---
title: "MID — Measuring Instruments Directive"
description: "The Measuring Instruments Directive sets essential requirements, notified-body assessment and CE plus metrology marking for ten categories of measuring instruments, with duties for manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers and distributors. It has applied since 20 April 2016; Directive (EU) 2026/706 adds EV charging and compressed gas dispensing systems from 10 October 2028."
type: "guide"
url: "https://www.conphora.com/regulations/mid/"
markdown: "https://www.conphora.com/regulations/mid.md"
locale: "en"
language: "en"
published: "2014-04-18"
updated: "2026-09-12"
author: "Conphora compliance team"
publisher: "Conphora"
reference: "Directive 2014/32/EU"
celex: "32014L0032"
source: "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0032"
tags: ["MID", "Measuring Instruments"]
license: "Free to quote with attribution and a link to the page"
---

# MID — Measuring Instruments Directive

The Measuring Instruments Directive sets essential requirements, notified-body assessment and CE plus metrology marking for ten categories of measuring instruments, with duties for manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers and distributors. It has applied since 20 April 2016; Directive (EU) 2026/706 adds EV charging and compressed gas dispensing systems from 10 October 2028.

## Key facts

- **Official title:** Directive 2014/32/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of measuring instruments (recast)
- **Reference:** Directive 2014/32/EU
- **CELEX:** 32014L0032
- **Act type:** Directive
- **In force:** 2014-04-18
- **Applies from:** 2016-04-20
- **Enforced by:** National market surveillance authorities enforce the national laws transposing the directive; Article 41 still cites Article 15(3) and Articles 16 to 29 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, read as Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 since 16 July 2021, whose Annex I lists the directive as point 51. In Denmark the directive is implemented by executive order nr. 774 of 1 June 2022 on making measuring instruments available on the market, issued under the product act (lov om produkter og markedsovervågning), which lists the directive in section 2 and names Erhvervsstyrelsen as the control authority; the tasks are carried out by Sikkerhedsstyrelsen, since January 2026 the department Markedsovervågning of Erhvervsstyrelsen, which also designates the Danish notified bodies. 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 a missing CE or metrology marking, declaration or technical documentation, orders to the owner of an instrument used for payment-based measurement, and national penalties that must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive and may include criminal penalties for serious infringements.
- **Category:** Measuring Instruments

## Who it applies to

**Covered by the act:** Water meters (MI-001), gas meters and volume conversion devices (MI-002), active electrical energy meters (MI-003) and thermal energy meters (MI-004) for residential, commercial and light industrial use; Measuring systems for the continuous and dynamic measurement of quantities of liquids other than water (MI-005), such as fuel dispensers and road-tanker metering, automatic weighing instruments (MI-006), taximeters (MI-007), material measures (MI-008), dimensional measuring instruments (MI-009) and exhaust gas analysers (MI-010); From 10 October 2028 also measuring systems for electric vehicle supply equipment (MI-011) and for compressed gas dispensers (MI-012); Instruments made available on the market or put into use for measuring tasks a Member State prescribes for reasons of public interest, public health, public safety, public order, protection of the environment, protection of consumers, levying of taxes and duties and fair trading; Sub-assemblies for which an instrument-specific annex lays down essential requirements, which may be assessed separately; The economic operators in the chain: manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers and distributors

**Derived and downstream products:** Member States choose which measuring tasks require a legally controlled instrument; where a Member State does not prescribe such use it must tell the Commission and the other Member States why, and it keeps the right to notify a body for that instrument type (Art. 3 and Art. 23(2)); In Denmark, executive order nr. 774/2022 applies the directive to water, gas, electricity and heat meters, liquid measuring systems, automatic weighing instruments, material measures and dimensional instruments, does not require its rules for milk measuring systems, material measures, length and area measuring instruments, and does not cover taximeters and exhaust gas analysers (§ 1); The directive is the specific directive for electromagnetic immunity of these instruments; the EMC Directive 2014/30/EU continues to apply to their emissions (Art. 2(2)); Non-automatic weighing instruments follow Directive 2014/31/EU, not this directive; Directive 2004/22/EC removed the old-approach instrument directives from 30 October 2006 (Directive 2004/22/EC, Art. 22); Instruments conforming to harmonised standards or to the parts of OIML normative documents listed in the Official Journal are presumed to meet the essential requirements those documents cover (Art. 14); An importer or distributor that sells under its own name or trade mark, or modifies an instrument in a way that may affect compliance, is treated as the manufacturer (Art. 12); A Member State may require putting-into-use conditions justified by local climatic conditions and may fix the accuracy classes for specific applications, while allowing all classes on its territory (Art. 7(3) and Art. 7(4))

**Roles under the act:**

- **Manufacturer (including brand owners and self-users)** — Any natural or legal person who manufactures a measuring instrument or has a measuring instrument designed or manufactured, and markets that measuring instrument under his name or trade mark or puts it into use for his own purposes; an importer or distributor that sells under its own name or trade mark or modifies an instrument in a way that may affect compliance is treated as the manufacturer.
- **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 essential requirements or to draw up the technical documentation.
- **Importer** — Any natural or legal person established within the Union who places a measuring instrument from a third country on the Union market.
- **Distributor (wholesaler, retailer or installer supplying instruments)** — Any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes a measuring instrument available on the market.

