---
title: "We sell a machine or power tool"
description: "Machines and power tools fall under the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC until Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 applies on 20 January 2027. Household appliances, office and IT equipment covered by the Low Voltage Directive are excluded. Check the scope, the category list, the risk assessment against the essential requirements, the technical file, the declaration and the CE marking, and plan the switch to the regulation."
type: "problem"
url: "https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/machinery-or-tool/"
markdown: "https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/machinery-or-tool.md"
locale: "en"
language: "en"
updated: "2026-10-04"
author: "Conphora compliance team"
publisher: "Conphora"
source: "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02006L0042-20190726"
tags: ["LVD", "EMC", "placing-on-market"]
license: "Free to quote with attribution and a link to the page"
---

# We sell a machine or power tool

Machines and power tools fall under the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC until Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 applies on 20 January 2027. Household appliances, office and IT equipment covered by the Low Voltage Directive are excluded. Check the scope, the category list, the risk assessment against the essential requirements, the technical file, the declaration and the CE marking, and plan the switch to the regulation.

## Why this happens

Two machinery acts matter right now. Directive 2006/42/EC applies to machinery, interchangeable equipment, safety components, lifting accessories, chains, ropes and webbing, removable mechanical transmission devices and partly completed machinery (Article 1(1)). Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 covers the same products (Article 2(1)), applies from 20 January 2027 and repeals the directive with effect from that date (Articles 51(2) and 54; the published text said 14 January 2027 until a corrigendum of 4 July 2023 corrected the dates). Until then, the directive is the act you declare against. The registry has no code for either act, so this page tags the Low Voltage and EMC Directives that sit at their edges. [1] [2]

The boundary with the Low Voltage Directive decides many cases. The directive excludes household appliances intended for domestic use, audio and video equipment, information technology equipment, ordinary office machinery, low-voltage switchgear and control gear and electric motors, insofar as they are covered by the low-voltage rules (Directive 2006/42/EC Article 1(2)(k)). The regulation repeats that list for products within the Low Voltage or Radio Equipment Directive, but keeps electrically operated furniture and additive printing machinery for three-dimensional products inside the machinery rules (Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 Article 2(2)(p)). The Low Voltage Directive itself covers equipment rated between 50 and 1 000 V AC or 75 and 1 500 V DC (Directive 2014/35/EU Article 1). [1] [2] [3]

Under the directive, the manufacturer or its authorised representative ensures before placing machinery on the market that it meets the essential health and safety requirements of Annex I, that the technical file is available, that the necessary information such as instructions is provided, that the conformity assessment of Article 12 is carried out, that the EC declaration of conformity accompanies the machine, and that the CE marking is affixed (Article 5(1)). Machinery not listed in Annex IV uses internal checks on manufacture (Article 12(2)). Where other directives that provide for the CE marking also apply, the marking indicates conformity with them too (Article 5(4)). [1]

The regulation changes the structure. Categories in Annex I Part A always go through a notified body, categories in Part B may use internal production control only with harmonised standards or common specifications covering all relevant requirements, and everything else uses internal production control (Article 25(2)–(4)). Manufacturers keep the technical documentation and declaration for at least 10 years and, on a reasoned request, make source code or programming logic available where needed to check compliance (Article 10(3)). The declaration follows the Annex V model, is translated into the required languages and is a single declaration where several acts apply (Article 21). [2]

The switch has a clear cut-off. Member States may not impede the making available of products placed on the market in conformity with the directive before 20 January 2027, and EC type-examination certificates issued under the directive remain valid until they expire (Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 Article 52). References to the directive in other acts are read as references to the regulation from then (Article 51(2)). Penalties under the regulation may include criminal penalties for serious infringements; that article applies from 20 October 2026 (Articles 50(1) and 54). [2]

