On 20 January 2027, Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 replaces the Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC). There is no transition period. From that date, machinery placed on the EU market must comply with the Regulation.
That raises a question we hear from manufacturers and equipment owners: does this apply to my machine? The answer depends less on when a machine was built and more on what is happening to it. Is it new? Already in service? Being relocated, modified or imported second-hand?
At IES, we've supported CE and UKCA compliance for high-technology equipment since 1991. This article sets out how the Regulation treats each scenario, and where the risks are easiest to miss.
● What matters is when a machine is placed on the market or put into service, not when it was designed or ordered.
● Machinery placed on the EU market before 20 January 2027 stays under the Directive and does not need automatic re-certification.
● Anyone who substantially modifies a machine can become its manufacturer, with full conformity obligations.
● Second-hand machinery imported into the EU from a third country is treated as new to the EU market.
● Existing equipment is still subject to workplace safety duties, such as PUWER in Great Britain.
Yes. Any new machine placed on the EU market or put into service from 20 January 2027 must meet the Regulation. That means:
● A Declaration of Conformity that references the Regulation, not the Directive
● An updated risk assessment and technical file
● Compliance with the new essential health and safety requirements, including protection of safety functions against corruption (cybersecurity) and the treatment of AI and self-evolving behaviour
● CE marking applied under the new rules
A common trap is the machine that is built and ordered now but not delivered until after the deadline. What counts is the moment the individual unit is first made available on the EU market. If that happens after 20 January 2027, a Directive-era declaration is no longer a valid basis.
Not retrospectively. Machinery legally placed on the market and put into service before 20 January 2027 does not need to be re-certified to the new Regulation.
Two caveats matter, though:
The Regulation now defines "substantial modification" (Article 3(16)) for the first time. In broad terms, it is a physical or digital change made after a machine has been placed on the market that introduces a new hazard or increases an existing risk beyond what the original protective measures covered.
If a change meets that test, whoever carried it out is treated as the manufacturer of the modified machine. They take on the conformity assessment, technical documentation, CE marking and liability that come with it.
For high-technology equipment, this can catch changes that don't feel like "manufacturing", such as:
● Retrofitting new control or vision systems
● Changing safety functions, interlocks or guarding
● Software or firmware changes that affect safety-related behaviour
● Upgrades that alter the machine's intended use or performance envelope
If you're planning upgrades to installed equipment, assess the change before the work starts, not after.
Moving a machine that is already in service between areas of your site, or between sites within the EU, is not in itself a new placing on the market. The original regime still applies.
But a relocation is where compliance problems tend to surface, because the machine is disconnected, moved and re-integrated. Watch for:
● Re-integration into a line. Linking machines together to form a production line can make the assembly a machine in its own right, with its own technical file.
● Changes made during the move. Re-routing utilities, replacing components, or altering safety systems during reinstallation can amount to a modification.
● Crossing into the EU. A machine moving from outside the EU into it, for example from the UK or the US, is generally treated as being placed on the EU market and must comply.
Because IES manages disassembly, packing, transport, reinstallation and commissioning under one roof, we can flag these issues at the planning stage rather than after the machine is on site.
This is the area that catches the most people out.
● Second-hand machinery imported from outside the EU counts as new to the EU market. A used machine shipped into the EU from 20 January 2027 must comply with the Regulation in full, however old it is.
● Second-hand machinery already on the EU market and resold within it is generally not treated as a new placing on the market.
● Importers now have explicit obligations, including keeping the Declaration of Conformity and technical documentation available to authorities for at least 10 years.
For semiconductor fabs and manufacturers buying legacy tools from overseas, this means a machine that was perfectly acceptable to import in 2026 may need a very different compliance package in 2027. It's worth building the conformity assessment into the purchase, not discovering the gap at customs.
The Regulation applies directly in the EU and, under the Windsor Framework, in Northern Ireland from 20 January 2027. In Great Britain, the UK Government has confirmed it will continue to recognise CE marking, and that machinery CE-marked to the new Regulation can still be placed on the GB market without separate UKCA certification.
Manufacturers supplying both GB and EU customers should treat this as a single compliance project, not two.
|
Scenario |
Broadly, which regime applies |
|
New machine placed on the EU market on or after 20 Jan 2027 |
Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 |
|
Machine placed on the market before 20 Jan 2027 |
Directive 2006/42/EC. No automatic re-certification |
|
Existing machine, substantially modified |
Modifier becomes manufacturer and must meet the Regulation |
|
Existing machine relocated within the EU |
Original regime, but check integration and any changes made |
|
Second-hand machine imported from outside the EU |
Treated as new to the market, so the Regulation applies |
|
Second-hand machine resold within the EU |
Generally the original regime |
This is a general guide, not legal advice. The right answer for your equipment depends on its history, its destination and what is being done to it.
Non-compliant machinery can't lawfully be placed on the EU market. In practice, that means shipments held at the border, equipment that can't be sold or commissioned, market surveillance action, and liability that sits with your business. Penalties are set by individual Member States.
The timing is what makes this urgent. Industry guidance suggests compliance programmes for complex machinery can take 12 to 24 months, and the deadline is fixed. Declarations of Conformity, technical files and risk assessments all need to be reviewed, and for many manufacturers that work needs to start now.
Not sure where your equipment sits? Our free guide walks you through what has changed, who is affected, and what your Declarations of Conformity, technical files and risk assessments need to cover before 20 January 2027.
[Download the free guide → Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230: A Practical Guide For Manufacturers.
Once you've downloaded it, our team will be in touch to offer a free 20-minute consultation to talk through what applies to your equipment and what to prioritise.
Book your free 20 minute consultation here.
With over 35 years of hands-on engineering experience, IES tests, documents and certifies complex equipment start to finish, with no need to coordinate multiple suppliers.