EU Low Voltage Directive Scope and Covered Products

Directive 2014/35/EU applies to electrical equipment designed for use with a voltage rating between 50 and 1,000 V for alternating current or between 75 and 1,500 V for direct current. The LVD guide explains that these limits refer to rated input or rated output voltage, not to higher voltages that may appear internally.

For equipment with multiple input or output ratings, the Commission guide uses the highest rating for the scope check: the product is within scope when that highest rating falls within an LVD band, while equipment designed with ratings exceeding 1,000 V AC or 1,500 V DC falls outside the Directive. Record every declared rating and the product configuration rather than choosing a convenient nominal value. Battery equipment below the thresholds is outside the LVD, but an accompanying charger or integrated power supply rated within an LVD band is in scope.

Annex II is the starting list for equipment and phenomena outside LVD scope. The LVD guide describes that Annex II list as exhaustive for equipment explicitly excluded from the Directive.

The exclusions include electrical equipment for explosive atmospheres, radiology and medical purposes, electrical parts for goods and passenger lifts, electricity meters, domestic plugs and socket outlets, electric fence controllers, radio-electrical interference, specialised electrical equipment for ships, aircraft or railways that complies with safety provisions drawn up by international bodies in which the Member States participate, and custom-built evaluation kits for professionals used only at research and development facilities.

The LVD guide treats both standalone electrical equipment and equipment intended for incorporation into another product as potentially in scope. It separates that from basic components whose safety can be assessed only to a very large extent through final-product integration and for which a standalone risk assessment cannot be undertaken. That basic-component treatment comes from non-binding Commission guidance rather than an express Annex II exclusion.

The component boundary matters for CE marking. Basic electronic components such as integrated circuits, transistors, diodes, capacitors, inductors, resistors, filters, connectors, relays for printed circuit boards, and micro switches are not treated as standalone LVD equipment when their safety cannot be assessed apart from the final product. Components such as transformers and electric motors can be covered as LVD products when a risk assessment can be undertaken for the component itself.

Radio equipment is handled under the Radio Equipment Directive rather than under the LVD. RED Article 3(1)(a) applies health and safety requirements that incorporate the LVD's safety objectives without its voltage limits, but that does not make the radio product subject to the LVD itself. The LVD guide notes that wired telecom terminal equipment within the LVD voltage bands can fall within LVD scope.

Machinery needs a different boundary check. The LVD guide explains that certain electrical and electronic products remain treated under the LVD, including household appliances intended for domestic use, audio and video equipment, information technology equipment, ordinary office machinery, low-voltage switchgear and control gear, and electric motors. Electrical machinery outside those categories may be governed by the Machinery Directive, even though its electrical hazards must meet LVD safety objectives through the Machinery Directive route.

EMC is not a substitute for LVD safety scope. Directive 2014/30/EU covers electromagnetic compatibility and states that safety is dealt with by separate Union or national legislation. The LVD guide also distinguishes electromagnetic disturbances handled under EMC from electromagnetic aspects related to safety, including functional safety, which it treats as LVD safety matters.

A useful LVD scope record is product-specific. It should identify the exact model or product family, all rated input and output voltages, whether the item is sold as finished equipment or incorporated into another product, the first Union supply that constitutes placing on the market, whether an Annex II exclusion is claimed, and which adjacent regime explains any non-LVD route.

For covered equipment, keep the scope record with the technical documentation, standards list, risk assessment, test evidence, instructions, EU declaration of conformity, and CE-marking evidence. For excluded or boundary products, keep the specific source for the exclusion or alternate regime so the product file does not rely on a loose label such as 'low voltage' or 'component'.

Separate the legal basis from guidance. Annex II and the voltage limits come from Directive 2014/35/EU and national transposing law. The Commission LVD Guide is non-binding guidance that explains examples and boundaries; a guide example should not replace a product-specific assessment.