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LVD CE / Product Safety 10 min

LVD: Low Voltage Directive (Directive 2014/35/EU), explained

The Low Voltage Directive requires electrical equipment for 50 to 1 000 V AC or 75 to 1 500 V DC not to endanger persons, animals or property, with duties for manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers and distributors. It has applied since 20 April 2016, replacing Directive 2006/95/EC; the emergency procedures added by Directive (EU) 2024/2749 apply from 30 May 2026.

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Reviewed 24 September 2026 by Conphora compliance team · Next review 13 March 2027 · Not legal advice

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Who it applies to

Covered by the act

  • Electrical equipment designed for use with a voltage rating between 50 and 1 000 V for alternating current and between 75 and 1 500 V for direct current
  • Household appliances, luminaires, power supplies, cables, switchgear, tools, IT and office equipment, consumer electronics without radio functions and other mains-powered equipment within those ratings
  • Equipment made available on the EU market, whether new or supplied free of charge, including equipment sold online to EU end users
  • The economic operators in the chain: manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers and distributors
  • Both the electrical hazards of the equipment itself and the non-electrical hazards revealed by experience, plus resistance to mechanical, environmental and overload influences

Derived and downstream products

  • Radio equipment within the Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU is not subject to the Low Voltage Directive, but must meet its safety objectives with no voltage limit under that directive (Directive 2014/53/EU, Art. 1(4) and Art. 3(1)(a))
  • Equipment that meets harmonised standards published in the Official Journal is presumed to meet the safety objectives; where none exist, IEC safety provisions notified by the Commission or national standards of the Member State of manufacture may give the same presumption (Art. 12, Art. 13 and Art. 14)
  • An importer or distributor that sells under its own name or trade mark, or modifies equipment in a way that may affect compliance, is treated as the manufacturer (Art. 10)
  • Electricity supply bodies may not impose stricter safety requirements than the Annex I safety objectives for grid connection or supply (Art. 5)
  • Where the equipment is also subject to other Union acts requiring an EU declaration of conformity, such as the EMC Directive 2014/30/EU, a single declaration covering all of them is drawn up (Art. 15(3))

Roles under the act

Manufacturer (including brand owners)

Any natural or legal person who manufactures electrical equipment or has electrical equipment designed or manufactured, and markets that equipment under his name or trade mark; an importer or distributor that sells under its own brand or modifies equipment in a way that may affect compliance is treated as the manufacturer.

Source · Art. 2, point (3), and Art. 10
Authorised representative

Any natural or legal person established within the Union who has received a written mandate from a manufacturer to act on his behalf in relation to specified tasks; the mandate cannot cover the duty to design and manufacture to the safety objectives or to draw up the technical documentation.

Source · Art. 2, point (4), and Art. 7(1)
Importer

Any natural or legal person established within the Union who places electrical equipment from a third country on the Union market.

Source · Art. 2, point (5)
Distributor (wholesaler or retailer)

Any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes electrical equipment available on the market.

Source · Art. 2, point (6)

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Does LVD apply to your product?

Three questions, a first answer from the regulation’s own scope rules. No account needed.

The rules behind this check
  1. Equipment rated below 50 V AC or 75 V DC (battery-powered or extra-low-voltage products) · any · any Not in scope The directive applies only to electrical equipment designed for use with a voltage rating between 50 and 1 000 V AC or 75 and 1 500 V DC; equipment rated below those limits falls outside it, although the General Product Safety Regulation and other legislation may apply to its risks. Source · Art. 1
  2. Equipment with an intentional radio function (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular) · any · any Not in scope Radio equipment within the scope of Directive 2014/53/EU is not subject to the Low Voltage Directive; the Radio Equipment Directive applies the same safety objectives with no voltage limit as one of its own essential requirements. Source · Art. 1(4) and Art. 3(1)(a)
  3. Electrical equipment for use in an explosive atmosphere, Electrical equipment for radiology and medical purposes, Electrical parts for goods and passenger lifts, Electricity meters, Plugs and socket outlets for domestic use, Electric fence controllers, Specialised electrical equipment for ships, aircraft or railways complying with international safety provisions, Custom-built evaluation kit for professionals used solely at research and development facilities · any · any Not in scope Annex II lists the equipment and phenomena outside the directive: equipment for explosive atmospheres, radiology and medical equipment, electrical parts for lifts, electricity meters, domestic plugs and socket outlets, electric fence controllers, radio-electrical interference, specialised ship, aircraft and railway equipment complying with international safety provisions, and custom-built evaluation kits for research and development. Source · Art. 1 and Annex II
  4. Electrical equipment rated between 50 and 1 000 V AC or 75 and 1 500 V DC (appliances, luminaires, tools, power supplies, cables, switchgear) · Manufacturer (including brand owners), Importer, Distributor (wholesaler or retailer), Authorised representative · any In scope Electrical equipment within the voltage limits may be made available on the market only if it meets the Article 3 safety objectives; the obligations fall on the manufacturer, authorised representative, importer and distributor and contain no company-size threshold. Source · Art. 1, Art. 3 and Art. 2, point (7)
  5. any · any · any It depends Whether the directive applies turns on the equipment's voltage rating, whether it has a radio function, whether an Annex II exclusion applies, and which role the operator holds. Source · Art. 1 and Annex II

