Start the EU Directive applicability test with the finished product. Decide whether it is radio equipment, check every Annex I and exclusive State-use exclusion, identify the economic operator placing or supplying it on the Union market, and map the RED requirements for the exact hardware, antenna, software, accessory, and market configuration.
1
Section 1
Decide whether the product is RED radio equipment
Directive 2014/53/EU regulates making available on the Union market and putting it into service. "Making available" covers any commercial supply for distribution, consumption, or use, whether paid or free; "placing on the market" is the first such supply; and "putting into service" is the end-user's first use in the Union. These events answer different questions, so record which one the assessment addresses.
A complete scope check records the product model, hardware variant, intentional transmitter and receiver functions, radio interfaces, bands, antenna configuration, software or firmware version affecting compliance, intended use, operating configurations, EU market route, and operator role. Passive reception can still qualify when it is intentional radio communication or radiodetermination; a wired-only interface does not become merely because the wider system uses radio elsewhere.
Check all exclusions, not only amateur radio. Annex I covers qualifying amateur- not made available on the market, covered marine equipment, specified aviation equipment intended exclusively for airborne use, and custom-built evaluation kits for professionals used solely at research and development facilities. Article 1 separately excludes radio equipment used exclusively for public security, defence, State security, or State criminal-law activities. A commercial amateur product, general-purpose development board, or production-intent prototype does not automatically fit those exclusions.
List each intentional radio function, receiver function, radio interface, frequency band, and antenna-dependent configuration.
Identify whether the team is acting as manufacturer, importer, distributor, authorised representative, or another economic operator in the EU supply chain.
If an importer or distributor markets equipment under its own name or modifies it in a way that may affect conformity, record that it assumes the manufacturer's RED obligations.
Separate RED scope from adjacent regimes, but keep EMC, safety, cybersecurity, charger, software, labelling, and market-surveillance impacts visible in the same decision record.
Outcome: record RED applies, RED does not apply with the exact exclusion or failed definition element, or escalation is needed for a borderline configuration. Do not use "connected product" or a module certificate as the conclusion.
Primary RED source for scope, definitions, operator roles, essential requirements, conformity assessment, EU declaration, CE marking, and technical documentation.
making available on the market and putting into service
Commission overview explaining RED as the EU framework for placing radio equipment on the market.
regulatory framework for placing radio equipment on the market
2
Section 2
Map the Article 3 requirements that are triggered
Once the product is in RED scope, map the essential requirements instead of assuming one generic CE path. Article 3(1)(a) covers health, safety, domestic animals, and property using the Low Voltage Directive safety objectives without a voltage limit. Article 3(1)(b) covers electromagnetic compatibility. Article 3(2) covers effective and efficient spectrum use to avoid harmful interference. Article 3(3) points apply only to categories or classes specified by Commission acts, and Article 3(4) applies Annex Ia charging specifications to listed categories.
The applicability record should show which Article 3 requirements apply to the exact category and which evidence will support each one. That usually means a standards matrix, test reports, risk analysis, supplier declarations, software or firmware compliance evidence, charger and labeling evidence where relevant, and a clear note when a requirement is not triggered.
Build an Article 3 matrix covering 3(1)(a), 3(1)(b), 3(2), each point from 3(3)(a) through (i), and Article 3(4), with a sourced applies/does-not-apply conclusion for every row.
Check whether harmonised standards are applied in full, applied in part, or not applied, because that choice affects the conformity-assessment evidence and notified-body analysis.
Assess all intended operating conditions and configurations; for Article 3(1)(a), include reasonably foreseeable conditions of use.
Keep the rationale product-specific: identify the category, requirement, cited harmonised standard or other technical solution, tested configuration, owner, retained evidence, gap, and approval.
Official standards decision used to anchor the RED harmonised-standards matrix.
harmonised standards for radio equipment
3
Section 3
Check cybersecurity, charger, and user-information triggers
Several RED applicability decisions turn on product category rather than radio capability alone. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 applies Article 3(3)(d) to internet-connected ; point (e) to specified internet-connected, childcare, toy, and wearable equipment that can process personal, traffic, or location data; and point (f) to internet-connected equipment that enables transfers of money, monetary value, or virtual currency. Medical and in vitro diagnostic devices are excluded from all three activated points; specified aviation, motor-vehicle, and electronic-toll equipment is excluded from points (e) and (f). The requirements apply to covered equipment placed on the Union market from 1 August 2025 through 10 December 2027. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/339 repeals the category act from 11 December 2027 but preserves RED surveillance for equipment placed on the market during that interval.
