Go to the content
PROFECTRONICS
Technical article · Law

Test benches and the Machinery Regulation from 2027-01-20

From 2027-01-20, Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 applies without a coexistence period and without protection for projects in progress. For the first time, EU law itself defines the substantial modification. This article describes the effects on special machinery, in-house builds and conversions.

Context

From the Machinery Directive to the Machinery Regulation

On 2027-01-20, Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 replaces the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. For test bench construction, this is not only a formal change. Unlike the last transition, there is no period in which the two sets of rules apply together. The only decisive point is the date on which the manufacturer places a plant on the market or puts it into service.

With a project duration of 12 to 24 months, the date already affects quotations of today. If such a test bench goes on the market or into service on or after that date, the Regulation applies to design and documentation. This article sorts the changes and shows which of them affect test benches.

No legal advice

Profectronics builds test benches and does not give legal advice. This article gives the research status of August 2026. The article gives the references, and you can read them. The article does not replace the legal assessment of a specific project.

01

Dates in accordance with Article 54

Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on machinery has the date 2023-06-14. It repeals Directive 2006/42/EC. The Official Journal L 165 of 2023-06-29 published it[1] [2]. It entered into force on 2023-07-19[3]. The second paragraph of Article 54 states: “It shall apply from 20 January 2027.”

Some articles apply before this date. The articles on the notification of conformity assessment bodies apply since 2024-01-20, the provisions on penalties from 2026-10-20[4].

2023-07-19 Entry into force 2024-01-20 Articles 26 to 42: notification of conformity assessment bodies 2024-07-20 Article 6(2) to (6), (8), (11) and Articles 47 and 53(3) 2026-10-20 Article 50(1): penalties 2027-01-20 full application · Directive 2006/42/EC repealed FROM HERE THE REGULATION APPLIES IN FULL
Fig. 1 · Sequence in time in accordance with Article 54. Full application and the repeal of the Machinery Directive fall on the same day. Dates from the text of the Regulation[4].

Article 51(2) repeals Directive 2006/42/EC with effect from 2027-01-20. Article 52(1) protects products already on the market. Member States must not impede the supply on the market of products that the manufacturer placed on the market under the Directive before this date. EC type-examination certificates in accordance with Article 12 of the Directive stay valid until they expire[4].

The European Commission gives this summary: all machinery that comes on the EU market before 2027-01-20 must comply with the Machinery Directive in force[5].

No coexistence period

The Regulation has no coexistence period. A test bench that the manufacturer places on the market on 2027-01-19 follows the Directive. A test bench that the manufacturer places on the market on 2027-01-20 follows the Regulation. There is no choice.

Corrected German version

An extensive corrigendum to the German version exists. The Official Journal of 2025-04-01 published it with the number 2025/90297. It corrects recital 69 and Article 3(34), together with other text. Further corrections apply to Article 10(6) and (7) and to several points in Annex III[6]. If you quote from the German version, use the corrected version.

02

Legal form: regulation instead of directive

The legal form changes from a directive to a regulation. Each Member State transposes a directive into national law. Austria did this with the Maschinen-Sicherheitsverordnung 2010[7]. A regulation applies directly in all Member States, without an act of transposition. This has 3 results:

  • For the export of single plants, it is not necessary to examine whether a country of destination transposed the Directive in a different way.
  • The citation changes. The EU declaration of conformity gives Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, not the Directive or the national regulation for transposition.
  • National law is still necessary for market surveillance, the competence of authorities, notification and penalties.

Austria has already adapted this framework. The amendment BGBl. II Nr. 161/2025 of 2025-07-15 changes the Maschinen-Sicherheitsverordnung 2010. It appoints the Bundesamt für Eich- und Vermessungswesen as the market surveillance authority. The amendment also changes the notification procedure for conformity assessment bodies. This procedure already follows Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230[8]. This agrees with the third paragraph of Article 54: these articles apply since 2024-01-20[4].