## Key dates

- 2006-10-30: Directive 2004/22/EC on measuring instruments applies and repeals eleven old-approach instrument directives, from gas meters and taximeters to hot-water meters
- 2014-02-26: Directive 2014/32/EU adopted by the European Parliament and the Council as a recast of Directive 2004/22/EC aligned with the New Legislative Framework
- 2014-04-18: Entry into force, the twentieth day after publication in OJ L 96 of 29 March 2014; the delegated power to amend the instrument-specific annexes runs from this date
- 2015-01-27: Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2015/13 in force: the water-meter flowrate range in Annex III becomes Q3/Q1 at least 40; transposition by 19 April 2016, applied from 20 April 2016
- 2016-04-19: Deadline for Member States to adopt and publish the laws transposing the definitions, the economic operator duties, the presumption of conformity, the declaration, the marking rules, the notified body and market surveillance chapters, penalties and Annex II
- 2016-04-20: National measures apply; Articles 1 to 3, the first four definitions, Articles 5 to 7, 15 to 18 and 20, Article 22(2) and (4) and Annexes I and III to XII apply directly; Directive 2004/22/EC repealed; instruments conforming to it and placed on the market before this date may still be made available and put into use, and its certificates remain valid
- 2016-10-30: End of the ten-year transition inherited from Article 23 of Directive 2004/22/EC for instruments satisfying the rules applicable before 30 October 2006
- 2021-07-16: Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 applies: it repeals Articles 15 to 29 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, lists the directive as point 51 of its Annex I and, under Article 4, requires an economic operator established in the Union for every measuring instrument placed on the market
- 2022-07-01: Danish executive order nr. 774 of 1 June 2022 on making measuring instruments available on the market in force, replacing order nr. 544 of 28 May 2018; it applies the directive to water, gas, electricity and heat meters, liquid measuring systems, automatic weighing instruments, material measures and dimensional instruments and not to taximeters and exhaust gas analysers
- 2026-01-01: Sikkerhedsstyrelsen becomes the department Markedsovervågning of Erhvervsstyrelsen and continues the same tasks, including the control of measuring instruments and the designation of notified bodies
- 2026-04-09: Directive (EU) 2026/706 in force: measuring systems for electric vehicle supply equipment (MI-011, Annex Va) and for compressed gas dispensers (MI-012, Annex VIIa) added, Annex I and the gas, electricity and thermal energy meter annexes updated; conformity assessment bodies may be notified under the amended directive before 10 October 2028 and may then issue certificates for the amended gas, electricity and thermal energy meter annexes
- 2028-04-10: Deadline for Member States to adopt and publish the measures transposing Directive (EU) 2026/706
- 2028-10-10: National measures transposing Directive (EU) 2026/706 apply; instruments conforming to the directive as it stood on 8 April 2026 and placed on the market before this date may still be made available and put into use
- 2030-04-10: End of the transition for EV supply equipment and compressed gas dispenser measuring systems conforming to national law and placed on the market before this date
- 2038-04-10: Latest date to which certificates issued before 10 October 2028 for instruments brought into the directive by Directive (EU) 2026/706 remain valid

## What you must do

### Manufacturer (including brand owners and self-users)

- Design and manufacture the instrument to the essential requirements of Annex I and the relevant instrument-specific annex: errors within the maximum permissible errors under rated operating conditions, specified performance under disturbances, reproducibility, repeatability, discrimination, durability, reliability, suitability, protection against corruption of hardware, software and data, and the inscriptions, information and indication of the result.
- Draw up the Article 18 technical documentation that makes the design, manufacture and operation intelligible and shows the metrological characteristics, reproducibility and integrity, including drawings, manufacturing procedures, software descriptions, the harmonised standards or normative documents applied, test results under rated operating conditions and disturbances, durability results for gas, water, thermal energy and liquid meters, and where seals and markings are applied.
- Carry out, or have carried out, one of the conformity assessment procedures listed in the instrument-specific annex, using a notified body for EU-type examination, quality assurance, product verification or unit verification as the chosen module requires; in Denmark the body must be designated by Sikkerhedsstyrelsen or by another Member State.
- Draw up the EU declaration of conformity per the Annex XIII model, translated into the languages the Member State requires, kept continuously updated and, where several Union acts apply, as a single declaration covering them all, and affix the CE marking and the supplementary metrology marking before placing the instrument on the market.
- Draw up the EU declaration of conformity per the Annex XIII model, translated into the languages the Member State requires, kept continuously updated and, where several Union acts apply, as a single declaration covering them all.
- Affix the CE marking and the supplementary metrology marking, the capital letter M and the last two digits of the year of affixing in a rectangle of the CE marking's height, visibly, legibly and indelibly to the instrument or its data plate, the metrology marking immediately after the CE marking and followed by the notified body's identification number where the body is involved in production control.
- Keep the technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity for 10 years after the instrument was placed on the market, and keep series production in conformity, taking account of changes in design, characteristics and the standards or normative documents referenced; where the instrument's performance warrants it, sample-test marketed instruments, investigate and keep a register of complaints, non-conforming instruments and recalls, and keep distributors informed.
- Keep the technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity for 10 years after the instrument was placed on the market.
- Keep series production in conformity, taking account of changes in design or characteristics and in the harmonised standards or normative documents referenced.
- Where the instrument's performance warrants it, sample-test marketed instruments, investigate complaints, keep a register of complaints, non-conforming instruments and recalls, and keep distributors informed of that monitoring.
- Mark the instrument 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 its size or nature does not allow it, in an accompanying document and on the packaging, and supply a copy of the EU declaration of conformity and the Annex I point 9.3 instructions and information in a language the Member State determines.
- Mark the instrument 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 it does not allow it, put them in an accompanying document and on the packaging.
- Supply the instrument with a copy of the EU declaration of conformity and the Annex I point 9.3 instructions and information in a language the Member State determines.
- If you consider or have reason to believe that an instrument 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 national authorities of the Member States where you made it available; on reasoned request provide all conformity information and documentation in a language the authority understands, cooperate on risk-elimination measures, and identify your suppliers and customers for 10 years.
- If an instrument 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 national authorities of the Member States where you made it available.
- 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 posed by the instruments.
- Be able to identify, for 10 years after each supply, the economic operators that supplied you and the economic operators you supplied.

### Authorised representative

- Act under a written mandate that at least lets you keep the EU declaration of conformity and the technical documentation at the disposal of the national market surveillance authorities for 10 years after the instrument was placed on the market, provide conformity information and documentation on reasoned request, and cooperate with the authorities on risk-elimination measures for the instruments in your mandate.
- Act only under a written mandate from the manufacturer that sets out the tasks you perform on its behalf.
- Keep the EU declaration of conformity and the technical documentation at the disposal of the national market surveillance authorities for 10 years after the instrument was placed on the market.
- 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 instruments covered by your mandate.
- Do not take over the manufacturer's duty to design and manufacture to the essential requirements or to draw up the technical documentation; those cannot form part of the mandate.
- Where the notified body instructs it, affix its identification number after the CE and metrology markings on the manufacturer's behalf, and be able to identify the economic operators that supplied you and that you supplied for 10 years.
- Where the notified body instructs it, affix its identification number after the CE and metrology markings on the manufacturer's behalf.
- Be able to identify, for 10 years after each supply, the economic operators that supplied you and the economic operators you supplied.
- Where the manufacturer is outside the Union and no importer exists, you may be the economic operator established in the Union that Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 requires for every measuring instrument placed on the market, verifying the declaration and documentation, informing the authorities of risks and cooperating on corrective action.