Common-charger requirements apply to the listed Annex Ia radio-equipment categories when the relevant conditions are met, including the first 12 categories from 28 December 2024 and laptops from 28 April 2026. For covered products, the record should address wired-charging capability, USB Type-C, USB Power Delivery when charging exceeds the stated voltage, current, or power thresholds, charger-unbundling options, pictograms, labels, instructions, packaging, and distance-selling display.
For cybersecurity evidence, do not stop at the name of an EN 18031 standard. Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/138 cites EN 18031-1:2024, EN 18031-2:2024, and EN 18031-3:2024 with notices that restrict presumption of conformity. The applicability record should identify the relevant part, the Article 3(3) point it supports, every applicable notice, and whether uncovered content requires another technical solution and an Article 17 notified-body route.
Article 10(10) is a separate market-use branch. If spectrum restrictions or authorisation requirements apply in at least one Member State or a geographical area within it, identify the affected territory on the packaging in the prescribed form and complete the restriction details in the instructions. If none apply, retain the technical-file explanation required by Annex V.
Flag internet connectivity, personal-data processing, payment capability, childcare use, toy status, wearable form factor, and medical-device or vehicle-related exclusions before concluding that RED cybersecurity duties do or do not apply.
For common-charger scope, record the device category, wired charging capability, USB Type-C evidence, USB Power Delivery or other protocol evidence, and the consumer information used online and on packaging.
For Article 10(10) restrictions or authorisation requirements, record the affected Member States or areas and verify the packaging and instructions format.
Binding source for repeal from 11 December 2027 and continued RED surveillance of covered equipment placed on the market from 1 August 2025 through 10 December 2027.
repealed with effect from 11 December 2027
4
Section 4
Keep conformity evidence with the technical file
The final applicability output is a reusable release record. It explains why RED applies or does not apply, the first market event and responsible operator, which Article 3 requirements are triggered, whether cited harmonised standards fully cover the chosen design, whether a notified body is needed, and what must appear in the EU declaration, instructions, labels, packaging, and technical documentation.
RED technical documentation must trace to the assessed product and exist before market placement. Annex V includes a general description and illustrations, software or firmware versions affecting compliance, user and installation information, design and manufacturing information, applied harmonised standards or alternative technical solutions, the EU declaration, notified-body certificates where relevant, calculations, examinations, test reports, and an explanation of Article 10(2) and Article 10(10) information.
The manufacturer owns conformity assessment, the technical documentation, the EU declaration, and CE marking. Importers must verify specified manufacturer steps and keep a declaration copy for 10 years; distributors must verify CE marking and accompanying information before supply. All economic operators must support authority requests and corrective action within their assigned RED role.
Retain the EU declaration and technical documentation for 10 years after the has been placed on the market.
Reopen the applicability test after material hardware, antenna, module, supplier, firmware, intended-use, connectivity, data-processing, payment, charger, labelling, packaging, distance-selling, Member State market, harmonised-standard, or regulatory changes.
When equipment is found non-compliant, record the decision to bring it into conformity, withdraw it, or recall it as appropriate; if it presents a risk, record the competent-authority notifications and results.
Do not rely on a supplier certificate, old test report, or module approval unless it matches the final configuration and the EU role being documented.
General EU product-law guidance for economic-operator responsibilities, CE marking, conformity assessment, and market surveillance context.
The manufacturer is responsible for the conformity assessment
Recommended next step
Turn the RED scope decision into release evidence
Use the applicability test to create a product-specific RED record with Article 3 mapping, standards evidence, labeling decisions, technical-file gaps, and review triggers.
Primary RED source for scope, definitions, essential requirements, conformity assessment, EU declaration, CE marking, and technical documentation.
Primary RED source for scope, definitions, operator roles, essential requirements, conformity assessment, EU declaration, CE marking, and technical documentation.
Primary RED source for Article 3 essential requirements and conformity-assessment choices.
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Primary RED source for conformity assessment modules, EU declaration, CE marking, and technical-documentation retention.
"making available on the market and putting into service"
More quoted passages
"Essential requirements"
"for 10 years after the radio equipment has been placed on the market"
Repeals Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 from 11 December 2027 and preserves RED surveillance for covered equipment placed on the market during the preceding RED cybersecurity period.
Binding source for repeal from 11 December 2027 and continued RED surveillance of covered equipment placed on the market from 1 August 2025 through 10 December 2027.