PED in plain terms
The Pressure Equipment Directive (PED), formally Directive 2014/68/EU, is the EU’s law for equipment that holds fluids under pressure. It applies to the design, manufacture and conformity assessment of pressure equipment and assemblies with a maximum allowable pressure PS greater than 0,5 bar (Art. 1(1)). Pressure equipment means vessels, piping, safety accessories and pressure accessories, including elements attached to pressurised parts such as flanges, nozzles, couplings, supports and lifting lugs; an assembly is several pieces of pressure equipment assembled by a manufacturer into an integrated and functional whole (Art. 2, points (1) to (6)). Pressure is gauge pressure, so vacuum is a negative value, PS is the maximum pressure the manufacturer designs the equipment for, TS the maximum or minimum allowable temperature, V the internal volume of a chamber and DN the nominal size of piping (Art. 2, points (7) to (11)). Equipment that meets the directive circulates freely: Member States may not prohibit, restrict or impede its making available or putting into service on grounds of pressure risks (Art. 5).
The 2014 text is a recast of Directive 97/23/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 (recitals 1 to 3). It entered into force on 17 July 2014, Article 13 on classification had to be transposed by 28 February 2015 and applied from 1 June 2015, and the rest had to be transposed by 18 July 2016 and applies from 19 July 2016, when Directive 97/23/EC was repealed (Art. 49 to Art. 51). Directive (EU) 2024/2749 added Chapter 5a on emergency procedures, in force since 28 November 2024 and applied by the Member States from 30 May 2026 (Directive (EU) 2024/2749, Art. 10 to Art. 12). Of the eight corrigenda recorded on EUR-Lex, only the one of 23 June 2015 concerns the English text; it corrected Article 14(7) and Article 48(2) and is folded into the consolidated version.
Official text Read the directive on EUR-Lex: consolidated text of 30 May 2026 (CELEX 02014L0068-20260530), which incorporates Directive (EU) 2024/2749 and the 2015 corrigendum; the original act (CELEX 32014L0068) and the document information page list the amendment, the corrigenda and the repeal of Directive 97/23/EC.
Scope
The directive’s requirements follow the pressure hazard, not the type of product. Everything above 0,5 bar is within the directive unless Article 1(2) excludes it, and it excludes twenty-one groups: pipelines from the last isolation device of an installation, though not standard equipment in pressure reduction or compression stations; water supply, distribution and discharge networks and penstocks; simple pressure vessels under Directive 2014/29/EU; aerosol dispensers under Directive 75/324/EEC; equipment for the functioning of vehicles under Directive 2007/46/EC and Regulations (EU) No 167/2013 and 168/2013; equipment no higher than category I covered by the machinery, lifts, low voltage, medical devices, gas appliances or ATEX directives; military equipment under Article 346(1)(b) TFEU; items designed for nuclear use whose failure may emit radioactivity; well-control equipment; engines, turbines, compressors, pumps and actuating devices where pressure is not a significant design factor; blast furnaces and metallurgical vessels; enclosures for high-voltage switchgear and machines; pressurised cable-containment pipes; ships, rockets, aircraft and mobile offshore units and their equipment; flexible casings such as tyres, air cushions, balls and inflatable craft; exhaust and inlet silencers; bottles and cans for carbonated drinks; drink transport and distribution vessels up to 500 bar·L and 7 bar; equipment under Directives 2008/68/EC and 2010/35/EU, the IMDG Code and the Chicago Convention; radiators and pipes in warm water heating systems; and vessels for liquids with a gas pressure above the liquid of not more than 0,5 bar (Art. 1(2)(a) to (u)). Where those exclusions cite Directive 2007/46/EC, Council Directive 93/42/EEC and Directive 2009/142/EC, the acts have since been replaced by Regulation (EU) 2018/858, Regulation (EU) 2017/745 and Regulation (EU) 2016/426, and Directive 2006/42/EC gives way to Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 from 20 January 2027.