Key dates

  1. Directive 2014/35/EU adopted by the European Parliament and the Council as a recast of Directive 2006/95/EC Source · title and signature block after Art. 29
  2. Entry into force, the twentieth day after publication in OJ L 96 of 29 March 2014 Source · Art. 28
  3. Deadline for Member States to adopt and publish the laws transposing the operative articles and Annexes II to IV Source · Art. 26(1)
  4. National measures apply and Article 1, the safety-objectives paragraph of Article 3, Article 5, Article 13(2) and (3) and Annexes I, V and VI apply directly; Directive 2006/95/EC repealed; equipment conforming to the old directive and placed on the market before this date may still be made available Source · Art. 25, Art. 26(1), Art. 27 and Art. 28
  5. Directive (EU) 2024/2749 in force: internal market emergency procedures inserted as Chapter 4a (Articles 22a to 22c); transposition by 29 May 2026 Source · Art. 8, Art. 11 and Art. 12
  6. National measures transposing the emergency procedures of Directive (EU) 2024/2749 apply Source · Art. 11(2)

What you must do

Obligations by role

Manufacturer (including brand owners)14
  • Design and manufacture the equipment in accordance with good engineering practice in safety matters so that, properly installed, maintained and used as intended, it does not endanger the health and safety of persons, domestic animals or property, meeting the Annex I safety objectives on marking of essential characteristics, safe assembly and connection, protection against electrical, thermal, radiation and non-electrical hazards, suitable insulation and resistance to mechanical, environmental and overload influences. Art. 3, Art. 6(1) and Annex I
  • Carry out an adequate analysis and assessment of the risks of the electrical equipment and include it in the technical documentation. Art. 6(2) and Annex III, point 2
  • Draw up the Annex III technical documentation: a general description, the design and manufacturing drawings, the standards applied or the solutions adopted, design calculations and test reports. Art. 6(2) and Annex III, points 2 and 3
  • Carry out, or have carried out, the Module A internal production control conformity assessment of Annex III. Art. 6(2) and Annex III, point 1
  • Draw up the EU declaration of conformity per Annex IV for each product model, translated into the languages the Member State requires and, where several Union acts apply, as a single declaration covering them all. Art. 6(2) and Art. 15
  • Keep the technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity at the disposal of the market surveillance authorities for 10 years after the equipment was placed on the market. Art. 6(3) and Annex III, point 4.2
  • Keep series production in conformity, taking account of changes in design or characteristics and in the harmonised, international or national standards referenced. Art. 6(4)
  • Where the risks warrant it, sample-test marketed equipment, investigate complaints, keep a register of complaints, non-conforming equipment and recalls, and keep distributors informed of that monitoring. Art. 6(4)
  • Mark the equipment with a type, batch or serial number or other identifier and with your name, registered trade name or trade mark and a single postal contact address, or where size or nature does not allow it, on the packaging or in an accompanying document, in a language end users and authorities understand. Art. 6(5) and Art. 6(6)
  • Supply clear, understandable instructions and safety information in the language the Member State determines, and mark the essential characteristics needed for safe use on the equipment or, if not possible, in an accompanying document. Art. 6(7) and Annex I, point 1(a)
  • Affix the CE marking visibly, legibly and indelibly to the equipment or its data plate, or where that is not possible to the packaging and the accompanying documents, subject to the general principles of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008. Art. 16 and Art. 17
  • If you consider or have reason to believe that equipment you placed on the market does not conform, immediately bring it into conformity, withdraw or recall it, and where it presents a risk inform the competent authorities of the Member States where you made it available with details of the non-compliance and the corrective measures. Art. 6(8)
  • On a reasoned request, provide the authority with all information and documentation demonstrating conformity, in paper or electronic form and a language it understands, and cooperate on measures to eliminate the risks. Art. 6(9)
  • Be able to identify, for 10 years after each supply, the economic operators that supplied you and the economic operators you supplied. Art. 11
Authorised representative5
  • Act only under a written mandate from the manufacturer that sets out the tasks you perform on its behalf. Art. 7(1) and Art. 7(2)
  • Keep the EU declaration of conformity and the technical documentation at the disposal of the national market surveillance authorities for 10 years after the equipment was placed on the market. Art. 7(2)(a)
