EU Low Voltage Directive Compliance

Start with the product as supplied on the Union market. Directive 2014/35/EU applies to electrical equipment designed for use with a voltage rating between 50 and 1 000 V AC or between 75 and 1 500 V DC, unless an Annex II exclusion applies.

The scope record should capture input and output voltage ratings, intended use, foreseeable installation and maintenance conditions, whether the item is new to the Union market or imported from a third country, and whether another product regime changes the route. Radio equipment, for example, uses the safety objectives of the LVD through the Radio Equipment Directive rather than applying the LVD as such. The Directive has applied through Member State transposing laws since 20 April 2016.

Record the market event as well as the product. Placing on the market is the first supply of the equipment in the EU; making available is any commercial supply for distribution, consumption, or use, whether paid or free. These events determine when manufacturer, importer, and distributor duties attach.

The manufacturer owns the LVD conformity assessment. Before placing electrical equipment on the market, the manufacturer must ensure the design and manufacture meet the Article 3 safety objectives and Annex I principal elements.

Those objectives require safe use for the equipment's intended applications when properly installed, maintained, and used. The assessment should cover marking of essential characteristics, safe assembly and connection, protection against direct and indirect contact, dangerous temperatures, arcs and radiation, non-electrical dangers revealed by experience, insulation suitability, mechanical and environmental influences, and foreseeable overload.

Harmonised standards are not mandatory, but applying relevant parts whose references are published in the Official Journal can give presumption of conformity for the safety objectives they cover. The standards list in the technical file should identify each standard, edition, amendment, limitation, withdrawal status where relevant, and whether it was applied in full or in part.

The EU declaration of conformity should follow the Annex IV structure: product model or product identification, manufacturer or authorised representative name and address, statement of sole manufacturer responsibility, object identification allowing traceability, relevant Union harmonisation legislation, standards or technical specifications used, additional information, and signature details. CE marking must be visible, legible, indelible, and affixed before the equipment is placed on the market.

A compliant LVD release package must be usable by people outside the design team. Manufacturer details, product identification, instructions, and safety information are part of the compliance evidence because authorities, consumers, importers, and distributors need to connect the product in the market to the technical file and declaration.

Importers and distributors have their own checks. Importers may place only compliant electrical equipment on the market and must verify that the manufacturer has completed conformity assessment, drawn up technical documentation, applied CE marking, supplied required documents, and met product-identification and manufacturer-contact requirements. Distributors must act with due care and verify CE marking, required documents, instructions and safety information, and manufacturer and importer traceability details before making equipment available.

LVD compliance continues after release. Manufacturers and importers that consider or have reason to believe equipment they placed on the market is not in conformity must immediately take corrective measures to bring it into conformity, withdraw it, or recall it if appropriate. Where the equipment presents a risk, they must immediately inform competent national authorities in Member States where it was made available and give details of the non-compliance and corrective measures.

Distributors that identify non-conformity must make sure corrective measures are taken and must inform the manufacturer or importer and, where risk is present, market surveillance authorities. Authorities can require corrective action, withdrawal, recall, restrictions, or prohibition where equipment presents risk or formal non-compliance persists.