---
title: "Machinery Regulation related products scope guide"
canonical_url: "https://www.sorena.io/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/related-products"
source_url: "https://www.sorena.io/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/related-products"
author: "Sorena AI"
description: "Classify EU Machinery Regulation related products, including interchangeable equipment, safety components, lifting accessories, lifting chains, ropes, webbing, and removable transmission devices."
published_at: "2026-05-09"
updated_at: "2026-05-09"
keywords:
  - "EU Machinery Regulation"
  - "Regulation (EU) 2023/1230"
  - "related products"
  - "interchangeable equipment"
  - "safety components"
  - "lifting accessories"
  - "partly completed machinery"
---
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---

# Machinery Regulation related products scope guide

Classify EU Machinery Regulation related products, including interchangeable equipment, safety components, lifting accessories, lifting chains, ropes, webbing, and removable transmission devices.

*Artifact Guide* *EU*

## EU Machinery Regulation Related Products

Related products are expressly in scope of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 alongside machinery and partly completed machinery.

Use this page to classify interchangeable equipment, safety components, lifting accessories, lifting chains, ropes, webbing, and removable mechanical transmission devices before release or import.

Under the EU Machinery Regulation, "related products" is not a catch-all label. It covers five named product families: interchangeable equipment, safety components, lifting accessories, chains, ropes and webbing for lifting, and removable mechanical transmission devices. Partly completed machinery sits beside those categories and needs a separate boundary decision because it follows incorporation documentation rather than the normal CE-marked related-product path.

## Classify the product before choosing the compliance route

Start with the category definition, not the sales name. A retrofit attachment may be interchangeable equipment if the operator fits it after machinery is put into service to change or add a function, but a normal tool is outside that definition. A component is a safety component only when it is placed independently on the market for a safety function and its failure or malfunction would endanger persons.

Lifting accessories, lifting chains, lifting ropes, and lifting webbing should be checked against their lifting purpose and placement in the load path. Removable mechanical transmission devices need their own check because the Regulation treats a device placed on the market with its guard as one item.

- Record the selected category: interchangeable equipment, safety component, lifting accessory, lifting chain, lifting rope, lifting webbing, or removable mechanical transmission device.
- Capture the facts that prove the category: intended function, whether it is independently placed on the market, whether it is fitted by the operator, whether it holds or transmits load or power, and whether a guard is supplied with the product.
- Escalate separately if the assembly cannot perform a specific application by itself and is intended only for incorporation into other machinery, because that points to partly completed machinery rather than a related product.

Sources for this answer:

- [Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on machinery](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1230/oj?ref=sorena.io) - Article 2 lists the five related-product categories and states that partly completed machinery is also within the Regulation's scope.

## Separate related products from partly completed machinery

Partly completed machinery is not a fallback category for unclear products. Use it where the assembly is not yet machinery because it cannot itself perform a specific application and is intended to be incorporated into or assembled with machinery, other partly completed machinery, or equipment.

That boundary changes the documentation package. Machinery and related products move through technical documentation, conformity assessment, EU declaration of conformity, CE marking, instructions for use, and product identification. Partly completed machinery uses technical documentation, EU declaration of incorporation, assembly instructions, and incorporation-facing identification.

- Do not CE mark a product as machinery or a related product just because it will eventually be part of final machinery; first decide whether it already performs the intended specific application.
- For partly completed machinery, keep the incorporation scenario, applicable essential health and safety requirements, assembly instructions, and EU declaration of incorporation together.
- For related products, keep the CE marking route, EU declaration of conformity, instructions for use, and technical documentation together with the product model and batch or serial identification.

Sources for this answer:

- [Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on machinery](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1230/oj?ref=sorena.io) - Article 3 defines partly completed machinery; Articles 10 and 11 separate manufacturer duties for machinery and related products from duties for partly completed machinery.

## Build the technical file around the chosen category

For machinery and related products, the technical documentation should show the intended use, risk assessment, applicable essential health and safety requirements, protective measures, design drawings, standards or other technical specifications used, test and inspection evidence, production controls, instructions, declarations, and series-production measures.

For safety components and digital or software-enabled safety functions, preserve enough design, validation, version, and change-control evidence to explain the safety function and the consequences of failure. Where source code or programming logic is relevant to checking compliance, the Regulation allows competent authorities to request it when necessary.

- Link each related-product category decision to the applicable essential health and safety requirements and the design measures used to meet them.
- Include applied harmonised standards or other specifications, and specify the parts applied when standards are only partially used.
- Keep test reports, design calculations, inspections, declarations from incorporated products, instructions for use, and production conformity controls in the same evidence package.