### Importer

- Place only compliant instruments on the market, and before placing an instrument on the market or putting it into use check that the manufacturer carried out the appropriate conformity assessment procedure, drew up the technical documentation, affixed the CE marking and the supplementary metrology marking, supplied a copy of the EU declaration of conformity and the required documents and applied the identification and address markings; hold back non-conforming instruments and inform the manufacturer and the market surveillance authorities where they present a risk.
- Indicate your name, registered trade name or trade mark and a postal contact address on the instrument or, where not possible, in an accompanying document and on the packaging, in a language end users and the authorities understand.
- Ensure the instrument is accompanied by the Annex I point 9.3 instructions and information in a language the Member State determines, and keep storage and transport conditions from jeopardising compliance with the essential requirements.
- Ensure the instrument is accompanied by the Annex I point 9.3 instructions and information in a language the Member State determines.
- While an instrument is under your responsibility, keep storage and transport conditions from jeopardising its compliance with the essential requirements.
- Where the instrument's performance warrants it, sample-test marketed instruments, investigate and keep a register of complaints, non-conforming instruments and recalls, and keep distributors informed.
- If an instrument 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 national authorities of the Member States concerned with details of the non-compliance and the corrective measures.
- Keep a copy of the EU declaration of conformity at the disposal of the market surveillance authorities for 10 years and ensure the technical documentation can be made available on request; provide conformity information on reasoned request in a language the authority understands, cooperate on risk-elimination measures, and identify suppliers and customers for 10 years.
- 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.
- 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 posed by the instruments.
- Be able to identify, for 10 years after each supply, the economic operators that supplied you and the economic operators you supplied.
- If you place an instrument on the market under your own name or trade mark, or modify an instrument already placed on the market in a way that may affect compliance, you carry the manufacturer's obligations under Article 8.

### Distributor (wholesaler, retailer or installer supplying instruments)

- Act with due care and, before making an instrument available or putting it into use, verify that it bears the CE marking and the supplementary metrology marking, is accompanied by the EU declaration of conformity, the required documents and the instructions and information in a language the end users of the Member State understand, and that the manufacturer and importer applied their identification and address markings; hold back non-conforming instruments and inform the manufacturer or importer and the market surveillance authorities where they present a risk.
- Keep storage and transport conditions from jeopardising compliance with the essential requirements while the instrument is under your responsibility.
- If an instrument you made available or put into use 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 national authorities of the Member States concerned.
- On reasoned request, provide the information and documentation demonstrating conformity, cooperate on risk-elimination measures, and identify the economic operators that supplied you and that you supplied for 10 years.
- 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 posed by the instruments.
- Be able to identify, for 10 years after each supply, the economic operators that supplied you and the economic operators you supplied.
- If you sell under your own name or trade mark or modify an instrument in a way that may affect compliance, you take on the manufacturer's obligations; in Denmark, an instrument used for measurements on which payment is based must also meet the rules in the hands of the instrument owner, who can be ordered to bring it into conformity or forbidden to use it.
- If you make an instrument available under your own name or trade mark, or modify one in a way that may affect compliance, you take on the manufacturer's obligations under Article 8.

## Requirements

Each duty above as an identified requirement (36); ids are permanent and shared with the compliance engine.

### evidence

- `mid-mfr-design-manufacture-instrument` (Manufacturer (including brand owners and self-users), product, before-market) — Design and manufacture the instrument to the essential requirements of Annex I and the relevant instrument-specific annex: errors within the maximum permissible errors under rated operating conditions, specified performance under disturbances, reproducibility, repeatability, discrimination, durability, reliability, suitability, protection against corruption of hardware, software and data, and the inscriptions, information and indication of the result. [Art. 6, Art. 8(1) and Annex I, points 1 to 12]
- `mid-mfr-draw-article-technical` (Manufacturer (including brand owners and self-users), product, before-market) — Draw up the Article 18 technical documentation that makes the design, manufacture and operation intelligible and shows the metrological characteristics, reproducibility and integrity, including drawings, manufacturing procedures, software descriptions, the harmonised standards or normative documents applied, test results under rated operating conditions and disturbances, durability results for gas, water, thermal energy and liquid meters, and where seals and markings are applied. [Art. 8(2) and Art. 18]
- `mid-mfr-draw-eu-declaration` (Manufacturer (including brand owners and self-users), product-market, before-market) — Draw up the EU declaration of conformity per the Annex XIII model, translated into the languages the Member State requires, kept continuously updated and, where several Union acts apply, as a single declaration covering them all. [Art. 8(2) and Art. 19]
- `mid-mfr-supply-declaration-instructions` (Manufacturer (including brand owners and self-users), product-market, before-market) — Supply the instrument with a copy of the EU declaration of conformity and the Annex I point 9.3 instructions and information in a language the Member State determines. [Art. 8(7) and Annex I, point 9]
- `mid-oth-hold-written-mandate` (Authorised representative, company, before-market) — Act only under a written mandate from the manufacturer that sets out the tasks you perform on its behalf. [Art. 9(1) and Art. 9(2)]

### mark

- `mid-mfr-affix-marking-supplementary` (Manufacturer (including brand owners and self-users), product, before-market) — Affix the CE marking and the supplementary metrology marking, the capital letter M and the last two digits of the year of affixing in a rectangle of the CE marking's height, visibly, legibly and indelibly to the instrument or its data plate, the metrology marking immediately after the CE marking and followed by the notified body's identification number where the body is involved in production control. [Art. 21 and Art. 22]
- `mid-mfr-mark-type-name-address` (Manufacturer (including brand owners and self-users), product, before-market) — Mark the instrument 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 it does not allow it, put them in an accompanying document and on the packaging. [Art. 8(5) and Art. 8(6)]
- `mid-oth-affix-notified-body-number` (Authorised representative, product, before-market) — Where the notified body instructs it, affix its identification number after the CE and metrology markings on the manufacturer's behalf. [Art. 22(5)]
- `mid-imp-indicate-name-registered` (Importer, product, before-market) — Indicate your name, registered trade name or trade mark and a postal contact address on the instrument or, where not possible, in an accompanying document and on the packaging, in a language end users and the authorities understand. [Art. 10(3)]

### procedure

- `mid-mfr-carry-out-have` (Manufacturer (including brand owners and self-users), product, before-market) — Carry out, or have carried out, one of the conformity assessment procedures listed in the instrument-specific annex, using a notified body for EU-type examination, quality assurance, product verification or unit verification as the chosen module requires; in Denmark the body must be designated by Sikkerhedsstyrelsen or by another Member State. [Art. 8(2), Art. 17 and Annex II; https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2022/774 · § 33 and § 34]

### submission

- `mid-mfr-take-corrective-measures` (Manufacturer (including brand owners and self-users), product, on-event) — If an instrument 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 national authorities of the Member States where you made it available. [Art. 8(8)]
- `mid-imp-immediately-take-corrective` (Importer, product, on-event) — If an instrument 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 national authorities of the Member States concerned with details of the non-compliance and the corrective measures. [Art. 10(7)]
- `mid-dist-make-sure-corrective` (Distributor (wholesaler, retailer or installer supplying instruments), product, on-event) — If an instrument you made available or put into use 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 national authorities of the Member States concerned. [Art. 11(4)]

