---
title: "BottD — Measuring Container Bottles Directive"
description: "The Measuring Container Bottles Directive lets manufacturers make bottles of 0.05 to 5 litres as measuring container bottles, built to its tolerances and marked with the capacity, the manufacturer's mark and the reversed-epsilon sign, which every Member State must accept. It dates from 20 December 1974, was transposed by 20 June 1976 and has never been amended."
type: "guide"
url: "https://www.conphora.com/regulations/bottd/"
markdown: "https://www.conphora.com/regulations/bottd.md"
locale: "en"
language: "en"
published: "1974-12-20"
updated: "2026-09-11"
author: "Conphora compliance team"
publisher: "Conphora"
reference: "Council Directive 75/107/EEC"
celex: "31975L0107"
source: "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:31975L0107"
tags: ["BottD", "Measuring Instruments"]
license: "Free to quote with attribution and a link to the page"
---

# BottD — Measuring Container Bottles Directive

The Measuring Container Bottles Directive lets manufacturers make bottles of 0.05 to 5 litres as measuring container bottles, built to its tolerances and marked with the capacity, the manufacturer's mark and the reversed-epsilon sign, which every Member State must accept. It dates from 20 December 1974, was transposed by 20 June 1976 and has never been amended.

## Key facts

- **Official title:** Council Directive 75/107/EEC of 19 December 1974 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to bottles used as measuring containers
- **Reference:** Council Directive 75/107/EEC
- **CELEX:** 31975L0107
- **Act type:** Directive
- **In force:** 1974-12-20
- **Applies from:** 1976-06-20
- **Enforced by:** The competent departments of the Member States check measuring container bottles by statistical sampling at the place of manufacture or, where that is not practicable, on the premises of the importer or his agent established in the Community, and may carry out further checks in the course of trade; since 16 July 2021 the directive is listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, so the national market surveillance authorities also hold the powers of that regulation, and because it is listed in Annex II as an act without penalty provisions, the Member States set the penalties under Article 41. In Denmark the directive is implemented by executive order 590 of 29 May 2018 on bottles as measuring containers, which names Sikkerhedsstyrelsen as the authority that approves the manufacturer's identification mark and checks the bottles; legal metrology has come under the product act (lov om produkter og markedsovervågning) since 1 July 2021, which lists the directive in section 2(1) no. 16, makes Erhvervsstyrelsen the control authority (section 9) and provides orders, prohibitions and fines, rising to imprisonment of up to two years in aggravating circumstances (section 37(2)), and since January 2026 Sikkerhedsstyrelsen is part of Erhvervsstyrelsen, although the 2018 order has not been updated and still refers to Sikkerhedsstyrelsen.
- **Category:** Measuring Instruments

## Who it applies to

**Covered by the act:** Containers commonly called bottles, made of glass or of any other substance with such rigidity and stability that it offers the same metrological guarantees as glass; Bottles that are stoppered or designed to be stoppered and intended for the storage, transport or delivery of liquids; Bottles with a nominal capacity between 0.05 litre and 5 litres inclusive; Bottles whose design characteristics and uniformity of manufacture let their contents be measured with sufficient accuracy when filled to a specified level or to a specified percentage of their brim capacity, called measuring container bottles; Manufacturers who choose to make such bottles and affix the reversed-epsilon EEC sign, and the packers who fill them as a way of meeting the prepackage rules

**Derived and downstream products:** The directive is optional: only bottles that meet its requirements may carry the EEC sign, and a Member State may not refuse, prohibit or restrict the marketing and use as measuring containers of bottles that satisfy its requirements and tests for reasons concerning their volume, the determination of their volume or the checking methods (Art. 2 and Art. 3); The reversed-epsilon sign is the special sign of Article 6 of Directive 2009/34/EC, the recast of Directive 71/316/EEC: the stylised letter epsilon reversed about a vertical axis, affixed by the manufacturer on his own responsibility; the date, origin and reference number that form part of the EC pattern approval sign are not required on bottles, and the reversed-epsilon sign bears no other indication (Annex I point 5, third subparagraph, referring to Annex I, subsection 6.3 of Directive 71/316/EEC; Directive 2009/34/EC Art. 6 and Annex I points 3.1, 3.3 and 6.3); Using a measuring container bottle filled under the conditions of the directive is one of several methods by which a packer can meet the measuring and checking requirements of Directive 76/211/EEC for prepackages made up by volume (Directive 76/211/EEC, Annex I point 4); The Measuring Instruments Directive 2014/32/EU does not cover measuring container bottles: its Article 2(1), as replaced by Directive (EU) 2026/706 with effect from 9 April 2026, lists twelve instrument categories, none of which is a bottle, and the capacity serving measures of Annex MI-008 are measures such as a drinking glass, jug or thimble measure for liquid sold for immediate consumption (Directive 2014/32/EU, Art. 2(1) as amended by Directive (EU) 2026/706, Art. 1, point 1, and Annex X, chapter II); Since 16 July 2021 the directive is Union harmonisation legislation under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (Annex I point 3), and because it contains no penalty provisions (Annex II point 3) the Member States lay down effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties under Article 41 of that regulation

**Roles under the act:**

- **Bottle manufacturer** — Every manufacturer of measuring container bottles: the maker who submits an identification mark for approval by the competent department and who, on his own responsibility, affixes the reversed-epsilon sign certifying that the bottle meets the requirements of the directive and its annexes; in Denmark the executive order applies to manufacturers who choose to produce measuring container bottles.
- **Importer or agent established in the Community** — The importer, or his agent established in the Community, on whose premises the competent departments carry out the statistical sampling check when a check at the place of manufacture is not practicable; an economic operator under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 for this directive.
- **Packer or filler** — The packer or importer who makes up prepackages and is responsible for ensuring that they meet the requirements of Directive 76/211/EEC, and who may use a measuring container bottle of the type defined in Directive 75/107/EEC, filled under the conditions prescribed in that directive, as one of the methods of measuring or checking the actual contents.