Sources for this answer:

- [Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on machinery](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1230/oj?ref=sorena.io) - Article 10 and Annex IV Part A ground the technical-documentation, conformity-assessment, EU declaration, CE marking, and retention obligations for machinery and related products.

## Release checks for CE marking, declarations, and instructions

Before a related product is placed on the market or put into service, confirm that the technical documentation exists, the relevant conformity assessment has been completed, the EU declaration of conformity is available, and the CE marking is affixed visibly, legibly, and indelibly unless the product nature requires packaging or accompanying-document placement.

Digital instructions can be used under the Regulation when the access route is marked, the user can print and download them, and they remain accessible online for the required period. For related products that may be used by non-professional users, essential safety information for putting the product into service and using it safely must be provided on paper.

- Check that the EU declaration of conformity identifies the related-product model and is kept with the technical documentation.
- Verify that instructions identify the product model, are clear and legible, and are in a language determined by the relevant Member State.
- Do not rely on voluntary certificates as proof of EU harmonisation compliance; the Commission machinery page warns that such certificates are not a recognised means to prove compliance in authority or customs checks.

Sources for this answer:

- [Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on machinery](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1230/oj?ref=sorena.io) - Articles 10, 21, 23, and 24 ground release checks for instructions, EU declarations of conformity, CE marking principles, and CE marking placement.
- [European Commission - Machinery sector page](https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/mechanical-engineering/machinery_en?ref=sorena.io) - Commission machinery guidance warns that voluntary or additional certificates are not a recognised means to prove compliance for harmonised products.

*Recommended next step*

*Placement: after release checks section*

## Classify machinery-related products before release

Turn category decisions, CE marking checks, declarations, instructions, and technical-file evidence into a repeatable review for engineering, regulatory, quality, and procurement teams.

- [Open Research Copilot](/solutions/research-copilot.md): Answer Machinery Regulation scope, documentation, and interpretation questions with cited outputs.
- [Talk through implementation](/contact.md): Review your related-product category decisions, technical-file structure, and release checks.

## Primary sources

- [Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on machinery](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1230/oj?ref=sorena.io) - Primary legal source for related-product scope, partly completed machinery, manufacturer obligations, technical documentation, declarations, CE marking, and instructions.
  - Quote: "This Regulation applies to machinery and the following related products"
- [European Commission - Machinery sector page](https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/mechanical-engineering/machinery_en?ref=sorena.io) - Commission machinery page used for sector context and the warning that voluntary certificates are not recognised proof of compliance for harmonised products.
  - Quote: "voluntary or other additional certificates"