### verification

- `mid-oth-economic-operator-established` (Authorised representative, product, ongoing) — Where the manufacturer is outside the Union and no importer exists, you may be the economic operator established in the Union that Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 requires for every measuring instrument placed on the market, verifying the declaration and documentation, informing the authorities of risks and cooperating on corrective action. [Art. 4(1) to Art. 4(5)]
- `mid-imp-place-compliant-instruments` (Importer, product, before-market) — Place only compliant instruments on the market, and before placing an instrument on the market or putting it into use check that the manufacturer carried out the appropriate conformity assessment procedure, drew up the technical documentation, affixed the CE marking and the supplementary metrology marking, supplied a copy of the EU declaration of conformity and the required documents and applied the identification and address markings; hold back non-conforming instruments and inform the manufacturer and the market surveillance authorities where they present a risk. [Art. 10(1) and Art. 10(2)]
- `mid-imp-ensure-instructions-accompany` (Importer, product-market, before-market) — Ensure the instrument is accompanied by the Annex I point 9.3 instructions and information in a language the Member State determines. [Art. 10(4)]
- `mid-dist-act-due-care` (Distributor (wholesaler, retailer or installer supplying instruments), product-market, before-market) — Act with due care and, before making an instrument available or putting it into use, verify that it bears the CE marking and the supplementary metrology marking, is accompanied by the EU declaration of conformity, the required documents and the instructions and information in a language the end users of the Member State understand, and that the manufacturer and importer applied their identification and address markings; hold back non-conforming instruments and inform the manufacturer or importer and the market surveillance authorities where they present a risk. [Art. 11(1) and Art. 11(2)]

### standing

- `mid-mfr-keep-documentation-years` (Manufacturer (including brand owners and self-users), product, ongoing) — Keep the technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity for 10 years after the instrument was placed on the market. [Art. 8(3)]
- `mid-mfr-maintain-series-conformity` (Manufacturer (including brand owners and self-users), company, ongoing) — Keep series production in conformity, taking account of changes in design or characteristics and in the harmonised standards or normative documents referenced. [Art. 8(4)]
- `mid-mfr-sample-test-register` (Manufacturer (including brand owners and self-users), company, ongoing) — Where the instrument's performance warrants it, sample-test marketed instruments, investigate complaints, keep a register of complaints, non-conforming instruments and recalls, and keep distributors informed of that monitoring. [Art. 8(4)]
- `mid-mfr-provide-information-request` (Manufacturer (including brand owners and self-users), company, ongoing) — 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 posed by the instruments. [Art. 8(9)]
- `mid-mfr-identify-suppliers-customers` (Manufacturer (including brand owners and self-users), company, ongoing) — Be able to identify, for 10 years after each supply, the economic operators that supplied you and the economic operators you supplied. [Art. 13]
- `mid-oth-keep-documentation-years` (Authorised representative, product, ongoing) — Keep the EU declaration of conformity and the technical documentation at the disposal of the national market surveillance authorities for 10 years after the instrument was placed on the market. [Art. 9(2)(a)]
- `mid-oth-provide-information-request` (Authorised representative, company, ongoing) — 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 instruments covered by your mandate. [Art. 9(2)(b) and Art. 9(2)(c)]
- `mid-oth-identify-suppliers-customers` (Authorised representative, company, ongoing) — Be able to identify, for 10 years after each supply, the economic operators that supplied you and the economic operators you supplied. [Art. 13]
- `mid-imp-ensure-storage-transport` (Importer, company, ongoing) — While an instrument is under your responsibility, keep storage and transport conditions from jeopardising its compliance with the essential requirements. [Art. 10(5)]
- `mid-imp-sample-test-marketed-instruments` (Importer, company, ongoing) — Where the instrument's performance warrants it, sample-test marketed instruments, investigate and keep a register of complaints, non-conforming instruments and recalls, and keep distributors informed. [Art. 10(6)]
- `mid-imp-keep-declaration-copy` (Importer, product, ongoing) — 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. 10(8)]
- `mid-imp-provide-information-request` (Importer, company, ongoing) — 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 posed by the instruments. [Art. 10(9)]
- `mid-imp-identify-suppliers-customers` (Importer, company, ongoing) — Be able to identify, for 10 years after each supply, the economic operators that supplied you and the economic operators you supplied. [Art. 13]
- `mid-dist-keep-storage-transport` (Distributor (wholesaler, retailer or installer supplying instruments), company, ongoing) — Keep storage and transport conditions from jeopardising compliance with the essential requirements while the instrument is under your responsibility. [Art. 11(3)]
- `mid-dist-provide-information-request` (Distributor (wholesaler, retailer or installer supplying instruments), company, ongoing) — 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 posed by the instruments. [Art. 11(5)]
- `mid-dist-identify-suppliers-customers` (Distributor (wholesaler, retailer or installer supplying instruments), company, ongoing) — Be able to identify, for 10 years after each supply, the economic operators that supplied you and the economic operators you supplied. [Art. 13]

## Penalties

Member States lay down the rules on penalties for infringements by economic operators of their national transposing laws and enforce them; the penalties must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive and may include criminal penalties for serious infringements. Market surveillance authorities evaluate instruments that present a risk to the public interests the directive protects, require corrective action, withdrawal or recall within a period commensurate with the risk, inform the notified body, and if the operator fails to act prohibit or restrict the making available, withdraw or recall the instrument and notify the Commission and the other Member States; compliant instruments that still present a risk can be treated the same way. Formal non-compliance, such as a missing or wrongly affixed CE marking or supplementary metrology marking, a missing notified body number, a missing or incorrect EU declaration of conformity, missing or incomplete technical documentation or missing manufacturer or importer identification, must be ended and otherwise leads to restriction, prohibition, withdrawal or recall. Since 16 July 2021 the surveillance powers come from Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, whose authorities can demand documents and supply-chain information, inspect and buy samples, require corrective action, prohibit the making available and have instruments withdrawn, recalled or destroyed. In Denmark, executive order nr. 774 of 1 June 2022 lets Sikkerhedsstyrelsen order formal non-compliance corrected within a deadline and then order withdrawal, recall or a sales ban under the product act, order an improperly affixed metrology marking removed, and punishes with a fine the placing on the market of non-conforming instruments, missing documentation, markings, instructions, notifications, mandates and notified-body use, with imprisonment of up to 2 years in aggravating circumstances and liability for companies; the product act adds orders to warn users, stop marketing, remedy, stop sales, withdraw, recall or destroy, prohibitions, orders to the owner of an instrument used for payment-based measurement, and fines, rising to imprisonment of up to 2 years in aggravating circumstances, for breaches of the act, of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 Article 4 and of the authority's decisions. Since January 2026 Sikkerhedsstyrelsen is the department Markedsovervågning of Erhvervsstyrelsen.

