The LVD applies to electrical equipment within 50-1000 V AC or 75-1500 V DC, unless an exclusion applies. RED applies to radio equipment and brings the LVD safety objectives into RED Article 3 without the LVD voltage limits.
This comparison helps route CE files for mains products, chargers, adapters, and connected radio products without treating LVD and RED as duplicate labels.
Use RED for the itself. Use LVD for a separate non-radio electrical product, such as an independently marketed mains charger, when it meets the LVD voltage scope and no exclusion applies. RED Article 3(1)(a) applies the LVD safety objectives to radio equipment without the LVD voltage limits; it does not make the LVD a second applicable directive for that same radio equipment.
Side-by-side comparison
LVD vs RED: side-by-side comparison
A focused comparison for deciding whether electrical safety evidence belongs in an LVD file, a RED file, or a separate charger or adapter file.
Electrical or electronic products that intentionally emit or receive radio waves for radio communication or radiodetermination, including products completed with an antenna or similar accessory for that purpose.
A mains-powered product without radio capability may stay in LVD; a connected radio product is routed through RED even when electrical safety evidence is still needed.
LVD Article 3 and Annex I require safe construction for intended use, including protection against hazards from contact, temperatures, arcs, radiation, insulation issues, external influences, and foreseeable overload.
The LVD is about electrical safety objectives. EMC concerns are normally handled under the EMC Directive unless another product-specific route applies.
RED Article 3(1)(b) requires an adequate level of EMC, and Article 3(2) requires effective and efficient use of radio spectrum to avoid harmful interference.
RED Article 1(4) says RED-covered is not subject to the LVD, except as set out in RED Article 3(1)(a). The LVD guide repeats that RED-covered radio equipment shall not be subject to the LVD.
For the same , cite RED for safety. Keep a separate LVD file only for distinct non-radio equipment such as an external charger or intelligent adapter when it is independently in LVD scope.
The LVD guide treats products with integrated plugs or outlets at 230 V, such as mobile-phone chargers, and multiple travel adapters with supplies or electronics as LVD-covered. A simple plug-system travel adapter with no covered element is not LVD-covered.
RED Article 3(4), Article 3a and Annex Ia impose common-charger requirements on listed radio-equipment categories. Since 28 April 2026, the list includes laptops as well as the handheld and portable categories covered since 28 December 2024.
Assess the radio product and charger separately. Apply Annex Ia to a listed radio product, and apply LVD to a separately marketed mains charger when that charger independently meets LVD scope.
RED harmonised standards cited in the OJEU create presumption of conformity with RED Article 3 requirements covered by those standards or parts; if standards for Article 3(2) or 3(3) are missing or only partly applied, RED Article 17 routes the equipment to EU-type examination or full quality assurance for those requirements.
Tag each standard to the directive and essential requirement it supports. An electrical safety standard may help the RED Article 3(1)(a) argument, but it does not supersede radio-spectrum evidence.
LVD manufacturers draw up Annex III technical documentation, perform or have performed the conformity assessment, draw up the EU declaration, affix CE marking, and keep technical documentation and the declaration for 10 years after placing on the market.
RED manufacturers draw up Article 21 technical documentation before placing on the market, keep it continuously updated, draw up the EU declaration, affix CE marking, and keep the documentation and declaration for 10 years after placing on the market.
A combined compliance pack can share an index, but each document should identify whether it supports LVD safety, RED Article 3(1)(a), RED Article 3(1)(b), RED Article 3(2), or an Article 3(3) requirement.
A separate LVD product may share drawings, bills of materials, supplier evidence, and safety test data with the radio product, but its LVD scope and declaration remain product-specific.
RED safety evidence may use relevant LVD safety standards and engineering work, but the conclusion must be mapped to RED Article 3(1)(a), alongside separate EMC and radio-spectrum conclusions.
Reuse verified engineering evidence, but identify the marketed item, legal act, essential requirement, configuration, and test limits supported by each document.
Use RED when the marketed item intentionally emits or receives radio waves for radio communication or radiodetermination. Apply RED safety objectives without a voltage threshold.
For a bundle, classify the radio unit and every separately marketed power or charging product. List LVD only for the item that independently falls within LVD scope.