## Key dates

- 1974-12-19: Council Directive 75/107/EEC adopted in Brussels; published in OJ L 42 of 15 February 1975
- 1974-12-20: Notification to the Member States and entry into force
- 1976-06-20: Deadline for the Member States to put into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions needed to comply, 18 months after notification
- 1981-10-01: Directive 71/354/EEC on units of measurement, cited in Annex I point 8.1.1 for the unit symbols, repealed by Directive 80/181/EEC, which now governs the units marked on the bottle
- 2009-04-11: Directive 2007/45/EC on nominal quantities for prepacked products applies: it repeals Directives 75/106/EEC and 80/232/EEC and amends Directive 76/211/EEC, while Directive 75/107/EEC is not among the acts it repeals
- 2009-05-18: Directive 2009/34/EC in force: it recasts and repeals Directive 71/316/EEC, so the reference in Annex I point 5 to the sign in Article 6 of that directive is read as Article 6 of Directive 2009/34/EC and its Annex I point 3.3
- 2018-07-01: Danish executive order 590 of 29 May 2018 on bottles as measuring containers enters into force, replacing the technical directive of 1 April 1977; identification marks approved by 30 June 2018 keep their validity
- 2019-07-01: The Danish executive order applies to manufacturers that were already producing measuring container bottles
- 2021-07-01: Legal metrology in Denmark comes under the product act (lov om produkter og markedsovervågning), which lists the directive on bottles as measuring containers among the acts it covers
- 2021-07-16: Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 applies: Directive 75/107/EEC is point 3 of its Annex I (Union harmonisation legislation) and point 3 of Annex II (acts without provisions on penalties), so the Member States lay down the penalties under Article 41
- 2026-01-01: Sikkerhedsstyrelsen becomes the department Markedsovervågning of Erhvervsstyrelsen and continues the same tasks, including the control of measuring container bottles (the source states 'from January 2026'; 1 January is used as the reference date)

## What you must do

### Bottle manufacturer

- Design and manufacture the bottles with metrological characteristics, design characteristics and uniformity of manufacture, that let their contents be measured with sufficient accuracy when they are filled to a specified level or to a specified percentage of their brim capacity; for all bottles of the same design the distance between the theoretical filling level and the brim and the volume of expansion must be perceptibly constant.
- Keep the actual capacity at 20 degrees Celsius within the maximum permissible errors, positive or negative, of Annex I: 3 ml for 50 to 100 ml, 3 percent for 100 to 200 ml, 6 ml for 200 to 300 ml, 2 percent for 300 to 500 ml, 10 ml for 500 to 1 000 ml and 1 percent for 1 000 to 5 000 ml; the same error applies to the brim capacity, and the systematic exploitation of tolerances is prohibited.
- Check the actual capacity by determining the quantity of water at 20 degrees Celsius that the bottle contains when filled to the level theoretically corresponding to the nominal capacity, or indirectly by a method of equivalent accuracy.
- Submit an identification mark for the approval of the competent department before using it; in Denmark the mark is submitted to Sikkerhedsstyrelsen, which informs the competent departments of the other Member States and the Commission within one month of its approval.
- Affix the reversed-epsilon EEC sign, at least 3 mm high, on your own responsibility and only on bottles that meet the requirements of the directive and its annexes; the date, origin and reference number that form part of the EC pattern approval sign are not required, and the sign bears no other indication.
- Mark on the side, the bottom rim or the bottom, indelibly, easily legibly and visibly, the nominal capacity in litres, centilitres or millilitres in figures at least 6 mm high above 100 cl, 4 mm from 100 cl down to but not including 20 cl and 3 mm at 20 cl or less, followed by the unit symbol or name, together with the approved identification mark and the EEC sign.
- Mark on the bottom or the bottom rim, in figures of the same minimum height and so as not to be confused with the nominal capacity, the brim capacity in centilitres without the symbol cl and/or the distance in millimetres from the brim to the filling level of the nominal capacity followed by the symbol mm, according to the filling method the bottle is intended for; other indications may appear if they cause no confusion with the compulsory ones.
- Accept the statistical sampling check of the competent department at the place of manufacture, on batches corresponding in principle to an hour's production, with samples of 35 or 40 bottles measured by weighing them empty and filled with water at 20 degrees Celsius; where production is subject to a check recognised by the competent department, keep the manufacturer's check-cards, on which a second test may be based.

### Importer or agent established in the Community

- Make your premises, or those of your agent established in the Community, available for the statistical sampling check of measuring container bottles where a check at the place of manufacture is not practicable, and expect further checks by the competent departments in the course of trade.
- Place on the market as measuring container bottles only bottles that meet the requirements of the directive, since only such bottles may carry the EEC sign; in Denmark bottles that carry the sign from another Member State may be marketed and used without further approval from Sikkerhedsstyrelsen.
- On request, provide the market surveillance authority with documents, technical specifications, data or information on the compliance of the bottles and with information on the supply chain, the quantities on the market and other models with the same technical characteristics, as an economic operator under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020.
- Take the corrective action the market surveillance authority requires within the period it sets where the bottles do not conform to the directive, which may include bringing them into compliance or preventing their being made available on the market.

### Packer or filler

- Fill the bottle under the conditions of use for which it is intended, either to a constant level or to a constant vacuity, using the brim capacity or the filling-height distance marked on the bottom, so that the nominal capacity is reached.
- Where you rely on measuring container bottles to meet the measuring and checking requirements of Directive 76/211/EEC, use bottles of the type defined in Directive 75/107/EEC and fill them under the conditions prescribed in that directive and in Directive 76/211/EEC.
- Remain responsible, as packer or importer, for the prepackage meeting Directive 76/211/EEC: measure or check the actual contents by weight or volume with a legal measuring instrument or by sampling, or organise production checks recognised by the competent departments and keep the documents with their results at the departments' disposal.
- Mark the prepackage with the nominal quantity in the prescribed figure heights, a mark identifying the packer or importer and, where the prepackage complies with the directive, the small e sign at least 3 mm high in the same field of vision as the nominal quantity.