## Checklist

1. Confirm the instrument is defined in one of the instrument-specific annexes, MI-001 to MI-010 today and MI-011 and MI-012 from 10 October 2028, and check whether each Member State of sale prescribes its use for a legally controlled measuring task; in Denmark see executive order nr. 774/2022 § 1 (Articles 2 and 3).
2. Decide your role for each product, remembering that selling under your own brand, modifying an instrument or putting it into use for your own purposes makes you the manufacturer (Article 4, point (8), and Article 12).
3. Identify the harmonised standards and the OIML normative documents listed in the Official Journal that cover the instrument, or document the technical solutions you use instead (Article 14 and Article 18(3)(f) and (g)).
4. Specify the rated operating conditions, the climatic temperature limits from Annex I Table 1, the mechanical class M1 to M3 and the electromagnetic class E1 to E3, and test against the maximum permissible errors and disturbances of the instrument-specific annex (Annex I, point 1).
5. Choose a conformity assessment module allowed by the instrument-specific annex, for most meters B + F, B + D or H1, and engage a notified body listed by the Commission — or, for capacity serving measures under module A2, an accredited in-house body; in Denmark the notified body must be one designated by Sikkerhedsstyrelsen or by an authority in another EU country (Article 17, Article 30, Annex II and executive order nr. 774/2022 § 33).
6. Compile the Article 18 technical documentation with drawings, software descriptions, manufacturing procedures, test and durability results and the location of seals and markings, and keep it with the declaration for 10 years (Articles 8(3) and 18).
7. Draw up the Annex XIII EU declaration of conformity per model, as a single declaration where the EMC Directive or other Union acts also apply, and translate it as the Member States require (Article 19).
8. Affix the CE marking, the supplementary metrology marking M with the two-digit year in a rectangle and the notified body number to the instrument or its data plate before placing it on the market (Articles 21 and 22).
9. Mark the identifier, manufacturer and importer names and addresses, accuracy and other Annex I point 9 inscriptions, and supply the declaration copy and the instructions in the required language (Articles 8(5) to 8(7) and 10(3) and 10(4)).
10. Set up the corrective-action and notification procedure, 10-year supplier and customer traceability and, where the instrument's performance warrants it, sample testing and a complaints register (Articles 8(4), 8(8), 10(6), 10(7), 11(4) and 13).

## Questions

### When did the Measuring Instruments Directive 2014/32/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 the directly applicable articles and Annexes I and III to XII also took effect and Directive 2004/22/EC was repealed. Instruments conforming to the old directive and placed on the market before 20 April 2016 may still be made available and put into use, and certificates issued under it remain valid.

### Which measuring instruments does the MID cover?

Ten categories defined in the instrument-specific Annexes III to XII: water meters (MI-001), gas meters and volume conversion devices (MI-002), active electrical energy meters (MI-003), thermal energy meters (MI-004), measuring systems for the continuous and dynamic measurement of liquids other than water (MI-005), automatic weighing instruments (MI-006), taximeters (MI-007), material measures (MI-008), dimensional measuring instruments (MI-009) and exhaust gas analysers (MI-010). Directive (EU) 2026/706 adds measuring systems for electric vehicle supply equipment (MI-011) and for compressed gas dispensers (MI-012), applicable from 10 October 2028. Non-automatic weighing instruments are covered by Directive 2014/31/EU instead.

### Does every Member State require MID instruments for the same uses?

No. Member States may prescribe the use of measuring instruments for measuring tasks where they consider it justified for reasons of public interest, public health, public safety, public order, protection of the environment, protection of consumers, levying of taxes and duties and fair trading, and must tell the Commission and the other Member States why where they do not. Denmark's executive order nr. 774/2022 applies the directive to water, gas, electricity and heat meters, liquid measuring systems, automatic weighing instruments, material measures and dimensional instruments, leaves milk measuring systems, material measures and length and area instruments optional, and does not cover taximeters and exhaust gas analysers.

### Do I need a notified body under the MID?

Almost always. The manufacturer chooses one of the procedures listed in the instrument-specific annex, and every one of them involves a third-party body — a notified body, except that module A2, which only capacity serving measures may use, may at the manufacturer's choice be carried out by an accredited in-house body instead (Article 30 and Annex II, module A2, point 4): EU-type examination (module B) followed by conformity to type based on quality assurance of the production process (D), instrument quality assurance (E) or product verification (F), quality assurance without a type examination (D1, E1, F1), unit verification (G) or full quality assurance with or without design examination (H, H1). Utility meters, liquid measuring systems, taximeters and exhaust gas analysers may use B + F, B + D or H1, liquid measuring systems also G; automatic weighing instruments, material measures and dimensional instruments have longer lists that depend on whether the instrument is mechanical, electromechanical or electronic, and capacity serving measures may use A2 with supervised checks at random intervals. Records and correspondence are drawn up in a language the notified body accepts.

### What is the supplementary metrology marking?

The capital letter M and the last two digits of the year of its affixing, surrounded by a rectangle whose height equals the height of the CE marking. It follows the same general principles as the CE marking, is affixed immediately after it, visibly, legibly and indelibly to the instrument or its data plate before placing on the market, and is followed by the identification number of the notified body where that body is involved in production control. Both markings go on the main device where an instrument consists of several devices that are not sub-assemblies, and other marks indicating a special risk or use may follow.

### What changes with Directive (EU) 2026/706?

The amending directive of 11 March 2026, in force since 9 April 2026, adds measuring systems for electric vehicle supply equipment (MI-011, new Annex Va) and measuring systems for compressed gas dispensers (MI-012, new Annex VIIa), lets the measurement result of those systems be shown on a remote display or a consumer device, renames Annex IV to gas meters and conversion devices to cover hydrogen and other fuel gases, updates the electricity meter annex for direct current and smart meters and adds cooling applications to thermal energy meters. Member States must transpose it by 10 April 2028 and apply the measures from 10 October 2028. Instruments conforming to the directive as it stood on 8 April 2026 and placed on the market before 10 October 2028 may still be made available, EV charging and compressed gas systems conforming to national law may be placed on the market until 10 April 2030, and certificates issued before 10 October 2028 remain valid until they expire and at the latest until 10 April 2038.

### Who enforces the MID in Denmark and what can they do?

The product act lists the directive in section 2 and names Erhvervsstyrelsen as the control authority; the tasks are carried out by Sikkerhedsstyrelsen, which since January 2026 is the department Markedsovervågning of Erhvervsstyrelsen and which also designates the Danish notified bodies under executive order nr. 774/2022. The order lets the authority order formal non-compliance corrected within a deadline and then order withdrawal, recall or a sales ban, and order an improperly affixed metrology marking removed; the product act adds orders to warn users, stop marketing, remedy, stop sales, withdraw, recall or destroy, prohibitions, and orders to the owner of an instrument used for payment-based measurement. Breaches are punished with fines, rising to imprisonment of up to 2 years in aggravating circumstances, with liability for companies.

