive 2014/29/EU

What SPVD is and why it matters

The Simple Pressure Vessels Directive (SPVD) — formally Directive 2014/29/EU on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of simple pressure vessels — is the EU law that governs a tightly defined family of welded vessels designed to hold air or nitrogen under pressure. If you manufacture, import or distribute compressor receivers, air tanks for braking systems, or similar welded reservoirs, this is very likely the directive that decides how your products reach the European market.

SPVD matters because it sets out the essential safety requirements, conformity assessment routes and CE marking rules for a product whose failure mode — the sudden release of stored pressure energy — can cause serious harm. It is one of the New Legislative Framework directives, which means it shares the same architecture as the rest of the CE family: essential safety requirements, harmonised standards that give a presumption of conformity, defined conformity assessment modules, an EU declaration of conformity and CE marking. Getting it right is a precondition for lawful sale, and the directive’s scope is deliberately narrow, so the first task is always to confirm whether a vessel actually falls inside it.

📄 Official text: Directive 2014/29/EU on simple pressure vessels — on EUR-Lex →

Who SPVD applies to

SPVD applies across the supply chain rather than to a single actor. The duties scale with your role, but every link is covered:

Manufacturers — anyone who makes a simple pressure vessel, or who has it made and markets it under their own name or trademark. They carry the heaviest obligations, including design and manufacture to the essential requirements, conformity assessment, technical documentation, the EU declaration of conformity and CE marking.
Authorised representatives — a person established in the Union who is appointed in writing by the manufacturer to carry out defined tasks on their behalf, such as keeping documentation available for authorities.
Importers — businesses bringing vessels from outside the EU into the Union market. They must verify the manufacturer has carried out the right conformity assessment, drawn up the documentation and applied the CE marking, and they must add their own identification.
Distributors — wholesalers and retailers who must act with due care, check that the CE marking, documents and required information are present, and not make available vessels they know or should presume to be non-compliant.

The directive applies only to vessels manufactured in series, and it does not cover vessels designed for nuclear use, ship and aircraft propulsion, or fire extinguishers, among other exclusions. Vessels falling outside SPVD’s defined limits are generally dealt with under the broader Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) instead.

Scope and thresholds

SPVD covers welded vessels subject to an internal gauge pressure greater than 0.5 bar, intended to contain air or nitrogen and not intended to be fired. The vessel and its parts that contribute to its strength must be made either of non-alloy quality steel or non-alloy aluminium or non-age-hardening aluminium alloy, within the material conditions the directive specifies.

The directive uses the product of maximum working pressure (PS) and capacity (V), expressed as PS × V, together with the maximum working pressure itself, to determine both whether a vessel is in scope and which conformity assessment route applies. Vessels with a very low PS × V value sit at the bottom of the regime and need only be manufactured in accordance with sound engineering practice in a Member State, without CE marking under SPVD. Above the defined threshold, the full conformity assessment and CE marking obligations apply. Because the exact numerical limits and bands drive your obligations, they should be read directly from the directive’s text rather than assumed.

Core requirements

Essential safety requirements

Vessels in the regulated range must be designed and manufactured in accordance with the essential safety requirements set out in the directive’s annexes. These cover the materials used, the design (including wall thickness calculations or an experimental design method), the manufacturing processes — in particular the preparation of component parts, welding and the qualification of welders and welding procedures — and the final inspection and testing of finished vessels. Vessels must also carry defined inscriptions and be accompanied by instructions.

Harmonised standards and presumption of conformity

Where a vessel is built in accordance with harmonised standards whose references have been published in the Official Journal, it benefits from a presumption of conformity with the essential safety requirements those standards cover. Using harmonised standards is not mandatory, but it is the most direct way to demonstrate compliance; a manufacturer who chooses another technical solution must be able to show that it meets the essential requirements to an equivalent level.

Conformity assessment and notified bodies

The conformity assessment route depends on the PS × V value of the vessel. For vessels above the relevant threshold, an EU-type examination of the design (module B) carried out by a notified body is required, followed at the production stage by conformity to type based on internal production control plus supervised checks or product verification (the modules set out in the directive). For vessels at or below that threshold, the manufacturer holds the technical documentation and the vessel is manufactured in line with a design already shown to meet the requirements, without notified body involvement at the type stage. The practical effect is that higher-energy vessels involve an independent notified body, while lower-energy vessels can be self-assessed within the directive’s defined route.

Technical documentation

Manufacturers must draw up technical documentation allowing the conformity of the vessel with the applicable essential safety requirements to be assessed. It describes the design, manufacture and operation of the vessel, including drawings, calculations, the standards applied, test reports and the description of solutions adopted to meet the requirements. The documentation must be kept available for the market surveillance authorities for the retention period set by the directive and produced on request.

EU declaration of conformity and CE marking

For every regulated vessel placed on the market, the manufacturer must draw up an EU declaration of conformity stating that the essential safety requirements have been met, and must affix the CE marking together with, where a notified body is involved at the production stage, that body’s identification number. By drawing up the declaration, the manufacturer assumes responsibility for the conformity of the vessel. The vessel must also bear the prescribed inscriptions — such as maximum working pressure, maximum and minimum working temperature and capacity — and be accompanied by instructions in a language easily understood by end users.

Obligations by role

Manufacturers — design and build to the essential requirements, run the correct conformity assessment, compile technical documentation, draw up the EU declaration of conformity, apply CE marking and the inscriptions, and ensure instructions accompany the vessel.
Importers — verify the manufacturer’s conformity assessment and documentation, check the CE marking and inscriptions, add their own identification, and refuse non-compliant vessels.
Distributors — check that the CE marking, documents and instructions are present, store and transport vessels with due care, and stop making available vessels they believe to be non-compliant.

Enforcement

SPVD is a directive, so it takes effect through national transposition, and each Member State designates market surveillance authorities to enforce it. In Denmark, the Danish Safety Technology Authority (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen) is the competent authority for pressure equipment and simple pressure vessels. Authorities can require corrective action, restrict or prohibit making a vessel available, order withdrawals and recalls, and challenge the improper use of the CE marking.

Non-compliant vessels can be shared EU-wide through market surveillance cooperation, so a problem identified in one country can trigger action across the Union. Consequences are set at national level and can include orders to stop sales, mandatory recalls, fines and reputational damage. The qualitative reality for a brand is that a pressure vessel found to be unsafe — or merely lacking the right documentation and CE marking — can be pulled from multiple markets quickly.

Getting compliant

Confirm whether your vessel falls within SPVD’s scope (welded, air or nitrogen, not fired, above 0.5 bar, within the material limits) or under PED instead.
Determine the PS × V value and the resulting conformity assessment route.
Design and manufacture to the essential safety requirements, using harmonised standards where possible for a presumption of conformity.
Qualify welders and welding procedures and run the required final inspection and testing.
Engage a notified body for EU-type examination and production-stage checks where the threshold requires it.
Compile and retain the technical documentation.
Draw up the EU declaration of conformity, apply the CE marking and the prescribed inscriptions, and supply instructions in the right languages.

How Conphora helps

Conphora monitors SPVD and maps your vessels against its requirements, flagging gaps in scope determination, conformity assessment route, technical documentation, the EU declaration of conformity and CE marking before they become enforcement problems. The platform helps you generate and keep the right documentation, 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