## How to solve it

1. **Decide whether it is machinery or an electrical appliance** Machinery is an assembly with a drive system other than direct human or animal effort and at least one moving part, joined for a specific application. Household appliances for domestic use, audio, video and IT equipment, ordinary office machinery and electric motors covered by the Low Voltage Directive are outside the machinery rules and follow that directive instead.
2. **Check the category lists** Under the directive, machinery listed in Annex IV has stricter procedures. Under the regulation, categories in Annex I Part A always need a notified body, and categories in Part B may use internal production control only if harmonised standards or common specifications covering all relevant requirements were applied.
3. **Assess the risks and compile the technical file** Check the machine against the essential health and safety requirements, compile the technical file, and write the instructions. Under the regulation the file may have to include source code or programming logic on a reasoned request from the authorities.
4. **Complete the procedure, the declaration and the CE marking** Carry out the conformity assessment, draw up the declaration of conformity that accompanies the machinery, and affix the CE marking. Where other directives such as EMC also apply, one CE marking indicates conformity with all of them, and the regulation requires a single declaration naming every act.
5. **Plan the move to the Machinery Regulation** From 20 January 2027 new products follow Regulation (EU) 2023/1230: new category lists, a declaration on the Annex V model, translated into the languages of the Member State. Products placed on the market in conformity with the directive before that date may still be made available, and existing EC type-examination certificates stay valid until they expire.

## What you need to show

- **The technical file and the risk assessment against the essential health and safety requirements** — The manufacturer (Directive 2006/42/EC Article 5(1)(a)–(b); Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 Article 10(1)–(2))
- **The declaration of conformity, accompanying the machinery** — The manufacturer or its authorised representative (Directive 2006/42/EC Article 5(1)(e); Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 Article 21)
- **Instructions for use** — The manufacturer (Directive 2006/42/EC Article 5(1)(c))

## If you do nothing

- **National penalties, possibly criminal** — Member States lay down effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for infringements of the Machinery Regulation, which may include criminal penalties for serious infringements (Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 Article 50(1), applicable from 20 October 2026 under Article 54 as corrected).
- **Self-certification is not always available** — For categories in Annex I Part B, internal production control requires harmonised standards or common specifications covering all relevant requirements; otherwise a notified body procedure applies, and Part A categories always need one (Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 Article 25(2) and (3)).
- **Stock certified under the directive after 2027** — Only products placed on the market in conformity with Directive 2006/42/EC before 20 January 2027 are covered by the transitional rule; the directive is repealed from that date, and anything placed on the market from then must meet the regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 Articles 51(2), 52(1) and 54).

## Questions

### Is a kitchen mixer machinery?

Household appliances intended for domestic use are excluded from the Machinery Directive insofar as they are covered by the Low Voltage Directive (Directive 2006/42/EC Article 1(2)(k)). The Machinery Regulation keeps that exclusion, except for electrically operated furniture (Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 Article 2(2)(p)).

### When does the Machinery Regulation apply?

From 20 January 2027, when Directive 2006/42/EC is repealed. Some provisions apply earlier: the notified body rules from 20 January 2024 and the penalty rules from 20 October 2026 (Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 Articles 51(2) and 54). The published text said 14 January 2027; a corrigendum of 4 July 2023 corrected the dates.

### Can we keep selling directive-certified stock after 20 January 2027?

Member States may not impede the making available of products placed on the market in conformity with Directive 2006/42/EC before 20 January 2027, and EC type-examination certificates stay valid until they expire (Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 Article 52).

### Does the regulation cover software?

Yes. An assembly missing only the software for its specific application counts as machinery (Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 Article 3(1)(f)), and a substantial modification can be made by physical or digital means (Article 3(16)).

### Does the EMC Directive also apply to our power tool?

The EMC Directive applies to equipment as defined in its Article 3 and does not affect Union or national legislation on the safety of equipment (Directive 2014/30/EU Article 2(1) and (4)). Where machinery is subject to other directives that provide for CE marking, the marking indicates conformity with those too (Directive 2006/42/EC Article 5(4)).

## Regulations involved

LVD, EMC

## Sources

1. [Directive 2006/42/EC on machinery (consolidated text of 26 July 2019)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02006L0042-20190726) — EUR-Lex, 2026-10-04
2. [Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on machinery (consolidated text of 27 July 2026, including the corrigendum of 4 July 2023)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02023R1230-20260727) — EUR-Lex, 2026-10-04
3. [Directive 2014/35/EU on electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02014L0035-20260530) — EUR-Lex, 2026-10-04
4. [Directive 2014/30/EU on electromagnetic compatibility (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02014L0030-20260530) — EUR-Lex, 2026-10-04