03

Substantial modification in accordance with Article 3(16)

This point has a direct effect on test benches. Test benches grow over 15 to 20 years through continuous extensions. Article 3(16) defines the term for the first time in EU law:

“‘substantial modification’ means a modification of machinery or a related product, by physical or digital means after that machinery or related product has been placed on the market or put into service, which is not foreseen or planned by the manufacturer, and which affects the safety of that machinery or related product, by creating a new hazard, or by increasing an existing risk, which requires: (a) the addition of guards or protective devices to that machinery or related product the processing of which necessitates the modification of the existing safety control system; or (b) the adoption of additional protective measures to ensure the stability or mechanical strength of that machinery or related product”[9].

Thus the definition has 3 stages. The manufacturer did not foresee the modification. The modification causes a new hazard or increases a risk that is already there. As a result, one of the 2 measures in point (a) or (b) is necessary. Recital 26 describes the third stage in general terms with the criterion “when new significant protective measures are required”[1]. For the examination, the text of Article 3(16) is decisive.

A direct effect on test benches: purely digital modifications too can be substantial. Examples are a changed safety application in the safety controller or an additional interface for remote access. Such a modification is substantial only if it affects safety and makes a measure in point (a) or (b) necessary. An example for point (a): it is necessary to connect an additional protective device to the safety control system of the machine.

Role of manufacturer after a substantial modification

Article 18 gives the result. The second half of the sentence has a direct effect on plant construction:

A person who makes a substantial modification is a manufacturer and has the obligations of the manufacturer for the machinery “or, if the substantial modification has an impact on the safety of only machinery or a related product that is part of an assembly of machinery, for that affected machinery or related product, as demonstrated in the risk assessment”[9].

Thus it is possible to limit the obligations of the manufacturer to the affected part machine. The condition is that the risk assessment shows the limit of the effect. An example: on a heat pump test bench in operation, the operator replaces only the module for media conditioning. Then the operator does not necessarily have to assess the full plant again. Without the documented evidence, the full obligation of the manufacturer applies to the full assembly.

Sequence of checks for each conversion

From the definition comes a sequence of checks for each conversion:

  1. Did the manufacturer foresee or plan the modification? Examples: documented variants, defined extension stages and released parameter ranges in the instructions for use. If the manufacturer foresaw the modification, there is no substantial modification.
  2. Does a new hazard occur, or does a risk that is already there increase?
  3. As a result, is a measure in point (a) or (b) necessary? Point (a): an additional guard or protective device, and its connection changes the safety control system. Point (b): additional protective measures for stability or mechanical strength[9].

A substantial modification exists only if the answer to question 1 is no and the answers to questions 2 and 3 are yes.

Define extension stages in advance

One method comes directly from the definition. The manufacturer includes foreseeable extension stages in the instructions for use and the technical documentation from the start. A modification that the manufacturer foresaw is not a substantial modification in accordance with the definition.

Article 3(18) tells who is a manufacturer. It also applies explicitly to a person who “puts those products into service for its own use”[9]. Thus a company that builds a test bench for its own laboratory is a manufacturer in the legal sense. It has the obligations for risk assessment, technical documentation, conformity assessment, declaration of conformity, CE marking and instructions for use.

04

Annex I: cases with a notified body

Annex I replaces Annex IV of the Directive. Unlike Annex IV, it has 2 parts[10].

Conformity assessment in accordance with Article 25
CasePermitted proceduresNotified body
Annex I Part AEU type-examination plus internal production control, full quality assurance or unit verificationmandatory[10]
Annex I Part Binternal production control if the manufacturer applied harmonised standards or common specifications in full, else as Part Aconditional[10]
not listedinternal production controlno[10]

As a whole, a typical test bench for heat pumps, electronics cooling or power electronics is in no category of Annex I. Thus the manufacturer can certify it alone. But the manufacturer must examine whether components are in a category. This applies specially to logic units for safety functions and to protective devices that detect persons. Both are in Part B[10]. For a safety controller or a light curtain from a supplier, this obligation is with the component manufacturer, not with the test bench builder.