  • On a reasoned request, provide the authority with the information and documentation demonstrating conformity, and cooperate with it on measures to eliminate the risks of the equipment covered by your mandate. Art. 7(2)(b) and Art. 7(2)(c)
  • Do not take over the manufacturer's duty to design and manufacture to the safety objectives or to draw up the technical documentation; those cannot form part of the mandate, although the mandate may cover affixing the CE marking and drawing up the declaration on the manufacturer's behalf. Art. 7(1) and Annex III, point 5
  • Be able to identify the economic operators that supplied you and that you supplied for 10 years. Art. 11
Importer10
  • Place only compliant electrical equipment on the market, and before doing so check that the manufacturer carried out the conformity assessment, drew up the technical documentation, affixed the CE marking, supplied the required documents and applied the identification and address markings; hold non-conforming equipment back and inform the manufacturer and the authorities where it presents a risk. Art. 8(1) and Art. 8(2)
  • Indicate your name, registered trade name or trade mark and a postal contact address on the equipment or, where not possible, on its packaging or in an accompanying document, in a language end users and authorities understand. Art. 8(3)
  • Ensure the equipment is accompanied by instructions and safety information in the language the Member State determines. Art. 8(4)
  • While equipment is under your responsibility, keep storage and transport conditions from jeopardising its compliance with the safety objectives. Art. 8(5)
  • Where the risks warrant it, sample-test marketed equipment, investigate complaints, keep a register of complaints, non-conforming equipment and recalls, and keep distributors informed of that monitoring. Art. 8(6)
  • If equipment you placed on the market does not conform, immediately take corrective measures, withdraw or recall it, and where it presents a risk inform the competent authorities of the Member States concerned. Art. 8(7)
  • Keep a copy of the EU declaration of conformity at the disposal of the market surveillance authorities for 10 years after placing on the market, and ensure the technical documentation can be made available on request. Art. 8(8)
  • On a reasoned request, provide the authority with the information and documentation demonstrating conformity in a language it understands, and cooperate on measures to eliminate the risks. Art. 8(9)
  • Be able to identify, for 10 years after each supply, the economic operators that supplied you and the economic operators you supplied. Art. 11
  • If you place equipment on the market under your own name or trade mark, or modify equipment in a way that may affect compliance, you carry the manufacturer's obligations under Article 6. Art. 10
Distributor (wholesaler or retailer)6
  • Act with due care and, before making equipment available, verify that it bears the CE marking, is accompanied by the required documents and by instructions and safety information in the language of the Member State where it is sold, and that the manufacturer and importer have applied their identification and address markings; hold non-conforming equipment back and inform the manufacturer or importer and the authorities where it presents a risk. Art. 9(1) and Art. 9(2)
  • Keep storage and transport conditions from jeopardising compliance with the safety objectives. Art. 9(3)
  • If equipment you made available does not conform, make sure corrective measures are taken to bring it into conformity, withdraw or recall it, and where it presents a risk immediately inform the competent authorities of the Member States concerned. Art. 9(4)
  • On a reasoned request, provide the authority with the information and documentation demonstrating conformity, and cooperate on measures to eliminate the risks of equipment you made available. Art. 9(5)
  • Be able to identify, for 10 years after each supply, the economic operators that supplied you and the economic operators you supplied. Art. 11
  • If you sell under your own name or trade mark or modify equipment in a way that may affect compliance, you take on the manufacturer's obligations. Art. 10

LVD in plain terms

The Low Voltage Directive (LVD), formally Directive 2014/35/EU, is the EU’s safety law for mains-powered electrical equipment. Its purpose is to ensure that electrical equipment on the market provides a high level of protection of the health and safety of persons, domestic animals and property while guaranteeing the functioning of the internal market (Art. 1). It works through one general rule and a list of safety objectives rather than detailed technical rules: equipment may be made available only if, constructed in accordance with good engineering practice in safety matters, it does not endanger health, safety or property when properly installed, maintained and used as intended (Art. 3 and Annex I).