## Requirements

Each duty above as an identified requirement (12); ids are permanent and shared with the compliance engine.

### evidence

- `bottd-mfr-design-manufacture-bottles` (Bottle manufacturer, product, before-market) — Design and manufacture the bottles with metrological characteristics, design characteristics and uniformity of manufacture, that let their contents be measured with sufficient accuracy when they are filled to a specified level or to a specified percentage of their brim capacity; for all bottles of the same design the distance between the theoretical filling level and the brim and the volume of expansion must be perceptibly constant. [Art. 1, point 3 and Annex I point 2]
- `bottd-mfr-keep-actual-capacity` (Bottle manufacturer, product, before-market) — Keep the actual capacity at 20 degrees Celsius within the maximum permissible errors, positive or negative, of Annex I: 3 ml for 50 to 100 ml, 3 percent for 100 to 200 ml, 6 ml for 200 to 300 ml, 2 percent for 300 to 500 ml, 10 ml for 500 to 1 000 ml and 1 percent for 1 000 to 5 000 ml; the same error applies to the brim capacity, and the systematic exploitation of tolerances is prohibited. [Annex I point 3]
- `bottd-imp-take-corrective-action` (Importer or agent established in the Community, product, on-event) — Take the corrective action the market surveillance authority requires within the period it sets where the bottles do not conform to the directive, which may include bringing them into compliance or preventing their being made available on the market. [Art. 16(1), (2) and (3)]

### mark

- `bottd-mfr-affix-reversed-epsilon-eec` (Bottle manufacturer, product, before-market) — Affix the reversed-epsilon EEC sign, at least 3 mm high, on your own responsibility and only on bottles that meet the requirements of the directive and its annexes; the date, origin and reference number that form part of the EC pattern approval sign are not required, and the sign bears no other indication. [Art. 2 and Annex I point 5; https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32009L0034 · Art. 6 and Annex I point 3.3]
- `bottd-mfr-mark-side-bottom` (Bottle manufacturer, product, before-market) — Mark on the side, the bottom rim or the bottom, indelibly, easily legibly and visibly, the nominal capacity in litres, centilitres or millilitres in figures at least 6 mm high above 100 cl, 4 mm from 100 cl down to but not including 20 cl and 3 mm at 20 cl or less, followed by the unit symbol or name, together with the approved identification mark and the EEC sign. [Annex I point 8.1]
- `bottd-mfr-mark-bottom-bottom` (Bottle manufacturer, product, before-market) — Mark on the bottom or the bottom rim, in figures of the same minimum height and so as not to be confused with the nominal capacity, the brim capacity in centilitres without the symbol cl and/or the distance in millimetres from the brim to the filling level of the nominal capacity followed by the symbol mm, according to the filling method the bottle is intended for; other indications may appear if they cause no confusion with the compulsory ones. [Annex I point 8.2]

### procedure

- `bottd-mfr-check-actual-capacity` (Bottle manufacturer, lot, per-lot) — Check the actual capacity by determining the quantity of water at 20 degrees Celsius that the bottle contains when filled to the level theoretically corresponding to the nominal capacity, or indirectly by a method of equivalent accuracy. [Annex I point 4]
- `bottd-mfr-accept-statistical-sampling` (Bottle manufacturer, lot, per-lot) — Accept the statistical sampling check of the competent department at the place of manufacture, on batches corresponding in principle to an hour's production, with samples of 35 or 40 bottles measured by weighing them empty and filled with water at 20 degrees Celsius; where production is subject to a check recognised by the competent department, keep the manufacturer's check-cards, on which a second test may be based. [Annex I point 6 and Annex II points 1 and 2]
- `bottd-imp-make-premises-agent` (Importer or agent established in the Community, lot, per-lot) — Make your premises, or those of your agent established in the Community, available for the statistical sampling check of measuring container bottles where a check at the place of manufacture is not practicable, and expect further checks by the competent departments in the course of trade. [Annex I points 6 and 7]

### submission

- `bottd-mfr-submit-identification-mark` (Bottle manufacturer, company, before-market) — Submit an identification mark for the approval of the competent department before using it; in Denmark the mark is submitted to Sikkerhedsstyrelsen, which informs the competent departments of the other Member States and the Commission within one month of its approval. [Annex I point 5; https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2018/590 · § 3 and bilag 1, pkt. 5]

### verification

- `bottd-imp-place-market-measuring` (Importer or agent established in the Community, product, before-market) — Place on the market as measuring container bottles only bottles that meet the requirements of the directive, since only such bottles may carry the EEC sign; in Denmark bottles that carry the sign from another Member State may be marketed and used without further approval from Sikkerhedsstyrelsen. [Art. 2 and Art. 3; https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2018/590 · § 5]

### standing

- `bottd-imp-provide-market-surveillance` (Importer or agent established in the Community, company, ongoing) — On request, provide the market surveillance authority with documents, technical specifications, data or information on the compliance of the bottles and with information on the supply chain, the quantities on the market and other models with the same technical characteristics, as an economic operator under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. [Art. 14(4), points (a) and (b), and Annex I point 3]