### 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 instrument 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.

## What changed

- 2028-10-10 (applies): **MI-011 and MI-012 and the updated meter annexes apply** — The national measures transposing Directive (EU) 2026/706 apply: measuring systems for electric vehicle supply equipment and for compressed gas dispensers need the CE and metrology markings, and gas, electricity and thermal energy meters follow the updated Annexes I, IV, V and VI; instruments conforming to the previous text and placed on the market before this date may still be made available, national-law EV charging and compressed gas systems until 10 April 2030, and earlier certificates remain valid until expiry and at the latest 10 April 2038.
- 2026-09-12 (guidance): **Guide rebuilt on the SPEC-62 model from the consolidated text** — The guide was rewritten from the consolidated text of 27 January 2015, Delegated Directive (EU) 2015/13, Directive (EU) 2026/706 and the Danish executive order nr. 774/2022 and product act: the twelve categories and the exact module lists per annex replace the earlier summary, the Danish choices under Article 3 and the enforcement basis are now sourced, Sikkerhedsstyrelsen is placed within Erhvervsstyrelsen since January 2026, and the market surveillance reference is read as Regulation (EU) 2019/1020.
- 2026-04-09 (amendment): **Directive (EU) 2026/706 in force: EV charging and compressed gas dispenser measuring systems added** — The amending directive of 11 March 2026, published on 20 March 2026, adds MI-011 and MI-012 to Article 2(1), inserts Annexes Va and VIIa, and updates Annex I and the gas, electricity and thermal energy meter annexes for smart meters, direct current, hydrogen and cooling; Member States must transpose by 10 April 2028 and apply the measures from 10 October 2028, and conformity assessment bodies may already be notified under the amended directive, although the certificates Article 4 allows before 10 October 2028 cover only the amended gas, electricity and thermal energy meter annexes, not the new Annexes Va and VIIa.
- 2021-07-16 (applies): **Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 replaces the market surveillance articles of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008** — Articles 15 to 29 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, which Article 41 of the directive cites, are repealed and the directive is listed as point 51 of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1020; its Article 4 requires an economic operator established in the Union for every measuring instrument placed on the market.
- 2016-04-20 (applies): **Directive 2014/32/EU applies; Directive 2004/22/EC repealed** — Member States apply their transposing measures from 20 April 2016, the directly applicable articles and Annexes I and III to XII apply from the same date and Directive 2004/22/EC is repealed; instruments conforming to the old directive and placed on the market before 20 April 2016 may still be made available and put into use, its certificates remain valid, and the effects of its Article 23 transition ran until 30 October 2016.
- 2015-01-27 (amendment): **Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2015/13 in force: water-meter flowrate range** — Point 1 of Annex III (MI-001) is replaced so that the flowrate range of water meters must satisfy Q3/Q1 at least 40, Q2/Q1 equal to 1,6 and Q4/Q3 equal to 1,25; transposition by 19 April 2016, applied from 20 April 2016.
- 2014-04-18 (in-force): **Directive 2014/32/EU enters into force** — Adopted on 26 February 2014 as a recast of Directive 2004/22/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.

## MID in plain terms

The Measuring Instruments Directive (MID), formally Directive 2014/32/EU, is the EU's law for the measuring instruments whose readings are used to bill, tax, fine or protect people. It establishes the requirements that measuring instruments have to satisfy with a view to their being made available on the market and/or put into use for the measuring tasks a Member State prescribes (Art. 1), and those tasks are the ones a Member State considers justified for reasons of public interest, public health, public safety, public order, protection of the environment, protection of consumers, levying of taxes and duties and fair trading (Art. 3(1)). An instrument that meets the directive circulates freely: Member States may not impede its making available or putting into use for reasons the directive covers (Art. 7(1)).

The 2014 text is a recast of Directive 2004/22/EC aligned with the New Legislative Framework, adding the economic operator duties, the traceability rules and the market surveillance procedures shared with the other CE-marking directives. It entered into force on 18 April 2014, Member States had to transpose it by 19 April 2016 and apply it from 20 April 2016, when Directive 2004/22/EC was repealed (Art. 51 to Art. 53). Directive 2004/22/EC had itself replaced eleven old-approach instrument directives, from gas meters and taximeters to hot-water meters, on 30 October 2006 (Directive 2004/22/EC, Art. 22).

> **Official text**
> Read the directive on EUR-Lex: [Directive 2014/32/EU (CELEX 32014L0032)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0032), the [consolidated text of 27 January 2015](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02014L0032-20150127) that includes the water-meter amendment, and [Directive (EU) 2026/706](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32026L0706), which adds the EV charging and compressed gas dispenser categories from 10 October 2028.

## Scope

The directive applies to the measuring instruments defined in the instrument-specific Annexes III to XII: water meters (MI-001), gas meters and volume conversion devices (MI-002), active electrical energy meters (MI-003), thermal energy meters (MI-004), measuring systems for continuous and dynamic measurement of quantities of liquids other than water (MI-005), automatic weighing instruments (MI-006), taximeters (MI-007), material measures (MI-008), dimensional measuring instruments (MI-009) and exhaust gas analysers (MI-010) (Art. 2(1)). Directive (EU) 2026/706 rewrites that paragraph to add measuring systems for electric vehicle supply equipment (MI-011, new Annex Va) and measuring systems for compressed gas dispensers (MI-012, new Annex VIIa); the national measures apply from 10 October 2028 (Directive (EU) 2026/706, Art. 1(1) and Art. 3(1)). Where an instrument-specific annex lays down essential requirements for sub-assemblies, the directive applies to them mutatis mutandis, and sub-assemblies and instruments may be assessed independently and separately (Art. 5). The directive is the specific directive for the electromagnetic immunity of these instruments, while the EMC Directive 2014/30/EU continues to apply to their emissions (Art. 2(2)).

The directive is optional in one important sense: each Member State decides for which measuring tasks it prescribes the use of a legally controlled instrument, and must tell the Commission and the other Member States why where it does not (Art. 3). In Denmark, executive order nr. 774 of 1 June 2022 applies the directive to water, gas, electricity and heat meters used under the order on consumption metering, to liquid measuring systems, automatic weighing instruments, material measures and dimensional measuring instruments; it does not require its rules for milk measuring systems, material measures, length measuring instruments and area measuring instruments, although Sikkerhedsstyrelsen may designate notified bodies for them, and it does not cover taximeters and exhaust gas analysers at all (executive order nr. 774/2022, § 1). Non-automatic weighing instruments are outside the directive and follow Directive 2014/31/EU.