The 2014 text is a recast of Directive 2006/95/EC aligned with the New Legislative Framework, adding the economic operator duties, traceability and market surveillance procedures shared with the other CE-marking directives. As a directive it works through national law: Member States had to transpose it by 19 April 2016 and apply it from 20 April 2016 (Art. 26 and Art. 27).

Official text Read the directive on EUR-Lex: Directive 2014/35/EU (CELEX 32014L0035), or the consolidated text of 30 May 2026 that includes the internal market emergency procedures.

Scope

The directive applies to electrical equipment designed for use with a voltage rating between 50 and 1 000 V for alternating current and between 75 and 1 500 V for direct current, other than the equipment and phenomena listed in Annex II (Art. 1). Annex II removes equipment for explosive atmospheres, radiology and medical equipment, electrical parts for lifts, electricity meters, domestic plugs and socket outlets, electric fence controllers, radio-electrical interference, specialised ship, aircraft and railway equipment complying with international safety provisions, and custom-built evaluation kits for research and development. Radio equipment is outside the directive too, because the Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU applies the same safety objectives with no voltage limit as one of its own essential requirements (Directive 2014/53/EU, Art. 1(4) and Art. 3(1)(a)).

The duties fall on the economic operators: manufacturer, authorised representative, importer and distributor (Art. 2, point (7)). A manufacturer is whoever manufactures electrical equipment or has it designed or manufactured and markets it under his own name or trade mark (Art. 2, point (3)), and an importer or distributor that sells under its own brand or modifies equipment in a way that may affect compliance takes on the manufacturer’s obligations (Art. 10). Electricity supply bodies may not impose stricter safety requirements than the safety objectives as a condition of grid connection (Art. 5).

What you must do

Safety objectives

Annex I sets the principal elements of the safety objectives. The essential characteristics needed for safe use must be marked on the equipment or, if that is not possible, in an accompanying document; the equipment and its parts must allow safe assembly and connection; and it must be designed and manufactured to protect against the listed hazards when used as intended and adequately maintained (Annex I, point 1). The hazards arising from the equipment itself are physical injury or other harm from direct or indirect contact, dangerous temperatures, arcs or radiation, non-electrical dangers revealed by experience and unsuitable insulation (Annex I, point 2). The equipment must also withstand external influences: the expected mechanical requirements, non-mechanical influences in expected environmental conditions and foreseeable overload (Annex I, point 3).

Harmonised, international and national standards

Equipment that conforms to harmonised standards, or parts of them, whose references are published in the Official Journal is presumed to conform to the safety objectives those standards cover (Art. 12). Where no harmonised standard has been published, Member States must also regard as compliant equipment meeting IEC safety provisions that the Commission has notified to the Member States and published without objection (Art. 13), and failing those, equipment made to the safety standards in force in the Member State of manufacture if it ensures an equivalent safety level (Art. 14).

Conformity assessment, technical documentation and CE marking

The only conformity assessment route is Module A internal production control in Annex III. The manufacturer establishes the technical documentation, which must allow the conformity of the equipment to be assessed, include an adequate analysis and assessment of the risks and contain at least a general description, design and manufacturing drawings and schemes, the explanations needed to understand them, the list of harmonised or other standards applied in full or in part or the solutions adopted instead, design calculations and examinations, and test reports (Annex III, point 2). The manufacturer keeps the manufacturing process in conformity with the documentation (Annex III, point 3), affixes the CE marking to each item and draws up a written EU declaration of conformity for the product model, keeping both at the disposal of the authorities for 10 years (Annex III, point 4). An authorised representative may carry out the marking and declaration duties if the mandate says so (Annex III, point 5). No notified body is involved.

The EU declaration of conformity follows Annex IV, is translated into the languages the Member State requires, is kept up to date and, where several Union acts require a declaration, is a single declaration covering them all (Art. 15). The CE marking is subject to the general principles of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 and is affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly to the equipment or its data plate before placing on the market, or to the packaging and accompanying documents where the nature of the equipment does not allow it (Art. 16 and Art. 17).