Within the directive, Article 4 draws a second line. Vessels, fired or heated equipment, piping and their safety and pressure accessories above the limits of Article 4(1), and the assemblies of Article 4(2), must satisfy the Annex I essential safety requirements. The limits combine PS with V or DN and depend on the fluid state and group: for a gas, liquefied gas, dissolved gas, vapour or liquid whose vapour pressure at TS exceeds 0,5 bar above atmospheric, a vessel is caught at more than 1 L and PS·V above 25 bar·L (Group 1) or 50 bar·L (Group 2), or at PS above 200 bar or 1 000 bar; for other liquids at more than 1 L and PS·V above 200 bar·L or PS above 500 bar (Group 1), or at PS above 10 bar and PS·V above 10 000 bar·L or PS above 1 000 bar (Group 2); all portable extinguishers and bottles for breathing apparatus are caught; fired or heated equipment with a risk of overheating for steam or superheated water above 110 °C is caught above 2 L, and all pressure cookers are caught; piping for gases is caught at DN above 25 (Group 1) or DN above 32 and PS·DN above 1 000 bar (Group 2), and for other liquids at DN above 25 and PS·DN above 2 000 bar (Group 1) or PS above 10 bar, DN above 200 and PS·DN above 5 000 bar (Group 2) (Art. 4(1)). Assemblies for generating steam or superheated water above 110 °C with fired or heated equipment, and any other assembly the manufacturer intends to place on the market and put into service as an assembly, are caught if they contain at least one such item; manually fed solid-fuel warm-water assemblies up to 110 °C above 50 bar·L meet only Annex I points 2.10, 2.11, 3.4, 5(a) and 5(d) (Art. 4(2)). Equipment and assemblies at or below the limits are designed and manufactured to the sound engineering practice of a Member State, are accompanied by adequate instructions for use and must not bear the CE marking under the directive (Art. 4(3)); the Commission may, for very serious safety reasons, adopt a delegated act bringing such equipment under the full requirements or reclassifying equipment (Art. 45).
Member States may authorise user inspectorates that assess equipment for the industrial group they belong to under modules A2, C2, F and G; such equipment bears no CE marking and is used only in the group’s establishments, which apply a common safety policy (Art. 16). Competent authorities may also allow individual items and assemblies for experimentation without the conformity assessment procedures (Art. 14(7)). Equipment conforming to Directive 97/23/EC and placed on the market before 19 July 2016 may still be made available and put into service, and certificates and decisions issued under the old directive remain valid (Art. 48(2) and (3)).
The duties fall on the economic operators: manufacturer, authorised representative, importer and distributor (Art. 2, point (22)). A manufacturer is whoever manufactures pressure equipment or an assembly or has it designed or manufactured and markets it under his own name or trademark or uses it for his own purposes (Art. 2, point (18)), 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). In Denmark, executive order nr. 190 of 19 February 2015 makes the directive Danish law by reproducing it as annex 1 and binds manufacturers, their representatives, importers, distributors, notified bodies and recognised third-party organisations (executive order nr. 190/2015, § 1 to § 4).
What you must do
Classification into categories I to IV
Pressure equipment above the Article 4(1) limits is classified by category in ascending level of hazard under Annex II. Fluids are divided into two groups: Group 1 consists of substances and mixtures classified as hazardous under seventeen physical or health hazard classes of Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, unstable explosives and explosives of divisions 1.1 to 1.5, flammable gases of categories 1 and 2, oxidising gases of category 1, flammable liquids of categories 1 and 2 and of category 3 where TS is above the flashpoint, flammable solids of categories 1 and 2, self-reactive substances of types A to F, pyrophoric liquids and solids of category 1, substances emitting flammable gases in contact with water of categories 1 to 3, oxidising liquids and solids of categories 1 to 3, organic peroxides of types A to F, acute oral and dermal toxicity of categories 1 and 2, acute inhalation toxicity of categories 1 to 3 and specific target organ toxicity after single exposure of category 1, plus any fluid whose maximum allowable temperature exceeds its flashpoint; Group 2 is everything else (Art. 13(1)). A vessel with several chambers takes the highest category of its chambers, and a chamber with several fluids the fluid requiring the highest category (Art. 13(2)).