Machine learning in safety functions

Annex I Part A has 2 categories that the Directive did not have. They apply to safety components and machinery with embedded systems “with fully or partially self-evolving behaviour using machine learning approaches ensuring safety functions”[10]. The new definition in Article 3(3) agrees with this. In accordance with it, a safety component can also be a digital component, “including software”[9].

Adaptive control systems

2 features are decisive at the same time: self-evolving behaviour and a safety function that the system ensures. A learning controller for media conditioning without a safety function is not in this category. A self-learning protection of persons or against collision is in this category. It moves a test bench into Part A that the manufacturer otherwise can certify alone. Then a notified body is necessary.

Unit verification in accordance with Annex X for single units

The Regulation has no exception for single units. But for special machinery it gives a suitable instrument: unit verification in accordance with Annex X (module G). Article 25 gives it explicitly as an option[10]. For Part A products that the manufacturer makes as single units, it often costs less than an EU type-examination. Article 25(5) also requires that notified bodies consider the interests of small and medium-sized enterprises when they set their fees[10].

05

The test bench as an assembly of machinery

The Regulation has no separate definition of the “assembly of machinery”. The term is part of the definition of machinery, Article 3(1)(d). It means assemblies of machinery or of partly completed machinery, “which, in order to achieve the same end, are arranged and controlled so that they function as an integral whole”[9].

Recital 33 gives the reason: the safety of the full machinery depends on the dependencies and interactions between its components, “which can also result in an assembly of machinery”[1].

Assume that a person puts such an assembly together. If this person places it on the market or puts it into service for own use, this person is the manufacturer of the assembly. This person makes a separate risk assessment, specially for the interfaces between the part machines. In addition, there is separate technical documentation, one declaration of conformity, one CE marking and instructions for use for the assembly.

CE marking of the assembly

The CE markings of the single components do not cancel the obligation for a CE marking of the full assembly. They only help because a new assessment of the single component is not necessary.

The opposite item on the supplier side is the partly completed machinery in accordance with Article 3(10). This is an assembly “which is not yet machinery” and which cannot do a specific application as it is[9]. It has no CE marking in accordance with the Regulation. It has an EU declaration of incorporation in accordance with Article 22 and assembly instructions in accordance with Annex XI[10]. Article 22(4) makes this clear: with the declaration of incorporation, the manufacturer accepts the responsibility that the partly completed machinery complies with the requirements.

The result for contracts: the parties to the contract agree on the roles in advance.

  • Who manufactures the assembly?
  • Who supplies partly completed machinery with a declaration of incorporation and assembly instructions?
  • Who makes the risk assessment of the interfaces for the full assembly?

The answers tell who signs the declaration of conformity at the end.

06

Digital instructions for use in accordance with Article 10(7)

Article 10(7) permits instructions for use in digital format and sets conditions for them. The table shows the conditions that are important for plant construction[9].

Obligations for digital instructions for use, Article 10(7)
ObligationContent
Access informationon the machinery, else on the package or in a document that comes with the machinery
Formatthe user can print, download and save them · available also when the machinery has a breakdown, also when the software contains the instructions
Online availabilityduring the expected lifetime and for at least 10 years from the date on which the manufacturer places the machinery on the market
Paper versionat the request of the user at the time of the purchase, free of charge, within one month
Languageas the Member State specifies, easy for the users to understand
Maintenance instructionsfor specialised personnel that the manufacturer mandates, one official Union language that this personnel understands is sufficient[11]

Paper version and availability for 10 years

The right to a paper version depends on the time of the purchase. For this reason, the quotation or the order confirmation asks for it and records it. The availability for 10 years needs an infrastructure: a stable address, access information on the plant and a version archive. For a plant that comes on the market in 2027, the obligation applies until 2037 at a minimum.