Obligations by role

Manufacturers design and manufacture to the safety objectives, draw up the documentation and declaration, affix the CE marking, keep both for 10 years, keep series production in conformity, sample-test and keep a complaints register where the risks warrant it, mark the equipment with an identifier and their name and address, supply instructions and safety information in the required language, take corrective action and inform the authorities of risks, and cooperate on request (Art. 6). Authorised representatives act under a mandate that must at least cover keeping the documents and cooperating with authorities, and cannot take over design or documentation duties (Art. 7). Importers place only compliant equipment on the market, verify the manufacturer’s work, add their own name and address, ensure instructions in the required language, protect the equipment in storage and transport, sample-test where the risks warrant it, take corrective action and keep the declaration for 10 years (Art. 8). Distributors verify the CE marking, documents, language and markings before making equipment available, protect it in storage and transport and see that corrective action is taken (Art. 9). Importers and distributors that sell under their own brand or modify equipment become manufacturers (Art. 10), and every operator identifies its suppliers and customers for 10 years (Art. 11).

Emergency procedures from 30 May 2026

Directive (EU) 2024/2749 inserted Chapter 4a. Articles 22b and 22c apply only to electrical equipment designated as crisis-relevant goods, only while an internal market emergency mode under Regulation (EU) 2024/2747 is active and only after the Commission has adopted the corresponding implementing act (Art. 22a). During such a period the Commission may list standards or establish common specifications that give a presumption of conformity where harmonised standards are missing or cannot be used, and Member States prioritise market surveillance of the listed equipment and assist one another (Art. 22b and Art. 22c).

Enforcement and penalties

Market surveillance follows Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (the directive’s Article 18 cites Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, whose surveillance chapter that regulation replaced on 16 July 2021). Where an authority has sufficient reason to believe that equipment presents a risk to persons, domestic animals or property, it evaluates the equipment, requires corrective action, withdrawal or recall within a period commensurate with the risk and, if the operator does not act, prohibits or restricts the making available, withdraws or recalls the equipment and informs the Commission and the other Member States (Art. 19). Compliant equipment that still presents a risk can be treated the same way (Art. 21), and the Commission decides disputed national measures through the Union safeguard procedure (Art. 20). Formal non-compliance, such as missing or wrongly affixed CE marking, a missing or incorrect declaration, incomplete technical documentation or missing identification and address information, must be ended and otherwise leads to restriction, prohibition, withdrawal or recall (Art. 22).

Penalties are set nationally: Member States lay down effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for infringements of their transposing laws, which may include criminal penalties for serious infringements (Art. 24). In Denmark, the directive is implemented by executive order nr. 2516 of 14 December 2021 on the safety of electrical equipment, which also sets the rules for electrical equipment outside the directive’s voltage limits, and Sikkerhedsstyrelsen, which since January 2026 is a department of Erhvervsstyrelsen (the Danish Business Authority) named Markedsovervågning, controls electrical products under it and the Danish product act.

How Conphora helps

Conphora monitors the LVD and its harmonised standards and maps your products against the safety objectives, flagging gaps in the risk assessment, the technical documentation, the EU declaration of conformity and the markings before they become enforcement problems. The platform helps you build and keep the documentation and the 10-year records, combines the LVD declaration with the EMC and other declarations the same product needs, and alerts you when a standard or the directive changes.

See how Conphora works · See plans and pricing

Sources

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

Penalties

Enforced by National market surveillance authorities enforce the national laws transposing the directive with the powers of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, which since 16 July 2021 replaces the market-surveillance chapter of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 that the directive cites; in Denmark, Sikkerhedsstyrelsen (since January 2026 the Markedsovervågning department of Erhvervsstyrelsen) controls electrical equipment under executive order nr. 2516 of 14 December 2021 on the safety of electrical equipment, which implements the directive. The toolkit is corrective action within a set period, prohibition or restriction of the making available, withdrawal or recall, orders to end formal non-compliance such as missing CE marking or declaration, and national penalties that must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive and may include criminal penalties for serious infringements.