Annex II holds nine tables, one for each case in Article 4(1): tables 1 to 4 for vessels by PS and V, table 5 for fired or heated equipment, tables 6 to 9 for piping by PS and DN, with the demarcation lines marking the upper limit of each category. Safety accessories are classified in category IV, except that those manufactured for specific equipment may take the category of the equipment they protect; pressure accessories are classified by PS, by V or DN as appropriate and by fluid group using the vessel or piping tables, taking the highest category where both V and DN are appropriate. Vessels and piping for unstable gases that would fall in categories I or II are classified in category III, portable extinguishers and bottles for breathing equipment at least in category III, piping above 350 °C that would fall in category II under table 7 in category III, and the design of pressure cookers needs a procedure equivalent to at least a category III module (Annex II, points 1 to 4 and the notes to tables 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7).
Essential safety requirements
Equipment above the limits must meet the Annex I essential safety requirements, which apply where the corresponding hazard exists under reasonably foreseeable conditions and are read in the light of the state of the art; the manufacturer must analyse the hazards and risks due to pressure and design and construct to that analysis (Annex I, preliminary observations). The general requirements ask for safe design, manufacture, checking, equipping and installation and for the order of eliminating hazards, protecting against the remainder and informing users (point 1). The design requirements cover adequate strength for all reasonably foreseeable loads, using calculation, experimental methods or both with the allowable stresses and safety factors of point 7, safe handling and operation, means of examination, draining, venting, filling and discharge, protection against corrosion, wear and exceeding the allowable limits with safety accessories or monitoring devices, the design of safety accessories, and external fire (point 2). The manufacturing requirements cover the preparation of parts, permanent joining by qualified personnel and procedures, approved for categories II, III and IV by a notified body or a third-party organisation recognised under Article 20, non-destructive testing by qualified personnel, approved for categories III and IV by a recognised third-party organisation, heat treatment, material traceability, and the final assessment with a final inspection, a proof test, normally a hydrostatic test at the point 7.4 pressure, which may be statistical for category I series production, and for assemblies a check of the safety devices (point 3). Materials must be suitable, ductile and tough, chemically resistant and ageing-resistant, documented through harmonised standards, a European approval for materials or a particular material appraisal, which the notified body assesses specifically for categories III and IV, with the material manufacturer’s documentation for all materials and a certificate of specific product control for the main pressure-bearing parts in categories II to IV (point 4). Points 5 and 6 add requirements for fired equipment and piping, and point 7 the quantitative rules on allowable stresses, joint coefficients, pressure limiting devices, hydrostatic test pressure and material characteristics.
Harmonised standards and European approvals for materials
Equipment conforming to harmonised standards, or parts of them, whose references are published in the Official Journal is presumed to conform to the essential safety requirements those standards cover, and materials conforming to European approvals for materials whose references are published are presumed to comply (Art. 12). European approvals for materials are issued by specifically designated notified bodies after notifying the Member States and the Commission, which publishes and keeps a list of the references (Art. 15). The Commission publishes the standards list by implementing decision, currently Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/165 of 30 January 2025, which gathers the whole list in a single act, as amended by Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/79 of 12 January 2026 for seamless steel tubes, butt-welding pipe fittings, copper and copper alloys, unfired pressure vessels, flanges and their joints, industrial valves and safety devices against excessive pressure, and hosts the PED guidelines of the Working Group Pressure, which are not legally binding but promote a consistent application (European Commission, harmonised standards and Pressure Equipment Directive pages). During an activated internal market emergency mode the Commission may list other standards or adopt common specifications giving a presumption of conformity for crisis-relevant pressure equipment until the emergency mode ends (Art. 43d).