07

Protection against corruption in accordance with Annex III, section 1.1.9

In section 1.1.9 “Protection against corruption”, Annex III has requirements that the Directive did not have[6] [11]. In summary, the section requires:

  • The connection of another device does not cause a hazardous situation. This applies to each feature of this device and to the connection through a remote device.
  • Hardware components that transmit signals or data for access to software critical for safety have adequate protection against accidental or intentional corruption. The machinery collects evidence of a legitimate or illegitimate intervention in these components.
  • Software and data that are critical for compliance have an identification as such and adequate protection against corruption.
  • The machinery identifies the installed software that is necessary for safe operation. It gives this information at all times in an easily accessible form.
  • The machinery collects evidence of a legitimate or illegitimate intervention in the software and of a modification of the installed software or its configuration.

Test benches almost always have a network connection. Examples are data acquisition, test automation and the connection to test bench management systems. Frequently, the manufacturer also has a remote maintenance access. Thus section 1.1.9 makes protection against corruption an essential safety requirement. The manufacturer shows in the risk assessment that the machinery meets it.

Network and remote maintenance in the safety file

From 2027, 4 items go into the same file as the emergency stop circuit. These are network segmentation, the access concept for remote maintenance, parameter protection of the safety functions and records of software interventions.

The corrigendum of 2025-04-01 changes the text of this section in the German version at several positions[6]. For this reason, use the corrected version for section 1.1.9.

08

Other legal acts and status of the standards

Electrical safety

Annex III, section 1.5.1 gives the conflict rule word for word. The safety objectives of the Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU apply to machinery. “However, the obligations concerning conformity assessment and the placing on the market or putting into service of machinery or related products with regard to electrical risks are governed solely by this Regulation.”[11]

The result in practice: the manufacturer applies EN 60204-1. An additional declaration of conformity in accordance with the Low Voltage Directive for the machinery is not necessary.

Explosion protection, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and pressure equipment

Annex III, section 1.5.7 applies to use in a potentially explosive atmosphere. For the risk of explosion, the machinery must comply “with the provisions of the specific Union harmonisation legislation”[11]. The Regulation does not give the name of the ATEX Directive, but it includes the directive through this reference. For test benches with flammable refrigerants or hydrogen, this is the decisive point of connection.

EMC Directive and Pressure Equipment Directive

The parts of the Regulation that we examined are the recitals, Articles 1 to 40 and Annex III. Neither the EMC Directive 2014/30/EU nor the Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU occurs in them. Thus these parts have no explicit rule of priority or exclusion for these 2 directives. The usual interpretation is a cumulative application in accordance with the principle of the New Legislative Framework. In accordance with this principle, each legal act applies to the aspects that it covers. This interpretation is not a reference in the text.

Examine the interpretation for each specific project.

Article 21(3) makes the documentation simpler. If more than one legal act requires a declaration of conformity, the manufacturer draws up a single declaration for all of them[10].

Status of the harmonised standards

On 2025-01-20, the Commission gave the standardisation request to CEN and CENELEC[12]. The time limit for the work programme was 2025-07-20. The request gives 2035-01-20 for the final report. In the sources that we found, the Official Journal did not publish a list of harmonised standards under the Regulation until August 2026[13] [14].

No presumption of conformity without a list of standards

Until the Official Journal publishes a list of standards, harmonised standards give no presumption of conformity for machinery under the Regulation. The standards in use stay the state of the art. But the manufacturer must show alone that the machinery complies with Annex III.

Thus the evidence depends on the documented risk assessment. For products in Annex I Part B, this also affects the selection of the module. Internal production control requires the full application of harmonised standards or common specifications[10].