## Penalties

The directive itself contains no penalty article; the competent departments check measuring container bottles by statistical sampling at the place of manufacture or on the importer's premises, may carry out further checks in the course of trade, and a batch that fails the Annex II acceptance criteria is not declared to comply with the directive, so its bottles may not carry the EEC sign. Since 16 July 2021 Directive 75/107/EEC is listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, whose market surveillance authorities can demand documents and supply-chain information, require corrective action within a set period, prevent bottles from being made available, or have them withdrawn, recalled or destroyed; because the directive is also listed in Annex II as an act without provisions on penalties, the Member States lay down the penalties, which must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. In Denmark, executive order 590 of 29 May 2018 on bottles as measuring containers, which is issued under the act on business promotion and regional development and itself contains no penalty clause, gives Sikkerhedsstyrelsen the approval of the manufacturer's identification mark and the control of the bottles. Since 1 July 2021 legal metrology falls under the product act (lov om produkter og markedsovervågning, consolidated as lovbekendtgørelse 22 of 8 January 2026), which supplements Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and lists the directive on bottles as measuring containers in section 2(1) no. 16. Under that act the control authority — Erhvervsstyrelsen since the consolidation of 8 January 2026, Sikkerhedsstyrelsen having become part of Erhvervsstyrelsen in January 2026, while the 2018 order still names Sikkerhedsstyrelsen — can issue orders and prohibitions (section 14), and infringements are punished with a fine, rising to imprisonment of up to two years in aggravating circumstances such as danger to safety or health, an accident with serious injury or death, repeat infringement or systematic infringement for financial gain, with liability for companies (section 37(1), (2) and (5); bottles fall within section 2(1) no. 16 and so within the product areas covered by section 37(2)). In practice section 37 reaches failures to give the control authority information or access, disregard of its decisions, evasion of its control and the economic-operator duties of Articles 4 and 5 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, rather than the metrological requirements of the directive as such.

## Checklist

1. Confirm the bottle is within Article 1: glass or an equally rigid and stable material, stoppered or designed to be stoppered, for storing, transporting or delivering liquids, with a nominal capacity from 0.05 to 5 litres, and that you intend it to be used as a measuring container.
2. Decide whether to make the bottle a measuring container bottle at all; the directive is optional, but only bottles that meet it may carry the reversed-epsilon EEC sign (Article 2).
3. Submit the manufacturer's identification mark for approval to the competent department, in Denmark Sikkerhedsstyrelsen, before marking bottles (Annex I point 5; executive order 590 section 3).
4. Design each bottle type with a perceptibly constant filling level and expansion volume and keep the actual capacity within the Annex I point 3 tolerances, without systematically exploiting them.
5. Set up the capacity check with water at 20 degrees Celsius or an equivalent method, and organise production so that samples of 35 or 40 bottles per hour's production pass the Annex II acceptance criteria; keep check-cards where your production control is recognised (Annex I points 4 and 6, Annex II).
6. Mark the nominal capacity in figures of 3, 4 or 6 mm depending on the capacity, with the unit symbol, plus the identification mark and the EEC sign at least 3 mm high (Annex I points 5 and 8.1).
7. Mark the brim capacity in centilitres without the symbol cl and/or the distance in millimetres from brim to filling level with the symbol mm, on the bottom or bottom rim, so it cannot be confused with the nominal capacity (Annex I point 8.2).
8. As a packer, fill the bottles to the constant level or constant vacuity they are designed for and keep the prepackage checks and e-mark documentation required by Directive 76/211/EEC (Annex I point 2; Directive 76/211/EEC Annex I point 4).
9. Be ready for market surveillance under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020: documents, supply-chain information and corrective action on request, with Danish enforcement under the product act (Articles 14 and 16; lovbekendtgørelse 22 of 2026).

## Questions

### Is the reversed epsilon on a bottle the same as the CE marking?

No. The sign that resembles a reversed 3 is the EEC sign that the manufacturer of a measuring container bottle affixes on his own responsibility to certify that the bottle meets Directive 75/107/EEC and its annexes. It is the special sign of Article 6 of Directive 2009/34/EC, the recast of Directive 71/316/EEC: the stylised letter epsilon reversed symmetrically about a vertical axis, bearing no other indication — the Member State letters, the year and the identification number that form part of the EC pattern approval sign are not required on a bottle — and at least 3 mm high. It says nothing about the safety or CE conformity of the bottle; it certifies its capacity.

### Do I have to make my bottles as measuring container bottles?

No. The directive is optional harmonisation: only bottles that meet its requirements may carry the EEC sign, and in return no Member State may refuse, prohibit or restrict the marketing and use as measuring containers of bottles that satisfy its requirements and tests for reasons concerning their volume, the determination of their volume or the checking methods. The Danish executive order applies to manufacturers who choose to produce measuring container bottles, and the Commission describes the directive as allowing manufacturers to produce harmonised bottles that can be marketed freely across the EU.

### Which bottles can be measuring container bottles?

Containers commonly called bottles, made of glass or of any other substance with such rigidity and stability that it offers the same metrological guarantees as glass, provided they are stoppered or designed to be stoppered and intended for the storage, transport or delivery of liquids, have a nominal capacity between 0.05 litre and 5 litres inclusive, and have design characteristics and uniformity of manufacture that let their contents be measured with sufficient accuracy when filled to a specified level or to a specified percentage of the brim capacity. Bottles below 0.05 litre or above 5 litres and containers without the rigidity of glass are outside the directive.

### What are the permitted capacity tolerances?

Annex I point 3 sets six classes of maximum permissible error, positive or negative, between the actual capacity and the nominal capacity at 20 degrees Celsius: 3 ml for nominal capacities from 50 to 100 ml, 3 percent from 100 to 200 ml, 6 ml from 200 to 300 ml, 2 percent from 300 to 500 ml, 10 ml from 500 to 1 000 ml and 1 percent from 1 000 to 5 000 ml. The error allowed on the brim capacity is the same as for the corresponding nominal capacity, and the systematic exploitation of tolerances is prohibited. The tolerances are set so that bottles can measure with the accuracy the prepackage directives require.

