Artifact GuideEU

EU Low Voltage Directive Annex II exclusions

Directive 2014/35/EU applies to electrical equipment within the LVD voltage bands, except equipment and phenomena listed in Annex II.

Use this page to document whether an apparent exclusion is one of the listed Annex II categories, or whether the product still needs an LVD safety assessment.

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Author

Sorena AI

Published

May 9, 2026

Updated

May 9, 2026

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Structured answer sets in this page tree.

Primary sources

Cited legal and guidance references.

Publication metadata

Sorena AI

Published May 9, 2026

Updated May 9, 2026

Overview

Annex II is a scope boundary, not a general exemption for low-risk electrical products. The Commission LVD Guide treats the Annex II list as exhaustive for equipment explicitly excluded from Directive 2014/35/EU, so the record should name the exact listed category and the facts that make the product fit it.

Section 1

What Annex II excludes from the LVD

Directive 2014/35/EU covers electrical equipment designed for use between 50 and 1000 V AC or between 75 and 1500 V DC, except the equipment and phenomena listed in Annex II. A product outside those voltage bands is not an Annex II case; it is outside the LVD voltage scope for a different reason.

For equipment within the voltage bands, Annex II lists specific exclusions. Treat the list as closed: if the product does not fit one of the named categories or the guide's explained boundary cases, do not describe it as excluded merely because another product law may also apply.

Electrical equipment for use in an explosive atmosphere.
Electrical equipment for radiology and medical purposes.
Electrical parts for goods and passenger lifts.
Electricity meters.
Plugs and socket outlets for domestic use.
Electric fence controllers.
Radio-electrical interference as a phenomenon, while electrical safety for the equipment itself can still remain an LVD question.
Specialised electrical equipment for ships, aircraft, or railways where it complies with safety provisions drawn up by international bodies in which Member States participate.
Custom-built evaluation kits for professionals, used solely at research and development facilities for that purpose.

Sources for this answer

Directive 2014/35/EU on electrical equipment within certain voltage limits

Article 1 and Annex II support the voltage-scope rule and the listed exclusions.

European Commission - Low Voltage Directive guidelines

The LVD Guide explains that Annex II is exhaustive for explicitly excluded electrical equipment and adds boundary guidance for several categories.

Section 2

Practical boundaries that often decide the answer

Domestic plugs and socket outlets are excluded because Europe does not have a harmonised household plug system, but the guide draws a line around that exclusion. Special plugs and socket outlets, including appliance couplers and industrial-purpose couplers, are not excluded on that basis.

The guide also gives a country-system example for socket outlets with switches. A switched socket outlet that is a complete assembly used only as part of a national plug and socket outlet system can be outside the LVD and should not be CE marked under the LVD. By contrast, a socket outlet assembly and a separate switch assembly supplied as a common assembly can need CE marking.

Do not extend the domestic plug exclusion to appliance couplers, industrial couplers, proprietary equipment connectors, cables, or other components unless the guide's category actually fits.
For explosive-atmosphere equipment, document whether the equipment is itself for use in the explosive atmosphere or is an outside safety, control, or regulating device that contributes to safe functioning; the guide says the latter can require both ATEX and LVD.
For lifts, record whether the item is an electrical part for goods or passenger lifts covered by the lifts regime rather than LVD as such.
For ships, aircraft, and railways, record the specialised-use facts and the international or EU safety regime that covers the equipment.
For radio-electrical interference, keep the EMC file separate from the LVD safety file; the guide ties the phenomenon to Directive 2014/30/EU while safety aspects can still fall under LVD.

Sources for this answer

European Commission - Low Voltage Directive guidelines

Guide sections on Annex II, domestic plugs and socket outlets, switched socket outlets, ATEX, lifts, transport equipment, and radio-electrical interference support the boundary examples.

Directive 2014/30/EU on electromagnetic compatibility

Supports treating radio-electrical interference as an EMC matter rather than an LVD safety exclusion for the product as a whole.

Recommended next step

Check whether the exclusion really fits

Use the Annex II category, product facts, voltage rating, intended use, and any linked product-law regime to build a reviewable LVD scope record.

Research workflow

Open Research Copilot

Check LVD scope and adjacent EU product-law questions with cited outputs.

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Talk through implementation

Review your Annex II conclusion, evidence record, and product-law overlap.

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Section 3

Custom-built evaluation kit test

The custom-built evaluation-kit exclusion is narrow. The LVD Guide says all elements must be met: the kit must be built for a specific customer or a specific customer group in a joint research and development project, have unique design characteristics tied to that project, be destined for professionals, and be used solely at research and development facilities.

If the same evaluation equipment is provided on a regular basis, sold for users in general in R&D departments, or used as ordinary laboratory equipment to perform tests, the guide says it does not benefit from the custom-built evaluation-kit exemption.

Keep the customer request or joint R&D project description that explains why the kit is custom-built.
Record the unique characteristics that make the kit suitable only for that R&D project.
Limit the use statement to professional users at public or private R&D facilities.
Reassess if the kit becomes a catalogue item, is supplied repeatedly, or is used outside the specific R&D purpose.

Sources for this answer

European Commission - Low Voltage Directive guidelines

Guide section 58 explains the elements of the custom-built evaluation kit exemption and examples that do not qualify.

Directive 2014/35/EU on electrical equipment within certain voltage limits

Annex II provides the legal text for the custom-built evaluation kit exclusion.

Section 4

Records to keep for an Annex II exclusion

A useful exclusion record is short and factual. It should show the product, intended use, voltage rating, market role, claimed Annex II category, and the exact facts that connect the product to that category.

Where an exclusion shifts the issue to another regime, the record should say so without treating that other regime as an LVD clearance. For example, radio-electrical interference belongs in the EMC analysis, lift electrical parts sit with the lifts regime, explosive-atmosphere equipment sits with ATEX, and specialised transport equipment needs its own transport-safety basis.

Product identifier, model or configuration, intended use, voltage input and output, and whether the product is placed or made available on the EU market.
Named Annex II category, with a short explanation of why that category fits and why nearby categories do not.
For domestic plugs and socket outlets, evidence that the item is part of the domestic national plug and socket outlet system rather than an appliance or industrial coupler.
For custom-built evaluation kits, the customer-specific R&D request, professional-user limitation, R&D facility limitation, and no-regular-supply check.
For overlapping regimes, the EMC, ATEX, lifts, medical, transport, or other product-law reference that explains where the non-LVD safety or compatibility analysis is handled.

Sources for this answer

Directive 2014/35/EU on electrical equipment within certain voltage limits

Supports recording voltage scope and the Annex II category before concluding that LVD does not apply.

European Commission - Low Voltage Directive policy page

Commission page summarising LVD voltage bands, product examples, and guidance resources.

European Commission - Low Voltage Directive guidelines

Supports the practical records for domestic plugs and socket outlets, evaluation kits, and excluded categories covered by other regimes.

Primary sources