Member States lay down the rules on penalties for infringements of their national transposing laws by economic operators; the penalties must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive and may include criminal penalties for serious infringements. Market surveillance authorities evaluate equipment that presents a risk to persons, domestic animals or property, require corrective action, withdrawal or recall within a period commensurate with the risk, and if the operator fails to act prohibit or restrict the making available, withdraw or recall the equipment and notify the Commission and the other Member States; compliant equipment that still presents a risk can be treated the same way. Formal non-compliance, such as missing or wrongly affixed CE marking, a missing or incorrect EU declaration of conformity, incomplete technical documentation or missing identification and address information, must be ended and otherwise leads to restriction, prohibition, withdrawal or recall. In Denmark, the directive is implemented by executive order nr. 2516 of 14 December 2021 on the safety of electrical equipment, which also covers equipment outside the directive's voltage limits, and Sikkerhedsstyrelsen, since January 2026 a department of Erhvervsstyrelsen named Markedsovervågning, controls electrical products under it and the Danish product act.

Source · Art. 24, Art. 19, Art. 21 and Art. 22SourceSource

What changed

Entry into force, amendments and Compliance Radar entries for LVD, newest first.

  1. Applies

    Emergency procedures for crisis-relevant electrical equipment apply

    The national measures transposing Directive (EU) 2024/2749 apply: Articles 22a to 22c allow the Commission to list standards or set common specifications giving a presumption of conformity, and require prioritised market surveillance and mutual assistance, for electrical equipment designated as crisis-relevant goods while an internal market emergency mode under Regulation (EU) 2024/2747 is active.

    Source · Art. 8 and Art. 11Source · Art. 22a to Art. 22c
  2. Amendment

    Directive (EU) 2024/2749 in force: internal market emergency procedures

    The amending directive of 9 October 2024, published on 8 November 2024, adds the definitions of crisis-relevant goods and internal market emergency mode and inserts Chapter 4a (Articles 22a to 22c); Member States had to transpose by 29 May 2026 and apply the measures from 30 May 2026.

    Source · Art. 8, Art. 11 and Art. 12
  3. Applies

    Directive 2014/35/EU applies; Directive 2006/95/EC repealed

    Member States apply their transposing measures from 20 April 2016, the directly applicable articles and Annexes I, V and VI apply from the same date, and Directive 2006/95/EC is repealed; equipment conforming to the old directive and placed on the market before 20 April 2016 may still be made available.

    Source · Art. 25, Art. 26, Art. 27 and Art. 28
  4. In force

    Directive 2014/35/EU enters into force

    Adopted on 26 February 2014 as a recast of Directive 2006/95/EC aligned with the New Legislative Framework and published in OJ L 96 on 29 March 2014, the directive entered into force on the twentieth day after publication; Member States had until 19 April 2016 to transpose it.

    Source · Art. 26(1) and Art. 28

Tools and training

What Conphora offers for LVD.

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What the EU requires, who you need in the EU, the 8-step guide and the Managed service for non-EU manufacturers, brands, exporters and marketplace sellers.

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A marketplace wants our declaration and test report uploaded

A marketplace asks for a declaration of conformity and a test report per listing. What the law requires, what is its own rule, and what to upload.

Product validation → Documentation generator

A retailer asks for proof that the CE mark is real

There is no CE certificate to send. What proves the CE marking on electrical and radio products, and how to give a retailer the evidence behind it.

Product validation → Documentation generator

A tender requires compliance documentation per product

A public tender asks for declarations, test reports and certificates per product. What a contracting authority may require and what you can offer instead.

Documentation generator → Audit & share links

A retailer wants to sell our product under its own brand

When a retailer puts its own brand on your product, the law treats it as the manufacturer. What changes for you as the maker and what to agree in writing.

Regulation guides → Knowledge & insights

We do not know if our product needs CE marking

When CE marking is required: only where an EU harmonisation act provides for it, how to test scope under LVD, EMC, RED and toys, and what to do if not.

Free compliance checker → Regulation guides

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Questions people ask about LVD

When did the Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU start to apply?

The recast directive was adopted on 26 February 2014, published in the Official Journal on 29 March 2014 and entered into force on 18 April 2014. Member States had to transpose it by 19 April 2016 and apply their measures from 20 April 2016, when Directive 2006/95/EC was repealed. Equipment conforming to the old directive and placed on the market before 20 April 2016 may still be made available.

Source · Art. 25, Art. 26, Art. 27 and Art. 28
Which voltage range does the LVD cover?

Electrical equipment designed for use with a voltage rating between 50 and 1 000 V for alternating current and between 75 and 1 500 V for direct current, other than the equipment and phenomena listed in Annex II. Equipment rated below those limits is outside the directive, and radio equipment is covered by the Radio Equipment Directive instead.