### What must be marked on a measuring container bottle?

On the side, the bottom rim or the bottom: the nominal capacity in litres, centilitres or millilitres, in figures at least 6 mm high above 100 cl, 4 mm from 100 cl down to but not including 20 cl and 3 mm at 20 cl or less, followed by the unit symbol or name; the manufacturer's approved identification mark; and the EEC sign at least 3 mm high. On the bottom or the bottom rim, in figures of the same minimum height and placed so as to avoid confusion: the brim capacity in centilitres without the symbol cl and/or the distance in millimetres from the brim to the filling level of the nominal capacity followed by mm, according to the filling method the bottle is intended for. All indications must be indelible, easily legible and visible, and other indications may be added if they cause no confusion.

### How are measuring container bottles checked by the authorities?

The competent departments check conformity by statistical sampling at the place of manufacture or, if that is not practicable, on the premises of the importer or his agent established in the Community, using accepted quality acceptance inspection methods at least as effective as the Annex II reference method. Under that method a sample of 35 bottles, for the standard deviation method, or 40 bottles, for the average range method, is drawn from a batch corresponding in principle to an hour's production; the bottles are weighed empty and full of water at 20 degrees Celsius of known density, using a legal measuring instrument suitable for the operations, and the error in measuring the capacity must not be greater than one fifth of the maximum permissible error for the nominal capacity, and the batch complies if the mean and the standard deviation or average range satisfy three inequalities against the upper and lower limits, with k = 1.57 and F = 0.266 for 35 bottles and k' = 0.668 and F' = 0.628 for 40. Checks in the course of trade remain possible. In Denmark, Sikkerhedsstyrelsen carries out the control with samples of 35 bottles.

### How do measuring container bottles relate to the e-mark on prepackages?

Directive 76/211/EEC governs prepackages of 5 g or 5 ml to 10 kg or 10 l made up by weight or volume: the packer or importer is responsible for the actual contents, must measure or check them with a legal measuring instrument or by recognised production checks, and may then mark the small e, at least 3 mm high, next to the nominal quantity. For products in quantities expressed by volume, one of the methods of meeting those measuring and checking requirements is to use a measuring container bottle of the type defined in Directive 75/107/EEC, filled under the conditions it prescribes. Directive 2007/45/EC, which sets the nominal quantities for prepacked products and repealed Directives 75/106/EEC and 80/232/EEC from 11 April 2009, left Directive 75/107/EEC in place.

### Who enforces the directive in Denmark and what are the penalties?

Executive order 590 of 29 May 2018 on bottles as measuring containers implements the directive; it names Sikkerhedsstyrelsen as the authority that approves the manufacturer's identification mark, informs the other Member States and the Commission within a month, and checks the bottles by sampling at the manufacturer or the importer, and it entered into force on 1 July 2018, applying from 1 July 2019 to manufacturers already in production. Since 1 July 2021 legal metrology falls under the product act, which supplements Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, lists the directive on bottles as measuring containers in section 2(1) no. 16, makes Erhvervsstyrelsen the control authority and provides orders, prohibitions and fines, rising to imprisonment of up to two years in aggravating circumstances, with liability for companies; the 2018 executive order itself contains no penalty clause; the directive itself contains no penalty clause, and Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 lists it in Annex II so that the Member States lay down the penalties. Since January 2026 Sikkerhedsstyrelsen is the department Markedsovervågning of Erhvervsstyrelsen and carries out the same tasks.

## What changed

- 2026-09-11 (guidance): **Guide rewritten from the official text** — The body was rewritten from Directive 75/107/EEC, Directive 2009/34/EC, Directive 76/211/EEC, Directive 2007/45/EC, Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and the Danish executive order 590 of 2018 and product act: the article structure now follows the act (five articles and two annexes), the six tolerance classes are quoted, the reversed-epsilon sign is traced to Directive 2009/34/EC, and unsourced statements about importer and distributor duties and about the mark being registered with the authorities were removed.
- 2026-01-01 (guidance): **Sikkerhedsstyrelsen becomes part of Erhvervsstyrelsen** — From January 2026 Sikkerhedsstyrelsen is a department of Erhvervsstyrelsen named Markedsovervågning and carries out the same tasks as before, including the approval of identification marks and the control of measuring container bottles under executive order 590 of 2018.
- 2021-07-16 (applies): **Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 applies to measuring container bottles** — The market surveillance regulation lists Directive 75/107/EEC as point 3 of its Annex I, so the national authorities hold its investigation and enforcement powers for the directive, and as point 3 of Annex II, so the Member States lay down effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties under Article 41. In Denmark legal metrology came under the product act on 1 July 2021.
- 2018-07-01 (guidance): **Danish executive order 590 of 29 May 2018 on bottles as measuring containers in force** — Issued by Sikkerhedsstyrelsen under the act on business promotion and regional development, the executive order implements the directive for manufacturers who choose to produce measuring container bottles, replaces the technical directive of 1 April 1977, keeps identification marks approved by 30 June 2018 valid, and applies from 1 July 2019 to manufacturers already in production.
- 2009-05-18 (guidance): **Directive 2009/34/EC recasts Directive 71/316/EEC, the source of the reversed-epsilon sign** — Directive 2009/34/EC repeals Directive 71/316/EEC and provides that references to the repealed directive are read as references to it; the sign of Article 6, described in Annex I point 3.3 as the stylised letter epsilon reversed symmetrically about a vertical axis, is the sign that Annex I point 5 of Directive 75/107/EEC requires on measuring container bottles.
- 2009-04-11 (guidance): **Directive 2007/45/EC on nominal quantities applies; Directive 75/107/EEC stays in force** — Directive 2007/45/EC repeals Directives 75/106/EEC and 80/232/EEC and extends Directive 76/211/EEC to the liquids previously covered by Directive 75/106/EEC; Directive 75/107/EEC is not among the acts it repeals, so measuring container bottles remain one of the methods of meeting the prepackage checking requirements.
- 1976-06-20 (applies): **Transposition deadline: national measures on measuring container bottles in force** — Member States had 18 months from notification to put into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions needed to comply with the directive and to inform the Commission; from this date bottles that satisfy its requirements and tests may not be refused, prohibited or restricted for reasons concerning their volume, its determination or the checking methods.
- 1974-12-20 (in-force): **Council Directive 75/107/EEC notified and in force** — Adopted on 19 December 1974 under Article 100 of the EEC Treaty and published in OJ L 42 on 15 February 1975, the directive was notified to the Member States on 20 December 1974 and took effect on notification; it has not been amended since.