Conformity assessment by category
The conformity assessment procedure is set by the category (Art. 14(1)). Category I uses module A, internal production control. Category II uses module A2, internal production control plus supervised pressure equipment checks at random intervals, module D1, quality assurance of the production process, or module E1, quality assurance of final inspection and testing. Category III uses EU-type examination of the design type (module B) with module D or module F, EU-type examination of the production type (module B) with module E or module C2, or module H, full quality assurance. Category IV uses EU-type examination of the production type with module D or module F, module G, unit verification, or module H1, full quality assurance plus design examination (Art. 14(2) and Annex III, points 1 to 12). The manufacturer chooses among the procedures for the category and may apply a procedure of a higher category (Art. 14(3)). Under the quality assurance modules for category III and IV vessels for gases and vapours, vessels for Group 1 liquids and fired equipment, the notified body takes samples on unexpected visits for the final assessment, at least two visits in the first year, and under module H for one-off category III fired equipment it performs the final assessment of each unit (Art. 14(4) and (5)). EU-type examination certificates are valid for 10 years and renewable, and the manufacturer keeps the certificate with the technical documentation for 10 years (Annex III, points 3.1 and 3.2). Records and correspondence are drafted in an official language of the Member State where the body is established or in a language it accepts (Art. 14(8)).
Assemblies undergo a global conformity assessment: each item of pressure equipment not previously assessed and CE marked is assessed by its own category, the integration of the components under Annex I points 2.3, 2.8 and 2.9 by the highest category of the equipment other than safety accessories, and the protection against exceeding the operating limits under points 2.10 and 3.2.3 by the highest category of the items protected (Art. 14(6)). Member States notify the notified bodies, user inspectorates and recognised third-party organisations and designate a notifying authority, which may have the assessment and monitoring carried out by the national accreditation body (Art. 20 and Art. 21); the Commission assigns identification numbers and publishes the list (Art. 30). In Denmark the bodies must be legal persons established in Denmark, accredited by DANAK for the task and meeting Articles 24, 25, 27, 34 to 36 and 38; they are designated by Erhvervsstyrelsen, before 30 May 2026 by the director of Arbejdstilsynet, and complaints about their decisions go to the authority within 4 weeks (executive order nr. 190/2015, § 6 and § 8; executive order nr. 493/2026, § 1, nr. 3 and nr. 4).
Declaration, CE marking, marking and instructions
The EU declaration of conformity states that fulfilment of the Annex I essential safety requirements has been demonstrated, follows the Annex IV model, contains the elements of the modules used, is continuously updated, is translated into the languages required by the Member State where the equipment is placed or made available and, where several Union acts apply, is a single declaration covering them all; by drawing it up the manufacturer assumes responsibility (Art. 17). The CE marking follows the general principles of Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 and is affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly to each item of pressure equipment or assembly or its dataplate, or to the packaging and documents where that is impossible, before placing on the market; it need not be affixed to each item of an assembly, items already marked keep their marking, and it is followed by the identification number of the notified body where the body is involved in production control, affixed by the body or under its instructions (Art. 18 and Art. 19). Equipment authorised under the emergency derogation bears no CE marking (Art. 43c(7)).
Beyond the CE marking, the equipment or a firmly attached dataplate carries the year of manufacture, the identification by type, series or batch and serial number and the essential maximum and minimum allowable limits, and where relevant V in L, DN, the test pressure PT and its date, the safety device set pressure, the output in kW, the supply voltage, the intended use, the filling ratio, the maximum filling mass, the tare mass and the fluid group, plus warnings against misuse; documentation may replace repetitive marking of piping components, and labels may be used for small equipment (Annex I, point 3.3). The equipment is accompanied by operating instructions covering mounting and assembly, putting into service, use and maintenance including user checks, repeating the marking information and explaining residual hazards (Annex I, point 3.4), in a language the Member State determines (Art. 6(7)). In Denmark the declaration, the marking and the instructions must be in Danish (executive order nr. 190/2015, § 5).