Source · Art. 1
Which products are excluded from the LVD?

Annex II excludes electrical equipment for use in an explosive atmosphere, equipment for radiology and medical purposes, electrical parts for goods and passenger lifts, electricity meters, plugs and socket outlets for domestic use, electric fence controllers, radio-electrical interference, specialised equipment for ships, aircraft or railways complying with international safety provisions, and custom-built evaluation kits for research and development. Radio equipment is also outside the directive because the Radio Equipment Directive applies the same safety objectives itself.

Source · Art. 1 and Annex IISource · Art. 1(4)
Do I need a notified body for the LVD?

No. The only conformity assessment procedure is Module A internal production control in Annex III: the manufacturer establishes the technical documentation with a risk analysis, ensures the manufacturing process keeps the equipment in conformity, affixes the CE marking and draws up the EU declaration of conformity on its sole responsibility. The directive has no notified bodies; where the documentation is deficient the market surveillance authority acts under the safeguard and formal non-compliance procedures.

Source · Art. 6(2), Art. 22 and Annex III
How do harmonised standards work under the LVD?

Equipment that conforms to harmonised standards, or parts of them, whose references are published in the Official Journal is presumed to conform to the safety objectives those standards cover. Where no harmonised standard has been drawn up and published, Member States must also accept equipment complying with IEC safety provisions that the Commission has notified and published without objection, and failing those, equipment made to the safety standards of the Member State of manufacture if it gives an equivalent safety level.

Source · Art. 12, Art. 13 and Art. 14
What must appear on the equipment and its documents?

The CE marking, a type, batch or serial number or other identifier, the manufacturer's name, registered trade name or trade mark and a single postal contact address, the importer's name and address where the equipment is imported, and the essential characteristics whose observance ensures safe use. Where the size or nature of the equipment does not allow it, the identifiers and addresses go on the packaging or in an accompanying document. Instructions and safety information must accompany the equipment in the language the Member State determines.

Source · Art. 6(5) to Art. 6(7), Art. 8(3), Art. 8(4), Art. 17 and Annex I, point 1(a)
How long must I keep the technical documentation and traceability records?

Manufacturers keep the technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity for 10 years after the equipment was placed on the market, authorised representatives keep both at the disposal of the authorities for the same period, and importers keep a copy of the declaration for 10 years and ensure the documentation can be produced. All economic operators must be able to identify who supplied them and whom they supplied for 10 years after the supply.

Source · Art. 6(3), Art. 7(2), Art. 8(8) and Art. 11

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Sources

  1. Directive 2014/35/EU on electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits, consolidated text of 30 May 2026 (EUR-Lex) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02014L0035-20260530
  2. Directive 2014/35/EU as published in OJ L 96, 29 March 2014 (EUR-Lex) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0035
  3. Document information, dates and relationships for CELEX 32014L0035 (EUR-Lex) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32014L0035
  4. Directive (EU) 2024/2749 on emergency procedures for the conformity assessment and market surveillance of products (EUR-Lex) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32024L2749
  5. Directive 2014/53/EU on radio equipment, Article 1(4) on the relationship with the Low Voltage Directive (EUR-Lex) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0053
  6. Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 on accreditation and market surveillance (EUR-Lex) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32008R0765
  7. Low Voltage Directive (European Commission, DG GROW) https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/electrical-and-electronic-engineering-industries-eei/low-voltage-directive-lvd_en
  8. Kontrol med EMC og RED, including the Danish implementation of the Low Voltage Directive (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen) https://www.sik.dk/erhverv/produkter/el-produkter/vejledninger/redemc/kontrol-emc-og-red
  9. Sikkerhedsstyrelsen, en del af Erhvervsstyrelsen from January 2026 (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen) https://www.sik.dk/sikkerhedsstyrelsen-del-erhvervsstyrelsen

About this guide

Reviewed by
Conphora compliance team, Compliance editors, Conphora
Reviewed
24 September 2026
Next review
13 March 2027

Written from the official text on EUR-Lex and the Commission’s guidance, with a source for every fact. It is not legal advice.

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Conphora (2026). LVD: Low Voltage Directive (Directive 2014/35/EU), explained. Retrieved 13 October 2026 from https://www.conphora.com/regulations/lvd/
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