The duties fall on the economic operators: manufacturer, authorised representative, importer and distributor (Art. 4, point (12)). A manufacturer is whoever manufactures a measuring instrument or has it designed or manufactured and markets it under his own name or trade mark or puts it into use for his own purposes (Art. 4, point (8)), and an importer or distributor that sells under its own brand or modifies an instrument in a way that may affect compliance takes on the manufacturer's obligations (Art. 12). A Member State may attach putting-into-use conditions justified by local climate and may fix the accuracy classes for specific applications, while allowing all classes on its territory (Art. 7(3) and Art. 7(4)); non-conforming instruments may be shown at trade fairs with a visible sign saying so (Art. 7(5)).

## What you must do

### Essential requirements

A measuring instrument must meet the essential requirements of Annex I and of the relevant instrument-specific annex (Art. 6). Annex I asks for a high level of metrological protection so that any party affected can have confidence in the result, and covers twelve headings: allowable errors within the maximum permissible errors under rated operating conditions and a defined performance under disturbances, with the manufacturer specifying the climatic limits from Table 1, the mechanical class M1 to M3 and the electromagnetic class E1 to E3 (point 1); reproducibility (2); repeatability (3); discrimination and sensitivity (4); durability (5); reliability (6); suitability, including no feature that facilitates fraudulent use and identifiable metrologically critical software (7); protection against corruption of hardware, software and stored or transmitted data, with utility displays that cannot be reset (8); the inscriptions on the instrument and the information that accompanies it (9); the indication of the result, including a metrologically controlled display accessible without tools on utility meters (10); durable records for non-repeatable trading transactions (11); and a design that allows ready evaluation of conformity (12). Directive (EU) 2026/706 amends points 10.2 and adds 10.6 so that gas and electricity meters and the new EV charging and compressed gas systems may show the result on a remote display or, for the new systems, a consumer device, with the result traceable to the instrument and protected against tampering.

### Harmonised standards and OIML normative documents

Instruments conforming to harmonised standards, or parts of them, whose references are published in the Official Journal are presumed to conform to the essential requirements those standards cover, and the same presumption attaches to the parts of normative documents of the International Organisation of Legal Metrology whose list the Commission publishes (Art. 14(1), Art. 14(2) and Art. 15). A manufacturer may use any other technical solution that meets the essential requirements, but only correctly applied standards or normative documents give the presumption (Art. 14(3)). The Commission works with WELMEC on non-binding guidance documents that explain the practical application of the directive (European Commission, measuring and weighing instruments page).

### Conformity assessment with a notified body

Conformity assessment is carried out, at the manufacturer's choice, by one of the procedures listed in the relevant instrument-specific annex, and the modules themselves are in Annex II (Art. 17). Every listed procedure involves a third-party body. That body is a notified body in all of them but one: module A2, which Chapter II of Annex X allows for capacity serving measures, may at the manufacturer's choice be carried out by an accredited in-house body, a separate and distinct part of the undertaking that is accredited under Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, supplies its services only to that undertaking and is not notified to the Member States or the Commission (Art. 30 and Annex II, module A2, point 4). Water, gas, electricity and thermal energy meters, taximeters and exhaust gas analysers may use B + F, B + D or H1 (Annexes III to VI, IX and XII); liquid measuring systems add G (Annex VII); automatic weighing instruments use B + D, B + E, B + F, D1, F1, G or H1 for mechanical systems, B + D, B + E, B + F, G or H1 for electromechanical instruments and B + D, B + F, G or H1 for electronic or software-based systems (Annex VIII); material measures of length use F1, D1, B + D, H or G and capacity serving measures A2, F1, D1, E1, B + E, B + D or H (Annex X); dimensional instruments use F1, E1, D1, B + F, B + E, B + D, H, H1 or G when mechanical or electromechanical and B + F, B + D, H1 or G when electronic (Annex XI). Records and correspondence are drawn up in the official language of the notified body's Member State or in a language it accepts (Art. 17). Member States notify the bodies authorised for these tasks, may notify a body even for instrument types they have not prescribed, and designate a notifying authority responsible for assessing, notifying and monitoring them; they may decide that the assessment and monitoring are carried out by a national accreditation body within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, and where the notifying authority entrusts those tasks to a non-governmental body, that body must be a legal entity, meet the requirements for notifying authorities mutatis mutandis and carry liability cover, with the notifying authority remaining fully responsible (Art. 23 and Art. 24); in Denmark the manufacturer must use a body designated by Sikkerhedsstyrelsen or by another Member State (executive order nr. 774/2022, § 33).

### Technical documentation, declaration and markings

The technical documentation must render the design, manufacture and operation intelligible and permit an assessment of conformity, be detailed enough to define the metrological characteristics, the reproducibility of the metrological performance of produced instruments and the integrity of the instrument, and contain the general description, drawings, manufacturing procedures, descriptions of electronic devices and software, the standards or normative documents applied or the solutions adopted instead, design calculations, the test results under rated operating conditions and disturbances, the durability results for gas, water, thermal energy and liquid meters, and any EU-type or design examination certificates for identical parts; the manufacturer specifies where seals and markings are applied and the conditions for compatibility with interfaces and sub-assemblies (Art. 18).

The EU declaration of conformity states that the essential requirements have been demonstrated, follows the Annex XIII model, contains the elements of the modules used, is continuously updated, is translated as the Member State requires and, where several Union acts apply, is a single declaration covering them all; by drawing it up the manufacturer assumes responsibility (Art. 19). Conformity is shown by the CE marking and the supplementary metrology marking (Art. 20): the capital letter M and the last two digits of the year of its affixing, surrounded by a rectangle of the CE marking's height, subject to the same general principles as the CE marking (Art. 21). Both are affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly to the instrument or its data plate, or to the documents and packaging where the nature of the instrument does not allow it, before placing on the market and possibly during fabrication, on the main device of a set of devices that are not sub-assemblies, the metrology marking immediately after the CE marking and followed by the notified body's identification number where the body is involved in production control (Art. 22).

### Obligations by role

Manufacturers design and manufacture to the essential requirements, draw up the documentation and carry out the conformity assessment, draw up the declaration and affix both markings, keep the documentation and declaration for 10 years, keep series production in conformity, sample-test and keep a complaints register where the instrument's performance warrants it, mark the identifier and their name and address, supply the declaration copy and the instructions in the required language, take corrective action, inform the authorities of risks and cooperate on request (Art. 8). Authorised representatives act under a mandate that must at least cover keeping the documents and cooperating with the authorities, and cannot take over the design or documentation duties (Art. 9). Importers place only compliant instruments on the market, verify the manufacturer's assessment, documentation, markings, declaration and identification, add their own name and address, ensure the instructions, protect the instrument in storage and transport, sample-test where warranted, take corrective action and keep the declaration for 10 years (Art. 10). Distributors verify the markings, declaration, documents, instructions and identification before making an instrument available, protect it in storage and transport and see that corrective action is taken (Art. 11). Importers and distributors that sell under their own brand or modify an instrument become manufacturers (Art. 12), and every operator identifies its suppliers and customers for 10 years (Art. 13). Since 16 July 2021, Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 also requires an economic operator established in the Union, a manufacturer, importer, authorised representative or fulfilment service provider, for every instrument placed on the market (Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Art. 4).