## Related Topic Guides

- [Declaration of Conformity vs Declaration of Incorporation | Machinery Regulation FAQ](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/faq/doc-and-doi.md): FAQ on when machinery needs an EU Declaration of Conformity and when partly completed machinery needs an EU Declaration of Incorporation under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230.
- [Directive 2006/42/EC to Machinery Regulation transition](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/transition-from-directive-2006-42-ec.md): Transition guide for moving EU machinery files from Directive 2006/42/EC to Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, focused on the 20 January 2027 changeover, pipeline products, declarations, standards, technical documentation, software, cybersecurity, and digital instructions.
- [EU Machinery Regulation Applicability Test](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/applicability-test.md): Test whether a product is machinery, a related product, partly completed machinery, a safety component, substantially modified, excluded, or covered by overlapping EU product laws.
- [EU Machinery Regulation compliance](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/compliance.md): Machinery Regulation compliance checklist covering scope, EHSR risk assessment, technical documentation, instructions, conformity assessment, EU declarations, CE marking, software, transition, and market surveillance.
- [EU Machinery Regulation compliance checklist](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/checklist.md): Checklist for Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 covering scope, EHSR risk assessment, technical documentation, instructions, conformity assessment, EU declarations, CE marking, digital duties, transition, and market surveillance.
- [EU Machinery Regulation deadlines and compliance calendar](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/deadlines-and-compliance-calendar.md): Calendar for Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 dates, Directive 2006/42/EC transition, release documentation gates, standards monitoring, and substantial-modification reviews.
- [EU Machinery Regulation FAQ](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/faq.md): Answers to Machinery Regulation questions on scope, partly completed machinery, Annex I categories, Article 25 conformity assessment, digital instructions, software, cybersecurity, transition, CE files, and overlap with other EU product laws.
- [EU Machinery Regulation Partly Completed Machinery](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/partly-completed-machinery.md): What counts as partly completed machinery under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, what documents travel with it, and where the final assembler takes over.
- [EU Machinery Regulation requirements](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/requirements.md): Requirements under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230: machinery scope, EHSR risk assessment, technical documentation, instructions, conformity assessment, EU declaration, CE marking, software evidence, transition, and surveillance.
- [EU Machinery Regulation Safety Components](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/safety-components.md): Definition, scope, conformity assessment, technical documentation, declaration, CE marking, and grounded examples for safety components under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230.
- [EU Machinery Regulation scope and machine categories](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/scope-and-machine-categories.md): Scope guide for Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 covering machinery, related products, partly completed machinery, Annex I categories, exclusions, substantial modification, and category evidence.
- [EU Machinery Regulation substantial modification decision workflow](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/substantial-modification-workflow.md): Workflow for assessing substantial modification under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230: change facts, hazard and risk impact, manufacturer obligations, conformity assessment, CE marking, and evidence.
- [EU Machinery Regulation vs LVD](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/machinery-vs-lvd.md): Compare the EU Machinery Regulation and Low Voltage Directive boundary for machinery EHSRs, electrical risks, excluded electrical products, CE documentation, and evidence reuse.
- [EU Machinery Regulation vs Market Surveillance Regulation: compliance comparison](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/machinery-vs-msr.md): Compare Machinery Regulation product compliance duties with EU MSR market surveillance duties, authority requests, online sales, corrective action and evidence records.
- [EU Machinery Regulation: autonomous mobile and collaborative machinery](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/autonomous-mobile-and-collaborative-machinery.md): Grounded guide to Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 requirements for autonomous mobile machinery, human-machine interaction, controls, software, cybersecurity, risk assessment, technical documentation, and conformity routes.
- [EU Machinery Regulation: when does a modification constitute substantial modification?](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/substantial-modification.md): Guide to substantial modification under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230: change triggers, risk assessment, EHSRs, technical documentation, conformity assessment, CE marking, and records.
- [EU Machinery Risk Assessment Method](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/risk-assessment-method.md): How to document an EU Machinery Regulation risk assessment: ISO 12100 hazard identification, EHSR mapping, risk reduction, residual risk, software, cybersecurity, and technical-file evidence.
- [How to map Annex III EHSRs under the EU Machinery Regulation | Machinery Regulation FAQ](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/faq/annex-iii-ehsr.md): FAQ on mapping Annex III essential health and safety requirements to hazards, risk reduction, software controls, technical documentation, and Annex I classification under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230.
- [Machinery CE documentation template for Regulation (EU) 2023/1230](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/machinery-ce-documentation-template.md): Template fields for Machinery Regulation CE documentation: product identity, scope, EHSR risk assessment, standards, tests, instructions, EU declaration, CE marking, notified body route, software, cyber, and substantial modification checks.
- [Machinery Regulation and EU AI Act overlap for AI-enabled safety functions](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/faq/ai-act-overlap.md): FAQ on Machinery Regulation overlap with the EU AI Act for self-evolving or machine-learning safety functions, Annex I categories, standards work, and technical documentation boundaries.
- [Machinery Regulation Annex I conformity route workflow](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/annex-i-route-workflow.md): Classify machinery against Annex I Part A and Part B, choose the Article 25 conformity assessment route, and assemble the technical evidence file.
- [Machinery Regulation Annex I high-risk categories](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/annex-i-and-high-risk-machinery.md): Explain what Annex I does under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, which listed machinery categories trigger special conformity routes, and what evidence to keep.
- [Machinery Regulation category and scope checks](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/category-and-scope-workflow.md): Check whether a product is machinery, a related product, partly completed machinery, a safety component, excluded from scope, or listed in Annex I under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230.
- [Machinery Regulation conformity assessment and CE marking](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/conformity-assessment-and-ce.md): EU Machinery Regulation guide to Article 25 conformity assessment routes, Annex I machinery categories, technical documentation, EU declarations, CE marking, and instructions.
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- [Machinery Regulation digital instructions](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/digital-instructions.md): EU Machinery Regulation guide to digital instructions for use: access marking, print and download access, paper copies, non-professional safety information, languages, and records.
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- [Machinery Regulation Technical Documentation and Technical File](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/technical-documentation-and-technical-file.md): What to keep in the EU Machinery Regulation technical file: product identification, risk assessment, EHSR mapping, standards, tests, instructions, declarations, software evidence, retention, and notified-body records.
- [Machinery Regulation technical file acceptance workflow](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/technical-file-acceptance-workflow.md): Release-gate workflow for accepting an EU Machinery Regulation technical file: scope, EHSR risk evidence, standards, tests, declarations, notified-body records, software, cyber, and signoff.
- [Machinery Regulation Timeline and Transition: practical guide](/artifacts/eu/machinery-regulation/timeline-and-transition.md): EU Machinery Regulation guide to Timeline and Transition with scope decisions, owner actions, evidence records, source-linked citations, and practical next steps.
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