## BottD in plain terms

The Measuring Container Bottles Directive, formally Council Directive 75/107/EEC of 19 December 1974, is one of the oldest metrology acts still in force in the Union. It lets a bottle do the measuring: a glass bottle made to the directive's tolerances, with a constant expansion volume for every bottle of the same design, can be filled to a marked level or to a constant vacuity and will then contain its nominal capacity within a known error, so the packer does not have to measure the liquid separately (Art. 1 and Annex I points 1 to 3). The directive was adopted because several Member States had mandatory and differing rules on the manufacture and testing of such bottles, which hindered trade in them (recitals).

It is optional harmonisation. Nobody is obliged to make measuring container bottles, but only bottles that meet the directive may carry the EEC sign, the reversed epsilon that looks like a 3, and a Member State may not refuse, prohibit or restrict the marketing and use as measuring containers of bottles that satisfy its requirements and tests for reasons concerning their volume, the determination of their volume or the methods by which they were checked (Art. 2 and Art. 3). The act has five articles and two annexes, entered into force on notification on 20 December 1974, had to be transposed within 18 months, by 20 June 1976 (Art. 4), and has never been amended.

> **Official text**
> Read the directive on EUR-Lex: [Council Directive 75/107/EEC (CELEX 31975L0107)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:31975L0107). No consolidated version exists because no act has amended it; the [document information page](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:31975L0107) carries the notification and transposition dates.

## Scope

The directive applies to containers commonly called bottles, made of glass or of any other substance with such rigidity and stability that it offers the same metrological guarantees as glass, when three conditions are met: they are stoppered or designed to be stoppered and intended for the storage, transport or delivery of liquids; they have a nominal capacity between 0.05 litre and 5 litres inclusive; and they have metrological characteristics, meaning design characteristics and uniformity of manufacture, such that they can be used as measuring containers, that is, when filled to a specified level or to a specified percentage of their brim capacity their contents can be measured with sufficient accuracy. Such containers are called measuring container bottles (Art. 1).

Three capacities define a bottle, all specified at 20 degrees Celsius: the nominal capacity Vn marked on the bottle, which is the volume of liquid it is deemed to contain when filled under its intended conditions of use; the brim capacity, the volume when filled to the brim; and the actual capacity, the volume it in fact contains when filled exactly under the conditions theoretically corresponding to the nominal capacity (Annex I point 1). Bottles are filled either to a constant level or to a constant vacuity, and for all bottles of the same design the distance between the theoretical filling level and the brim, and the difference between brim capacity and nominal capacity, known as the volume of expansion or vacuity, must be perceptibly constant (Annex I point 2).

Outside the directive are containers below 0.05 litre or above 5 litres, containers without the rigidity and stability of glass, and bottles that are simply not made or marked as measuring containers. Capacity serving measures such as a drinking glass, jug or thimble measure for liquid sold for immediate consumption are material measures under Annex MI-008 of the Measuring Instruments Directive 2014/32/EU. Its Article 2(1), as replaced by Directive (EU) 2026/706 of 11 March 2026 with effect from 9 April 2026, lists twelve instrument categories — the two new ones are measuring systems for electric vehicle supply equipment (MI-011) and for compressed gas dispensers (MI-012) — and none of them is a measuring container bottle. Member States apply the national measures transposing that amendment from 10 October 2028.

The duties fall on the manufacturer, who submits an identification mark for approval and affixes the EEC sign on his own responsibility (Annex I point 5), while the competent departments sample bottles at the place of manufacture or, where that is not practicable, on the premises of the importer or his agent established in the Community (Annex I point 6). The packer who fills the bottles is addressed by Directive 76/211/EEC on prepackages, for which a measuring container bottle of the type defined in this directive, filled under its conditions, is one of several methods of meeting the measuring and checking requirements (Directive 76/211/EEC, Annex I point 4).

## What you must do

### Capacity tolerances

So that the contents can be measured with sufficient accuracy, and in particular with the accuracy required by the directives on prepackages, the maximum permissible errors, positive or negative, between the actual capacity and the nominal capacity at 20 degrees Celsius and under the control conditions of Annex II are set in six classes: 3 ml for nominal capacities from 50 to 100 ml; 3 percent of Vn from 100 to 200 ml; 6 ml from 200 to 300 ml; 2 percent from 300 to 500 ml; 10 ml from 500 to 1 000 ml; and 1 percent from 1 000 to 5 000 ml. The maximum permissible error in the brim capacity is the same as for the corresponding nominal capacity, and the systematic exploitation of tolerances is prohibited (Annex I point 3). In practice the actual capacity is checked by determining the quantity of water at 20 degrees Celsius the bottle contains when filled to the level theoretically corresponding to the nominal capacity, or indirectly by a method of equivalent accuracy (Annex I point 4).