The applicable standards also change. The Austrian editions have this status:

  • EN ISO 12100: edition of 2013[15]
  • EN ISO 13849-1: edition of 2023[16]
  • EN 60204-1: edition of 2019[17]
  • EN ISO 13850: edition of 2016[18]

EN ISO 12100 and EN 60204-1 are in revision[19] [20]. For this reason, this article always gives standards with their date of issue.

09

Checklist for projects from 2027-01-20

The checklist gives a summary of sections 03 to 08 for manufacturers and operators of test benches. It is not legal information.

  1. Instructions for use on paper: At the time of the purchase, did you ask the user about a paper version and record the answer[9]?
  2. Online availability: Do the digital instructions for use stay accessible during the lifetime and for at least 10 years? Is there a stable address, access information on the plant and a version archive[9]?
  3. Protection against corruption: Does the risk assessment cover remote maintenance, network segmentation, parameter protection and evidence of software interventions[11]?
  4. Technical documentation: Is the storage for at least 10 years safe[9]?
  5. Annex I Part A, points 5 and 6: Does a system with machine learning ensure a safety function? Only then must a test bench that the manufacturer otherwise can certify alone go to a notified body[10].
  6. Extension stages: Do the instructions for use and the technical documentation include foreseeable extension stages? A foreseen modification is not a substantial modification[9].
  7. Roles in assemblies: Does the contract specify who manufactures the assembly, who supplies partly completed machinery and who assesses the interfaces[9] [10]?
  8. Explosion protection: With flammable refrigerants or hydrogen, does the design include it[11]?

The Regulation makes into law many points that were interpretation practice under the Directive, specially for the substantial modification. New requirements include section 1.1.9, systems with machine learning in Annex I Part A and the digital instructions for use. Additional work occurs mainly in the documentation and in the infrastructure for it.

Research status August 2026

2 questions have no answer yet. Does Austria formally repeal the Maschinen-Sicherheitsverordnung 2010, and on which date? Is there already a national implementation act for the Regulation? We did not get a final answer to these 2 questions. Examine these points in the Austrian federal legal information system (RIS). The publication of harmonised standards under the Regulation is also still open.

10

Sources

Date of retrieval for all references: August 2026. For some articles, the official source did not show the text of the article. In these cases, the source line gives the secondary full-text reproduction.

The English quotes from Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 come from the official English text on EUR-Lex. This text is the consolidated version of 2023-06-29 with the corrigendum in OJ L 169 of 2023-07-04: eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02023R1230-20230629.

