REFERENCE / Scope
Machinery scope and product definitions
Classify the product and check exclusions before applying a checklist or selecting a conformity-assessment procedure.
The Directive remains the current framework before 20 January 2027. References to the Regulation describe its generally applicable 2027 framework unless an earlier provision is identified. This is independent educational information.
Classification is the first engineering question
The Regulation distinguishes machinery, related products and partly completed machinery. Machinery generally involves an assembly of linked parts, at least one moving, joined for a specific application. The full definition includes additional cases, including certain lifting assemblies powered by directly applied human effort.
Related products include interchangeable equipment, safety components, lifting accessories, chains, ropes and webbing, and removable mechanical transmission devices. Read the legal definitions rather than treating every purchased item as a complete machine.
Partly completed is a specific legal category
An assembly is not partly completed machinery merely because an installer still needs to connect it or attach it to a floor. Under Article 3, partly completed machinery cannot in itself perform a specific application and is intended for incorporation or assembly into machinery.
The resulting distinction affects documentation. The Regulation uses a declaration of incorporation and assembly instructions for partly completed machinery. The complete-machine conformity pathway cannot simply be replaced by those documents when the product is actually complete.
Exclusions and overlapping legislation
Article 2 contains exclusions for particular products and uses. Scope can depend on the purpose, design and legal category. A machine located in a factory is not automatically in scope solely because of its location. Equally, a product can be machinery even if its marketing name does not use that word.
Article 9 addresses risks covered by more specific Union harmonisation legislation. This requires a risk-by-risk legal review. Other requirements, such as electromagnetic compatibility, can coexist with machinery requirements rather than replacing them wholesale.
Record the classification decision
Use a short scope record containing the product description, intended application, interfaces, supplied configuration and relevant definitions. State which exclusion or overlap was considered and why it applies or does not apply.
For assemblies, identify who integrates the equipment and controls the final safety design. Component documents are inputs to that assessment. A scope record is useful project evidence, but it does not itself establish conformity.
Sources & related reading
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, consolidated 27 July 2026: Articles 2, 3 and 9.
- Directive 2006/42/EC, consolidated text: current framework.
- European Commission machinery legislation and guidance.
Continue with eu machinery law: the working framework, machinery regulation: the 2027 transition, machinery risk assessment: from hazard to evidence.
Machine-specific interpretation and verification need competent assessment. This publication does not give legal advice or guarantee compliance.