Obligations by role
Manufacturers design and manufacture equipment above the limits to Annex I and below-threshold equipment to sound engineering practice, draw up the technical documentation and carry out the conformity assessment, draw up the declaration and affix the CE marking, keep the documentation and declaration for 10 years, keep series production in conformity, sample-test and keep a complaints register where the risks warrant it, apply the identification and their name and address, supply instructions in the required language, take corrective action, 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 the authorities, and cannot take over the design or documentation duties (Art. 7). Importers place only compliant equipment on the market, verify the manufacturer’s assessment, documentation, CE marking, instructions and identification, add their own name and address, ensure the instructions, protect the equipment in storage and transport, sample-test where warranted, take corrective action and keep the declaration for 10 years (Art. 8). Distributors verify the CE marking, documents, instructions and identification 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). 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 item of pressure equipment or assembly placed on the market (Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Art. 4).
Emergency procedures since 2026
Directive (EU) 2024/2749 inserted Chapter 5a. Its measures apply only if the Commission has adopted an implementing act under Article 28 of Regulation (EU) 2024/2747 for pressure equipment, only to equipment designated as crisis-relevant goods and only during an activated internal market emergency mode (Art. 43a). Notified bodies then process applications for such equipment as a matter of priority without disproportionate extra cost and make reasonable efforts to increase testing capacity (Art. 43b). A Member State may, on a justified request, authorise the placing on the market or own use of specific equipment for which the notified-body procedures have not been carried out but compliance with Annex I has been demonstrated as the authorisation prescribes; the Commission may extend the authorisation to the whole Union, the equipment must then be identified as a crisis-relevant good, the manufacturer declares compliance on his sole responsibility, the authorisation sets traceability, an end date not beyond the emergency mode and the measures to take when it ends, and the equipment bears no CE marking (Art. 43c). The Commission may list standards or adopt common specifications giving a presumption of conformity for the duration of the emergency mode, and equipment placed on the market under them stays deemed compliant afterwards unless there is reason to believe it presents a risk (Art. 43d); market surveillance for the listed equipment is prioritised with mutual assistance between authorities (Art. 43e). In Denmark Erhvervsstyrelsen issues the authorisations, informs the Commission and the other Member States, and the information and labelling must be in Danish or English (executive order nr. 493/2026, § 1, nr. 5).
Enforcement and penalties
Article 39 applies Article 15(3) and Articles 16 to 29 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 to all equipment covered by Article 1; those articles were deleted by Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 from 16 July 2021, which lists the directive as point 57 of its Annex I, so the reference is read as that regulation. Where an authority has sufficient reason to believe that equipment presents a risk to the health or safety of persons, domestic animals or property, it evaluates the equipment, 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 equipment and informs the Commission and the other Member States (Art. 40). The Commission decides disputed national measures through the Union safeguard procedure (Art. 41), compliant equipment that still presents a risk can be treated the same way (Art. 42), and formal non-compliance, a CE marking affixed wrongly or not at all, a missing or wrongly affixed notified body number, missing Annex I point 3.3 marking, a missing or incorrect declaration, missing documentation, missing identification or any other unmet administrative requirement of Articles 6 and 8, must be ended and otherwise leads to restriction, prohibition, withdrawal or recall (Art. 43).