  1. EUR-Lex · Verordnung (EU) 2023/1230 über Maschinen und zur Aufhebung der Richtlinie 2006/42/EG — German version, recitals · 2023-06-14, OJ L 165 of 2023-06-29 · eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32023R1230 · Legal act
  2. EUR-Lex · Verordnung (EU) 2023/1230 — Official Journal version as PDF · 2023 · eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32023R1230 · Legal act
  3. EUR-Lex · Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 — ELI page with metadata (entry into force 2023-07-19) · retrieved 2026 · eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1230/oj/eng · Legal act
  4. gesetze.legal · Verordnung (EU) 2023/1230 — full-text reproduction of Articles 21, 22, 25, 51, 52, 54 and of Annexes I, III, XI · retrieved 2026 · gesetze.legal/eu/vo_eu_2023_1230 · Secondary full-text reproduction
  5. European Commission, DG GROW · Machinery — Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs · retrieved 2026 · single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/mechanical-engineering/machinery_en · Information from an authority
  6. Official Journal of the EU · Berichtigung der Verordnung (EU) 2023/1230, Berichtigung 2025/90297 · OJ L of 2025-04-01 · www.ce-richtlinien.eu/richtlinien/Maschinen/Richtlinien/MaschVO_EU-2023-1230_DE_2-Berichtigung.pdf · Legal act, corrigendum
  7. RIS, Federal Chancellery of Austria · Maschinen-Sicherheitsverordnung 2010 (MSV 2010), BGBl. II Nr. 282/2008, geltende Fassung · retrieved 2026 · www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20005922 · Legal provision
  8. RIS / Federal Law Gazette · 161. Verordnung, mit der die Maschinen-Sicherheitsverordnung 2010 geändert wird, BGBl. II Nr. 161/2025 · 2025-07-15 · www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/BgblAuth/BGBLA_2025_II_161/BGBLA_2025_II_161.html · Legal provision
  9. EUR-Lex · Verordnung (EU) 2023/1230 — consolidated German version, Articles 1 to 40 · as of 2023-06-29 · eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02023R1230-20230629 · Legal act
  10. gesetze.legal · Verordnung (EU) 2023/1230 — Articles 22 and 25 and Annex I · retrieved 2026 · gesetze.legal/eu/vo_eu_2023_1230 · Secondary full-text reproduction
  11. gesetze.legal · Verordnung (EU) 2023/1230 — Annex III, sections 1.1.9, 1.5.1, 1.5.7 and 1.7.4 · retrieved 2026 · gesetze.legal/eu/vo_eu_2023_1230 · Secondary full-text reproduction
  12. European Commission · Commission Implementing Decision on a standardisation request to CEN and CENELEC as regards machinery and related products in support of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, C(2025) 129 final · 2025-01-20 · www.ibf-solutions.com/fileadmin/dateidownloads/standardisation-request-mr.pdf · Implementing decision
  13. globalnorm · Harmonisierte Normen zur Maschinenverordnung (EU) 2023/1230 · report of 2025-06-10 · compliance.globalnorm.de/product-compliance-news/detail/harmonisierte-normen-zur-maschinenverordnung-eu-2023-1230/ · Trade report
  14. IBF Solutions · Neue Maschinenverordnung: Status harmonisierter Normen · retrieved 2026 · www.ibf-solutions.com/fachbeitraege/neue-maschinenverordnung-status-harmonisierter-normen · Technical article
  15. Austrian Standards · ÖNORM EN ISO 12100:2013-10-15 — Sicherheit von Maschinen — Allgemeine Gestaltungsprinzipien · 2013 · www.austrian-standards.at/en/shop/onorm-en-iso-12100-2013-10-15~p2031895 · Standard
  16. Austrian Standards · ÖNORM EN ISO 13849-1:2023-10-15 — Sicherheitsbezogene Teile von Steuerungssystemen, Teil 1 · 2023 · www.austrian-standards.at/en/shop/onorm-en-iso-13849-1-2023-10-15~p3336813 · Standard
  17. Austrian Standards · OVE EN 60204-1:2019-08-01 — Elektrische Ausrüstung von Maschinen, Teil 1 · 2019 · www.austrian-standards.at/en/shop/ove-en-60204-1-2019-08-01~p2485703 · Standard
  18. Austrian Standards · ÖNORM EN ISO 13850:2016-04-15 — Not-Halt-Funktion, Gestaltungsleitsätze · 2016 · www.austrian-standards.at/de/shop/onorm-en-iso-13850-2016-04-15~p2223550 · Standard
  19. globalnorm · Entwurf DIN EN ISO 12100 · retrieved 2026 · compliance.globalnorm.de/product-compliance-news/detail/entwurf-din-en-iso-121002025-12/ · Draft standard
  20. Austrian Standards · DIN EN 60204-1 / VDE 0113-1:2026-06 · 2026 · www.austrian-standards.at/de/shop/din-en-60204-1-vde-0113-1-2026-06~p4888036 · Standard
  21. EUR-Lex · Richtlinie 2009/104/EG über Mindestvorschriften für Sicherheit und Gesundheitsschutz bei Benutzung von Arbeitsmitteln · 2009-09-16 · eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32009L0104 · Legal act

Market entry from 2027-01-20

From 2027-01-20, the Regulation applies when a manufacturer places a test bench on the market or puts it into service. This already affects the design. If you plan such a project, contact us before the risk assessment.

Send an enquiry All technical articles