### Transitions

Instruments covered by Directive 2004/22/EC, in conformity with it and placed on the market before 20 April 2016 may still be made available and put into use, certificates issued under it remain valid, and the effects of its Article 23 transition ran until 30 October 2016 (Art. 50). Under Directive (EU) 2026/706, instruments conforming to the directive as it stood on 8 April 2026 and placed on the market before 10 October 2028 may still be made available and put into use, EV charging and compressed gas dispenser measuring systems conforming to national law may be placed on the market until 10 April 2030, and certificates for instruments brought into the directive that were issued before 10 October 2028 remain valid until expiry and at the latest until 10 April 2038; conformity assessment bodies complying with the amended directive may be notified before 10 October 2028 and may issue certificates before that date for the instruments defined in Annexes II, III and V to the amending directive, that is the amended gas meter, electricity meter and thermal energy meter annexes (Directive (EU) 2026/706, Art. 2 and Art. 4).

## Enforcement and penalties

Article 41 applies Article 15(3) and Articles 16 to 29 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 to measuring instruments; those articles were repealed by Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 from 16 July 2021, which lists the directive as point 51 of its Annex I, so the reference is read as that regulation. Where an authority has sufficient reason to believe that an instrument presents a risk to the public interests the directive protects, it evaluates the instrument, requires corrective action, withdrawal or recall within a period commensurate with the risk, informs the notified body and, if the operator does not act, prohibits or restricts the making available, withdraws or recalls the instrument and informs the Commission and the other Member States (Art. 42). The Commission decides disputed national measures through the Union safeguard procedure (Art. 43), compliant instruments that still present a risk can be treated the same way (Art. 44), and formal non-compliance, such as a missing or wrongly affixed CE or metrology marking, a missing notified body number, a missing or incorrect declaration, missing documentation or missing identification, must be ended and otherwise leads to restriction, prohibition, withdrawal or recall (Art. 45).

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. 49). In Denmark, legal metrology has fallen under the product act (lov om produkter og markedsovervågning) since 1 July 2021; the act supplements Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, lists the directive in section 2, names Erhvervsstyrelsen as the control authority and provides orders to warn users, stop marketing, remedy, stop sales, withdraw, recall or destroy, prohibitions, orders to the owner of an instrument used for payment-based measurement and fines that rise to imprisonment of up to 2 years in aggravating circumstances (LBK nr. 22/2026, § 2, § 9, § 14, § 16, § 16 a and § 37). Executive order nr. 774 of 1 June 2022 implements the directive itself: it repeats the operator duties, the notified-body requirement and the marking rules, lets Sikkerhedsstyrelsen order formal non-compliance corrected and then order withdrawal, recall or a sales ban, order an improper metrology marking removed, and punishes breaches with fines and, in aggravating circumstances, imprisonment of up to 2 years (§ 57 to § 59). Since January 2026 Sikkerhedsstyrelsen is the department Markedsovervågning of Erhvervsstyrelsen (the Danish Business Authority) and carries out the same tasks.

## How Conphora helps

Conphora monitors the MID, its harmonised standards and OIML normative documents and the 2026/706 timeline, and maps your instruments against the right instrument-specific annex, the modules it allows and the marking requirements, flagging gaps in the technical documentation, the EU declaration of conformity and the metrology marking before they become enforcement problems. The platform helps you build and keep the documentation and the 10-year records, combines the MID declaration with the EMC and other declarations the same instrument needs, and alerts you when an annex, a standard or a national choice under Article 3 changes.

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

## Sources

- [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 2014/32/EU as published in OJ L 96, 29 March 2014 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0032)
- [Document information, dates and relationships for CELEX 32014L0032 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32014L0032)
- [Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2015/13 amending Annex III as regards the flowrate range of water meters (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32015L0013)
- [Directive (EU) 2026/706 amending Directive 2014/32/EU as regards EV supply equipment, compressed gas dispensers and electricity, gas and thermal energy meters (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32026L0706)
- [Directive 2004/22/EC on measuring instruments, consolidated text of 1 December 2009 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02004L0022-20091201)
- [Directive 2014/31/EU on non-automatic weighing instruments (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0031)
- [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)
- [Measuring and weighing instruments in the EU (European Commission, DG GROW)](https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/goods/building-blocks/legal-metrology/measuring-weighing-instruments-eu_en)
- [Bekendtgørelse nr. 774 af 1. juni 2022 om tilgængeliggørelse på markedet af måleinstrumenter (Retsinformation)](https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2022/774)
- [Bekendtgørelse af lov om produkter og markedsovervågning, LBK nr. 22 af 8. januar 2026 (Retsinformation)](https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2026/22)
- [Legal måling og vejning (legal metrologi) (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen)](https://www.sik.dk/erhverv/produkter/maaling-og-vaegt-metrologi/vejledninger/legal-maaling-og-vejning-legal-metrologi)
- [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

- [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 2014/32/EU as published in OJ L 96, 29 March 2014 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0032)
- [Document information, dates and relationships for CELEX 32014L0032 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32014L0032)
- [Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2015/13 amending Annex III as regards the flowrate range of water meters (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32015L0013)
- [Directive (EU) 2026/706 amending Directive 2014/32/EU as regards EV supply equipment, compressed gas dispensers and electricity, gas and thermal energy meters (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32026L0706)
- [Directive 2004/22/EC on measuring instruments, consolidated text of 1 December 2009 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02004L0022-20091201)
- [Directive 2014/31/EU on non-automatic weighing instruments (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0031)
- [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)
- [Measuring and weighing instruments in the EU (European Commission, DG GROW)](https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/goods/building-blocks/legal-metrology/measuring-weighing-instruments-eu_en)
- [Bekendtgørelse nr. 774 af 1. juni 2022 om tilgængeliggørelse på markedet af måleinstrumenter (Retsinformation)](https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2022/774)
- [Bekendtgørelse af lov om produkter og markedsovervågning, LBK nr. 22 af 8. januar 2026 (Retsinformation)](https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2026/22)
- [Legal måling og vejning (legal metrologi) (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen)](https://www.sik.dk/erhverv/produkter/maaling-og-vaegt-metrologi/vejledninger/legal-maaling-og-vejning-legal-metrologi)
- [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_