Comparison row 1
Scope boundary
LVD
Electrical equipment designed for use at 50-1000 V AC or 75-1500 V DC, other than Annex II exclusions.
Electrical or electronic products that intentionally emit or receive radio waves for radio communication or radiodetermination, including products completed with an antenna or similar accessory for that purpose.
A mains-powered product without radio capability may stay in LVD; a connected radio product is routed through RED even when electrical safety evidence is still needed.
Comparison row 2
Covered actors
LVD
LVD Article 3 and Annex I require safe construction for intended use, including protection against hazards from contact, temperatures, arcs, radiation, insulation issues, external influences, and foreseeable overload.
does not escape electrical safety assessment; the legal route is RED Article 3(1)(a), not a second LVD declaration for the same radio equipment.
Comparison row 3
Trigger
LVD
The LVD is about electrical safety objectives. EMC concerns are normally handled under the EMC Directive unless another product-specific route applies.
RED Article 3(1)(b) requires an adequate level of EMC, and Article 3(2) requires effective and efficient use of radio spectrum to avoid harmful interference.
RED Article 1(4) says RED-covered is not subject to the LVD, except as set out in RED Article 3(1)(a). The LVD guide repeats that RED-covered radio equipment shall not be subject to the LVD.
For the same , cite RED for safety. Keep a separate LVD file only for distinct non-radio equipment such as an external charger or intelligent adapter when it is independently in LVD scope.
Comparison row 5
Evidence record
LVD
The LVD guide treats products with integrated plugs or outlets at 230 V, such as mobile-phone chargers, and multiple travel adapters with supplies or electronics as LVD-covered. A simple plug-system travel adapter with no covered element is not LVD-covered.
RED Article 3(4), Article 3a and Annex Ia impose common-charger requirements on listed radio-equipment categories. Since 28 April 2026, the list includes laptops as well as the handheld and portable categories covered since 28 December 2024.
Assess the radio product and charger separately. Apply Annex Ia to a listed radio product, and apply LVD to a separately marketed mains charger when that charger independently meets LVD scope.
Comparison row 6
Standards and presumption of conformity
LVD
LVD harmonised standards cited in the OJEU create presumption of conformity with the LVD safety objectives covered by those standards or parts.
RED harmonised standards cited in the OJEU create presumption of conformity with RED Article 3 requirements covered by those standards or parts; if standards for Article 3(2) or 3(3) are missing or only partly applied, RED Article 17 routes the equipment to EU-type examination or full quality assurance for those requirements.
Tag each standard to the directive and essential requirement it supports. An electrical safety standard may help the RED Article 3(1)(a) argument, but it does not supersede radio-spectrum evidence.
Comparison row 7
Enforcement
LVD
LVD manufacturers draw up Annex III technical documentation, perform or have performed the conformity assessment, draw up the EU declaration, affix CE marking, and keep technical documentation and the declaration for 10 years after placing on the market.
RED manufacturers draw up Article 21 technical documentation before placing on the market, keep it continuously updated, draw up the EU declaration, affix CE marking, and keep the documentation and declaration for 10 years after placing on the market.
A combined compliance pack can share an index, but each document should identify whether it supports LVD safety, RED Article 3(1)(a), RED Article 3(1)(b), RED Article 3(2), or an Article 3(3) requirement.
Comparison row 8
Overlap and reuse
LVD
A separate LVD product may share drawings, bills of materials, supplier evidence, and safety test data with the radio product, but its LVD scope and declaration remain product-specific.
RED safety evidence may use relevant LVD safety standards and engineering work, but the conclusion must be mapped to RED Article 3(1)(a), alongside separate EMC and radio-spectrum conclusions.
Reuse verified engineering evidence, but identify the marketed item, legal act, essential requirement, configuration, and test limits supported by each document.
Comparison row 9
Practical decision rule
LVD
Use LVD when the marketed item is non-radio electrical equipment within the LVD voltage bands and no exclusion applies.
Use RED when the marketed item intentionally emits or receives radio waves for radio communication or radiodetermination. Apply RED safety objectives without a voltage threshold.
For a bundle, classify the radio unit and every separately marketed power or charging product. List LVD only for the item that independently falls within LVD scope.