### The identification mark and the EEC sign

Every manufacturer of measuring container bottles submits for the approval of the competent department a mark by which he can be identified; once approved, the department informs the competent departments of the other Member States and the Commission within one month. The manufacturer then affixes, on his own responsibility, the sign referred to in Article 6 of Directive 71/316/EEC, the reversed epsilon, certifying that the bottle meets the requirements of the directive and its annexes; the date, origin and reference number provided for in Annex I, subsection 6.3 of that directive — the indications that accompany the EC pattern approval sign — are not required, and the sign must be at least 3 mm high (Annex I point 5). The EC initial verification marks, the lower-case 'e' stamps described in Annex II point 3 of Directive 2009/34/EC, are a different matter and play no part here. Directive 71/316/EEC was recast and repealed by Directive 2009/34/EC, whose Article 20 provides that references to the repealed directive are read as references to the recast; the sign is now described in Article 6 and Annex I point 3.3 of Directive 2009/34/EC as the EC approval sign with the stylised letter epsilon reversed symmetrically about a vertical axis and bearing no other indication. It is not the CE marking and says nothing about product safety.

### Markings on the bottle

A measuring container bottle bears indelible, easily legible and visible indications. On its side, on the bottom rim or on the bottom: the nominal capacity in litres, centilitres or millilitres, in figures at least 6 mm high if the nominal capacity is greater than 100 cl, 4 mm high from 100 cl down to but not including 20 cl and 3 mm high if it is not more than 20 cl, followed by the symbol or name of the unit; the manufacturer's identification mark; and the EEC sign (Annex I point 8.1). The unit rules referred to, Directive 71/354/EEC, were repealed by Directive 80/181/EEC on 1 October 1981 (Directive 80/181/EEC, Art. 6). On the bottom or the bottom rim, in figures of the same minimum height and in a manner that avoids confusion with the nominal capacity, and according to the filling method the bottle is intended for: the brim capacity in centilitres not followed by the symbol cl, and/or the distance in millimetres from the brim level to the filling level of the nominal capacity followed by the symbol mm (Annex I point 8.2). Other indications may appear if they do not give rise to confusion with the compulsory ones.

### Metrological control and the statistical check

The competent departments check that measuring container bottles comply by sampling at the place of manufacture or, if that is not practicable, on the premises of the importer or his agent established in the Community, using accepted methods of quality acceptance inspection whose effectiveness is comparable to the reference method of Annex II; checks in the course of trade are not precluded (Annex I points 6 and 7). Under the reference method a sample of bottles of the same design and manufacture is drawn from a batch corresponding in principle to an hour's production; if the result is unsatisfactory, a second test may use a sample from a longer production period or, where production is subject to a check recognised by the competent department, the results on the manufacturer's check-cards. The sample is 35 bottles for the standard deviation method or 40 for the average range method, whichever the Member State has chosen (Annex II point 1). The bottles are weighed empty, filled with water at 20 degrees Celsius of known density to the filling level of the checking method, and weighed full, using a legal measuring instrument suitable for the operations; the error in measuring the capacity must not be greater than one fifth of the maximum permissible error for the nominal capacity of the bottle (Annex II point 2). The batch complies if the mean and the estimated standard deviation, with k = 1.57 and F = 0.266, or the mean and the average range of eight sub-samples of five, with k' = 0.668 and F' = 0.628, satisfy three inequalities against the upper and lower limits formed by the indicated capacity plus and minus the maximum permissible error (Annex II point 3).

### Filling and the prepackage rules

The bottle is designed for one or both filling methods, to a constant level or to a constant vacuity, and the brim capacity or filling-height marking tells the packer how to reach the nominal capacity (Annex I points 2 and 8.2). The prepackage that results is governed by Directive 76/211/EEC for quantities of 5 g or 5 ml to 10 kg or 10 l: the packer or importer is responsible for the actual contents, measures or checks them with a legal measuring instrument or by recognised production checks whose records are kept at the disposal of the competent departments, and may mark the small e, at least 3 mm high, next to the nominal quantity; using a measuring container bottle filled under the conditions of Directive 75/107/EEC is one of the methods of meeting those measuring and checking requirements (Directive 76/211/EEC, Art. 1, Art. 3 and Annex I points 3 and 4). Directive 2007/45/EC on nominal quantities repealed Directives 75/106/EEC and 80/232/EEC and amended Directive 76/211/EEC from 11 April 2009 but did not repeal Directive 75/107/EEC (Directive 2007/45/EC, Art. 6, Art. 7 and Art. 10).

## Enforcement and penalties

The directive has no penalty article; its enforcement is the metrological control of Article 2 and Annex I points 6 and 7, and a batch that fails the Annex II acceptance criteria is not declared to comply, so its bottles may not carry the EEC sign. Since 16 July 2021 the directive is point 3 of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, so market surveillance authorities may require documents and supply-chain information and order corrective action, including preventing bottles from being made available or having them withdrawn, recalled or destroyed (Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Art. 14, Art. 16 and Art. 44). Because it is also point 3 of Annex II, the list of Union harmonisation legislation without provisions on penalties, the Member States lay down the penalties, which must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive (Art. 41).

In Denmark the directive is implemented by bekendtgørelse nr. 590 af 29. maj 2018 om flasker som målebeholdere, issued by Sikkerhedsstyrelsen under the act on business promotion and regional development. It applies to manufacturers who choose to produce measuring container bottles, requires them to submit their identification mark to Sikkerhedsstyrelsen for approval, allows the EEC sign on bottles that meet its conditions, places the control with Sikkerhedsstyrelsen under Annex 1 point 6 and Annex 2 with samples of 35 bottles, and lets bottles marked in another Member State be marketed and used in Denmark without further approval; it entered into force on 1 July 2018, applied from 1 July 2019 to manufacturers already in production, replaced the technical directive of 1 April 1977 and kept identification marks approved by 30 June 2018 valid (§§ 1 to 6). The 2018 order is issued under the act on business promotion and regional development and contains no penalty clause. Since 1 July 2021 legal metrology falls under the product act, lov om produkter og markedsovervågning (lovbekendtgørelse nr. 22 af 8. januar 2026), which supplements Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, lists the directive on bottles as measuring containers in § 2, stk. 1, nr. 16, names Erhvervsstyrelsen as the control authority (§ 9), lets it issue orders and prohibitions (§ 14) and punishes with a fine those who fail to give information or access, who disregard its decisions, who evade its control or who do not meet the economic-operator duties of Articles 4 and 5 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020; because bottles fall within § 2, stk. 1, nr. 16, the penalty can rise to imprisonment of up to two years in aggravating circumstances — danger to safety or health, an accident with serious injury or death, repeat infringement or systematic infringement for financial gain — and companies can be held criminally liable (§ 37, stk. 1, 2 and 5). Since January 2026 Sikkerhedsstyrelsen is part of Erhvervsstyrelsen and carries out the same tasks as before; executive order 590 of 2018 has not been amended and still names Sikkerhedsstyrelsen.

