Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU Guidelines
Electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits
November 2016
These Low Voltage Directive guidelines are intended to be a manual for all parties directly or indirectly affected by Directive 2014/35/EU, commonly referred to as the LVD, applicable from 20 April 2016, replacing the previous Directive 2006/95/EC.
These guidelines supersede the “guidelines on the application of Directive 2006/95/EC” of August 2007 (last modification January 2012). The LVD guidelines refer only to the application of Directive 2014/35/EU unless otherwise indicated.
Readers’ attention is drawn to the fact that these guidelines are intended only to facilitate the application of Directive 2014/35/EU and it is the text of the Directive and the national laws transposing the Directive that are legally binding. However, this document does represent a reference for ensuring consistent and harmonised application of the Directive by all stakeholders.
The guidelines are intended not only for the use of Member States’ competent authorities, but also by the main economic operators concerned, such as manufacturers, importers and distributors and their trade associations; bodies in charge of the preparation of standards as well as those involved in the conformity assessment procedures.
These guidelines are not exhaustive; they focus on certain issues only, which, in the light of the experience, are of direct and specific interest for the application of the Low Voltage Directive. These guidelines should be used in conjunction with the Directive itself and with the European Commission’s document “The Blue Guide on the implementation of EU product rules”4, which further explains concepts such as “placing on the market” and “economic operators”.
The structure of the LVD guidelines follows the structure of the LVD 2014/35/EU itself. Comments and explanations are given to each Article and Annex of the Directive. For comprehensive guidance on horizontal terms and principles of EU product rules, the readers should refer to the “The 'Blue Guide' on the implementation of EU product rules”, as advised in these guidelines.
These guidelines have been prepared by the competent services of the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (GROW) of the European Commission in cooperation with Member States, European standardisation bodies, European industry, European consumer organisations and other relevant sectoral stakeholders.
European Commission
November 2016