Practical decision rule
How should teams route LVD and RED evidence?
Classify each physical item separately: radio unit, wired terminal equipment, external charger, power supply, travel adapter, cable, and accessory.
For RED-covered , map electrical safety to RED Article 3(1)(a) instead of adding LVD as a second directive for the same equipment.
For separate chargers or intelligent adapters, keep an LVD scope and evidence record when the item is independently in LVD scope.
Tag harmonised standards and test reports to the exact LVD or RED essential requirement they support.
The LVD starts from voltage-rated electrical equipment: 50-1000 V AC or 75-1500 V DC, excluding the equipment and phenomena listed in LVD Annex II. RED starts from an electrical or electronic product that intentionally emits or receives radio waves for radio communication or radiodetermination, including products completed with an accessory such as an antenna for that purpose.
For a radio product, do not cite the LVD as a parallel directive just because mains safety is relevant. RED Article 1 says within RED is not subject to Directive 2014/35/EU except as set out in RED Article 3(1)(a), which applies the LVD safety objectives with no voltage limit.
Classify each marketed item, not the package name. A radio unit, external power supply, cable, charging device, and adapter can have different legal routes. Whether an accessory is separately placed on the market, needed to complete the , or assessed as part of the radio configuration changes the file boundary.
Use LVD for non-radio electrical equipment inside the voltage bands, subject to Annex II exclusions.
Use RED for , including receive-only products and equipment below 9 kHz when they meet the RED radio-equipment scope described in the LVD guide.
Keep fixed-line terminal equipment without radio capability in the LVD/EMC route when it falls within the LVD voltage range.
For an LVD product, the CE file should demonstrate the LVD safety objectives, the conformity assessment in Annex III, the technical documentation, the EU declaration of conformity, and the CE marking. The LVD also allows a single EU declaration of conformity when more than one Union act requires a declaration.
For a RED product, organise the record around RED Article 3. Article 3(1)(a) covers health and safety, including LVD safety objectives without voltage limits; Article 3(1)(b) covers EMC; Article 3(2) covers effective and efficient radio-spectrum use to avoid harmful interference; and Article 3(3) contains additional requirements that apply only to specified categories or classes. Common-charger requirements are now in Article 3(4) and Annex Ia, not Article 3(3).
Route LVD files by voltage scope, Annex II exclusions, safety-objective evidence, standards, EU declaration, and CE marking.
Route RED files by each applicable Article 3 requirement, intended operating conditions, frequency bands and maximum transmitted power, technical documentation, conformity-assessment module, EU declaration, and CE marking.
Use one EU declaration only when it identifies every applicable Union act and publication reference; do not list LVD as applicable to RED-covered unless another non-radio item in the product package is separately in LVD scope.
Map your product family into LVD-covered electrical equipment, RED-covered radio equipment, separate chargers, and adapters, then keep each cited evidence route clear.
Chargers and adapters should not be routed by product name alone. The LVD guide treats products with integrated plugs or outlets at 230 V, such as mobile-phone chargers, as LVD products. It also treats multiple travel adapters with a charger, switch, USB port, overvoltage protection, overload protection, LED signalling, or similar electronics as LVD-covered, while simple travel adapters that only convert one national plug system to another national socket system are not covered by the LVD.
A radio product and its charger can therefore require different CE-file routing. The radio unit may be under RED, while a separate mains charger or intelligent travel adapter may need its own LVD route if it is separately placed on the market and within LVD scope.
RED common-charger duties apply to the categories listed in Annex Ia. They have applied since 28 December 2024 to listed handheld and portable and since 28 April 2026 to laptops. For covered equipment, the rules address USB-C charging, charging protocols where relevant, the option to buy without a charging device, and prescribed charging information and labels. They do not place every charger under RED.
Separate the radio unit, external power supply, supplied charger, cable, and adapter in the bill of materials.
Check whether a charger or intelligent adapter is a separate electrical product in the LVD voltage range.
Do not use the radio product's RED file as a substitute for the charger's LVD evidence unless the same document supports the relevant requirement for the separately marketed charger.
For Annex Ia , record the category, placement date, charging receptacle and protocol, charging-power information, pictogram and label, and whether the product is offered without a charging device.