TemplateEU

Machinery CE Documentation Template

Use this template to structure the evidence file behind CE marking for machinery or related products under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230.

It turns the regulation's manufacturer duties into fillable records for product identity, scope, EHSR risk assessment, standards, tests, instructions, declaration, marking, notified body route, software, cyber, and substantial modification review.

Author
Sorena AI
Published
May 9, 2026
Updated
May 9, 2026
Sections
5

Structured answer sets in this page tree.

Primary sources
6

Cited legal and guidance references.

Publication metadata
Sorena AI
Published May 9, 2026
Updated May 9, 2026
Overview

A Machinery Regulation CE documentation file should show, for each product model, what was placed on the market or put into service, why it is in scope, which essential health and safety requirements apply, how risks were assessed and reduced, which standards or specifications were used, what tests or inspections support conformity, and which declaration, instructions, marking, and notified body records complete the route.

Section 1

Product identification and scope block

Start the template with the exact product identity. The record should be specific enough that a market surveillance authority, importer, distributor, customer, or notified body can match the documentation to the machinery or related product without relying on project knowledge.

Use a separate scope line for partly completed machinery. Partly completed machinery needs its own technical documentation and declaration of incorporation route instead of being treated as finished CE-marked machinery.

  • Manufacturer name and address, authorised representative where used, EU responsible economic operator where relevant, and document owner.
  • Product name, model, type, serial range, software or firmware version, configuration options, accessories, safety components, and intended use.
  • Regulatory category: machinery, related product, safety component, lifting accessory, chain, rope, webbing, removable mechanical transmission device, or partly completed machinery.
  • Scope decision: in scope, partly completed machinery, excluded risk covered by more specific Union harmonisation legislation, or escalation needed.
  • Annex I screen: Part A, Part B, or not listed, with the exact category rationale and conformity assessment consequence.
  • Substantial modification check: physical or digital change after market placement or putting into service, whether it was foreseen by the manufacturer, whether it creates a new hazard or increases an existing risk, and the resulting conformity route.
Section 2

EHSR and risk assessment matrix

The core of the template is an EHSR-by-EHSR matrix. For each applicable essential health and safety requirement in Annex III, record the hazard, risk estimate, design measure, protective measure, information for use, residual risk, verification evidence, and approval status.

For machinery with self-evolving behaviour, software-driven safety functions, autonomous operation, or remote control, include lifecycle hazards that are foreseeable at market placement as an intended evolution of the product's behaviour.

  • EHSR reference and applicability: applicable, not applicable, covered by another more specific Union act, or pending engineering review.
  • Hazard record: mechanical, electrical, thermal, noise, vibration, ergonomic, control-system, lifting, mobility, maintenance, installation, misuse, and environmental conditions as relevant.
  • Risk assessment evidence: hazard identification, risk estimation, risk evaluation, risk reduction option, residual risk communication, and verification result.
  • Safety-control and software fields: safety function, control logic or source-code reference, software version, validation method, access control, update mechanism, and corruption-protection evidence.
  • Cyber and IT-security field: cyber-related safety scenario, security assumption, risk reduction measure, monitoring or update evidence, and link to the safety risk assessment.
  • Open issue fields: unresolved EHSR, compensating measure, owner, required test or design action, and release gate.
Section 3

Standards, common specifications, tests, and verification

Use the standards table to avoid a common documentation gap: listing a harmonised standard without showing which EHSRs it covers and which clauses were actually applied. Each standard entry should connect to the risk assessment and to test or inspection evidence.

If a harmonised standard or common specification is not fully applied, the template should state the alternative technical specification or engineering justification used to meet the relevant EHSRs.

  • Standard or specification: reference, version, harmonised-standards status or other status, type-A/type-B/type-C role where relevant, and EHSRs covered.
  • Application statement: fully applied, partly applied, not applicable, superseded, restricted, or replaced by another technical specification.
  • Gap assessment: omitted clauses, known restrictions, transition issue, and residual EHSR coverage.
  • Verification evidence: calculations, drawings, schematics, inspections, lab reports, functional safety validation, software validation, EMC or electrical evidence where relevant, and production control checks.
  • Supplier evidence: component declarations, safety component documentation, calibration records, purchased-part specifications, and traceability to the product model.
  • Release decision: evidence accepted, evidence rejected, further test required, notified body input required, or design change required.
Section 4

Technical documentation, instructions, declaration, and marking

This section should be a document-control checklist, not a generic evidence list. It should state where each required file is stored, which product version it covers, who approved it, and whether it is ready for authority request, customer review, or notified body submission.