## How Conphora helps

Conphora keeps the Measuring Container Bottles Directive, the prepackage directive and the Danish executive orders in one place and maps your bottle types against the Annex I tolerances, the marking rules and the Annex II check so that a missing identification mark, a wrong figure height or an out-of-tolerance batch is caught before the sampling visit. The platform links the bottle to the prepackage it is filled into, so the e-mark duties of Directive 76/211/EEC and the nominal quantities of Directive 2007/45/EC are checked together, and it alerts you if the directive or the Danish rules change.

[See how Conphora works](/how-it-works) · [See plans and pricing](/pricing)

## Sources

- [Council Directive 75/107/EEC on bottles used as measuring containers, OJ L 42, 15 February 1975 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:31975L0107)
- [Document information, dates and relationships for CELEX 31975L0107 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:31975L0107)
- [Bottles as measuring containers, summary of Directive 75/107/EEC (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/summary/bottles-as-measuring-containers.html)
- [Directive 2009/34/EC relating to common provisions for both measuring instruments and methods of metrological control (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32009L0034)
- [Council Directive 80/181/EEC on units of measurement, consolidated text of 27 May 2009 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:01980L0181-20090527)
- [Council Directive 76/211/EEC on the making-up by weight or by volume of certain prepackaged products, consolidated text of 11 April 2009 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:01976L0211-20090411)
- [Directive 2007/45/EC laying down rules on nominal quantities for prepacked products (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32007L0045)
- [Directive 2014/32/EU on measuring instruments, consolidated text of 27 January 2015 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02014L0032-20150127)
- [Directive (EU) 2026/706 amending Directive 2014/32/EU as regards measuring systems for electric vehicle supply equipment and compressed gas dispensers, and electricity, gas and thermal energy meters, OJ L, 2026/706, 20 March 2026 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32026L0706)
- [Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019R1020)
- [Legal metrology (European Commission, DG GROW)](https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/goods/building-blocks/legal-metrology_en)
- [Prepacked products in the EU (European Commission, DG GROW)](https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/goods/building-blocks/legal-metrology/prepacked-products-eu_en)
- [Bekendtgørelse nr. 590 af 29. maj 2018 om flasker som målebeholdere (Retsinformation)](https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2018/590)
- [Bekendtgørelse af lov om produkter og markedsovervågning, LBK nr. 22 af 8. januar 2026 (Retsinformation)](https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2026/22)
- [Regler og bekendtgørelser for måling og vægt (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen)](https://sik.dk/erhverv/produkter/love-og-regler/vaegte-og-maalere/regler-og-vejledning-maaling-vaegt-og-e-maerkning)
- [Sikkerhedsstyrelsen, en del af Erhvervsstyrelsen from January 2026 (Erhvervsstyrelsen)](https://erhvervsstyrelsen.dk/sikkerhedsstyrelsen-en-del-af-erhvervsstyrelsen)

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

## Sources

- [Council Directive 75/107/EEC on bottles used as measuring containers, OJ L 42, 15 February 1975 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:31975L0107)
- [Document information, dates and relationships for CELEX 31975L0107 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:31975L0107)
- [Bottles as measuring containers, summary of Directive 75/107/EEC (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/summary/bottles-as-measuring-containers.html)
- [Directive 2009/34/EC relating to common provisions for both measuring instruments and methods of metrological control, recast of Directive 71/316/EEC (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32009L0034)
- [Council Directive 80/181/EEC on units of measurement, consolidated text of 27 May 2009 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:01980L0181-20090527)
- [Council Directive 76/211/EEC on the making-up by weight or by volume of certain prepackaged products, consolidated text of 11 April 2009 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:01976L0211-20090411)
- [Directive 2007/45/EC laying down rules on nominal quantities for prepacked products (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32007L0045)
- [Directive 2014/32/EU on measuring instruments, consolidated text of 27 January 2015 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02014L0032-20150127)
- [Directive (EU) 2026/706 amending Directive 2014/32/EU as regards measuring systems for electric vehicle supply equipment and compressed gas dispensers, and electricity, gas and thermal energy meters, OJ L, 2026/706, 20 March 2026 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32026L0706)
- [Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019R1020)
- [Legal metrology (European Commission, DG GROW)](https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/goods/building-blocks/legal-metrology_en)
- [Prepacked products in the EU (European Commission, DG GROW)](https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/goods/building-blocks/legal-metrology/prepacked-products-eu_en)
- [Bekendtgørelse nr. 590 af 29. maj 2018 om flasker som målebeholdere (Retsinformation)](https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2018/590)
- [Bekendtgørelse af lov om produkter og markedsovervågning, LBK nr. 22 af 8. januar 2026 (Retsinformation)](https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2026/22)
- [Regler og bekendtgørelser for måling og vægt (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen)](https://sik.dk/erhverv/produkter/love-og-regler/vaegte-og-maalere/regler-og-vejledning-maaling-vaegt-og-e-maerkning)
- [Sikkerhedsstyrelsen, en del af Erhvervsstyrelsen from January 2026 (Erhvervsstyrelsen)](https://erhvervsstyrelsen.dk/sikkerhedsstyrelsen-en-del-af-erhvervsstyrelsen)

_Reviewed 2026-09-24 by Conphora compliance team_