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. 47). In Denmark, executive order nr. 190 of 19 February 2015 implements the directive and punishes with a fine, unless a higher penalty is due under the act on the construction of certain products (lov nr. 155 of 20 February 2013) or other legislation — a subsidiarity clause the 2026 amending order left untouched, although the order itself now rests on the product act — breaches of its § 4 and § 5 and of the directive in its annex 1 and failure to comply with orders and prohibitions, with corporate liability under the criminal code (executive order nr. 190/2015, § 9); from 30 May 2026 the order rests on the product act and the fine also covers the language requirement for crisis-relevant labelling (executive order nr. 493/2026, § 1, nr. 2 and nr. 6). The product act (lov om produkter og markedsovervågning) lists the directive in section 2 as product area nr. 5, names Erhvervsstyrelsen as the control authority and provides orders to warn users, stop misleading marketing, remedy, stop sales, withdraw, recall or destroy, prohibitions, orders to stop sales and remove a wrongly affixed CE marking, and fines that rise to imprisonment of up to 2 years in aggravating circumstances (LBK nr. 22/2026, § 2, § 9, § 14, § 15 and § 37). Sikkerhedsstyrelsen has carried out the control of pressure equipment and simple pressure vessels since 1 December 2018 and is since January 2026 the department Markedsovervågning of Erhvervsstyrelsen, while the control authority’s own guidance states that Arbejdstilsynet remains the market surveillance authority for pressure equipment made to order and for equipment imported from third countries for offshore oil and gas activities under the offshore safety act. That split works through section 9(2) of the product act, under which the authority that supervises other legislation on specific risks for particular products is the relevant control authority; since amending order nr. 493/2026 replaced every mention of Arbejdstilsynet in the pressure equipment order, no executive order names it for pressure equipment (LBK nr. 22/2026, § 9, stk. 1 and stk. 2; executive order nr. 493/2026, § 1, nr. 3; Sikkerhedsstyrelsen, rules and control pages; Erhvervsstyrelsen, Sikkerhedsstyrelsen page).
How Conphora helps
Conphora monitors the Pressure Equipment Directive, its harmonised standards, the PED guidelines and the Danish executive orders, and maps your equipment against the Article 1 exclusions, the Article 4 thresholds, the fluid groups, the Annex II categories and the module routes, flagging gaps in the technical documentation, the EU declaration of conformity, the CE marking and notified body number, the Annex I marking and the instructions before they become enforcement problems. The platform helps you build and keep the documentation and the 10-year records, combines the PED declaration with the machinery, ATEX, EMC, Low Voltage and other declarations the same product needs, and alerts you when a standard, a Danish executive order, an emergency-mode activation or the enforcement setup changes.
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Sources
- Directive 2014/68/EU on pressure equipment, consolidated text of 30 May 2026 (EUR-Lex)
- Directive 2014/68/EU on pressure equipment as published in OJ L 189, 27 June 2014 (EUR-Lex)
- Document information, dates, corrigenda and relationships for CELEX 32014L0068 (EUR-Lex)
- Directive (EU) 2024/2749 on emergency procedures for conformity assessment, presumption of conformity, common specifications and market surveillance during an internal market emergency (EUR-Lex)
- Directive 97/23/EC on pressure equipment, repealed from 19 July 2016 (EUR-Lex)
- Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products (EUR-Lex)
- Pressure Equipment Directive, with the PED guidelines of the Working Group Pressure (European Commission, DG GROW)
- Harmonised standards for pressure equipment under Directive 2014/68/EU (European Commission, DG GROW)
- Bekendtgørelse nr. 190 af 19. februar 2015 om indretning m.v. af trykbærende udstyr (Retsinformation)
- Bekendtgørelse nr. 480 af 25. maj 2016 om ændring af bekendtgørelse om indretning m.v. af trykbærende udstyr (Retsinformation)
- Bekendtgørelse nr. 493 af 28. maj 2026 om ændring af bekendtgørelse om indretning m.v. af trykbærende udstyr (Retsinformation)
- Bekendtgørelse af lov om produkter og markedsovervågning, LBK nr. 22 af 8. januar 2026 (Retsinformation)
- Regler for trykbærende udstyr og simple trykbeholdere (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen, Erhvervsstyrelsen Markedsovervågning)
- Kontrol med trykbærende udstyr og simple trykbeholdere (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen, Erhvervsstyrelsen Markedsovervågning)
- Sikkerhedsstyrelsen, en del af Erhvervsstyrelsen from January 2026 (Erhvervsstyrelsen)
This guide is for general information and is not legal advice.