Keep separate tabs for finished machinery and partly completed machinery. Finished machinery records should include EU declaration of conformity and CE marking evidence; partly completed machinery records should include assembly instructions and the EU declaration of incorporation.

  • Technical documentation: drawings, schematics, calculations, risk assessment, EHSR matrix, standards matrix, test reports, quality or production control evidence, software or programming logic references where relevant, and final approval.
  • Instructions for use: intended and proper use, installation, operation, maintenance, safe use precautions, residual risks, lifetime safety information, language or translation status, and digital-access method where used.
  • EU declaration of conformity: model identifier, manufacturer responsibility statement, applicable legislation, standards or specifications, notified body information where applicable, signature, language status, and online address or machine-readable code if used.
  • Partly completed machinery pack: relevant technical documentation, assembly instructions, EU declaration of incorporation, and limits on putting into service before final machinery conformity is complete.
  • CE marking evidence: artwork or label proof, placement, visibility, legibility, indelibility, packaging or accompanying-document fallback where product marking is not possible, and notified body identification number where the module requires it.
  • Retention and request handling: authority contact owner, file index, document version, retention clock, request log, and source-code or programming-logic access process for reasoned authority requests.
Recommended next step

Turn the template into a controlled CE file

Use the fields above to collect one auditable record per machinery model, with scope, EHSR, risk, standards, test, instruction, declaration, CE marking, notified body, software, cyber, and modification evidence linked before release.

Section 5

Conformity assessment and notified body route

The template should force an explicit route decision before release. Annex I Part A products require the specific conformity assessment procedures for that part. Annex I Part B products need a route decision tied to full application of harmonised standards or common specifications, because the notified body route can become necessary when that support is incomplete.

Where a notified body is used, the documentation file should retain the application package, certificate or approval decision, audit or test reports, surveillance records, restrictions, renewals, and the notified body's identification number for marking where required.

  • Route selector: internal production control, EU type-examination plus conformity to type, full quality assurance, unit verification, or partly completed machinery documentation route.
  • Annex I Part A evidence: category match, notified body selected, application record, certificate or decision, test results, and CE marking number handling.
  • Annex I Part B evidence: category match, whether harmonised standards or common specifications were fully applied, and whether notified body involvement is required or voluntarily used.
  • Notified body file: body name, identification number, legislation scope, application date, submitted documents, findings, certificate reference, restrictions, surveillance reports, and renewal or withdrawal status.
  • Authority-ready summary: final route decision, unresolved conditions, responsible sign-off, and link to the EU declaration.
Primary sources

References and citations

single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu
Referenced sections
  • Commission machinery standards source used to ground the template's standards inventory, harmonised-standards status, and links between machinery rules and European standards.
"harmonised standards for machinery"
single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu
Referenced sections
  • Commission source for machinery legislation resources, market surveillance, and notified bodies context.
"Notified bodies"
iso.org
Referenced sections
  • ISO source for machinery design principles, risk assessment, risk reduction, and documentation of the risk assessment and risk reduction process.
"risk assessment and risk reduction"
iso.org
Referenced sections
  • ISO technical report grounding the template's cyber and IT-security fields where cyber issues can affect machinery safety.
"consideration of related IT-security (cyber security) aspects"
eur-lex.europa.eu
Referenced sections
  • Grounds Annex I Part A and Part B conformity assessment routing, notified body procedures, and records tied to certificates, quality systems, unit verification, CE marking, and declarations.
"specific conformity assessment procedures referred to in Article 25"
webgate.ec.europa.eu
Referenced sections
  • Grounding source for finding bodies notified to carry out conformity assessments by EU legislation, including Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on machinery.
"find Bodies notified to carry out conformity assessments"
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