Key Takeaways
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 replaces Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC from 20 January 2027, with no transition period.
- It does not apply in Great Britain. Supply of machinery in GB remains governed by the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008.
- It does apply directly in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework.
- CE marking under the new Regulation will be recognised in Great Britain alongside UKCA.
- The Government has confirmed it intends to update the 2008 Regulations to introduce similar measures for GB, with legislation still to come.
- Duties for machinery in use are unchanged and continue to sit under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
What the EU Machinery Regulation is
The new European machinery law takes effect in January 2027 and is already appearing in supplier documentation in the UK.
Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2023 on machinery repeals and replaces Directive 2006/42/EC from 20 January 2027. Notably, because it is a regulation rather than a directive, it applies directly in EU Member States without national transposition, a deliberate choice intended to reduce the divergence in interpretation that grew up around the Directive when it came into force in 2009.
The changes most relevant when you are using machinery, rather than placing it on the market, are these:
- Software and machinery, with fully or partially self-evolving behaviour arising from machine learning, are addressed explicitly where they perform safety functions.
- Cybersecurity enters machinery safety, but only where safety is affected. Annex III requires that safety-related software and data be protected against accidental or intentional corruption, and that control systems withstand malicious third-party interference.
- The list of products requiring third-party conformity assessment has been restructured into Annex I Parts A and B, and expanded.
- Instructions for use and declarations of conformity may be supplied digitally, subject to conditions.
The Regulation also covers remote-controlled and autonomous mobile machinery. The cybersecurity provisions are deliberately narrow, reaching corruption of safety-related software and data and malicious interference with control systems, and no further. Broader product cybersecurity is dealt with by a separate instrument, the Cyber Resilience Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/2847, whose main obligations apply from 11 December 2027. Machinery with digital elements placed on the market in an EU Member State may have to satisfy both. Northern Ireland is narrower: the Machinery Regulation applies there under the Windsor Framework, but the Cyber Resilience Act is not listed in Annex 2 to the Framework and, on the UK Government’s stated analysis, its substantive requirements do not apply. Machinery placed on the Northern Ireland market therefore carries the Machinery Regulation’s cybersecurity requirements and no more.
Does it Apply in Great Britain?
If you take delivery of machinery in early 2027, the declaration of conformity will cite Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 rather than Directive 2006/42/EC. The manual is simply a QR code on the control panel. Nothing in the file resembles the documentation the site has held since 2009, and the immediate question for the person in your goods-in warehouse is whether the machine can be accepted at all.
Rejecting compliant documentation would delay commissioning; accepting it unexamined would leave the site holding conformity evidence it has not verified. Which is right turns on two questions: does the Regulation bind the site, and does GB law accept documentation issued under it?
The answers differ. Both sit within GB law: the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) for machinery in use, and the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 (SMSR 2008) for supply. The latter catches out more businesses than expected: a site that imports machinery, assembles units into a line, or modifies existing equipment may effectively legally become responsible and be seen as the equipment manufacturer.
The Short Answer
No. The Regulation is EU law and does not extend to England, Wales or Scotland. Supply of machinery in Great Britain continues to be governed by SMSR 2008, which implemented Directive 2006/42/EC and was preserved and amended after EU exit. GB duty holders need not comply with Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 for machinery used on GB sites.
Why the Question Arose
The assumption is understandable. Great Britain has recognised compliance with the Machinery Directive since Brexit, made indefinite by the Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment) Regulations 2024, so recognition of the successor instrument looked like a formality. It was not. The 2024 recognition was drafted by reference to Directive 2006/42/EC, which the Regulation repeals on 20 January 2027, so continued recognition required fresh legislation. It came in the Supply of Machinery (Safety) (Amendment etc.) and the EU Machinery Regulation (Enforcement etc. in Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026, which extend CE recognition to machinery meeting the Regulation’s requirements. Until then the position was unconfirmed in law.
The situation is distinct in Northern Ireland. There the Regulation applies directly under the Windsor Framework. Legislation made in 2026 establishes the enforcement framework, with the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland enforcing for products used at work and district councils for consumer products, and revokes SMSR 2008 as it applies in Northern Ireland. If your sites or contracts are in Northern Ireland, the new EU Machinery Regulation is directly relevant.
What happens next in Great Britain
The Office for Product Safety and Standards ran a call for evidence on machinery safety legislation in 2025, before publishing the Government response in February 2026. Of 48 respondents, the large majority supported both continued recognition of CE marking and alignment of the GB approach with the EU Regulation.
The two outcomes of the UK Government’s response:
- The continued recognition of CE marking (see below for further detail).
- The Government intends to update SMSR 2008 as it applies in Great Britain to introduce measures similar to the EU Regulation, adapted for the GB context, including the role of UK conformity assessment bodies and UKCA marking. It has said full equivalence is not achievable for that reason. No date for this has been fixed, however.
The direction of travel is towards similar concepts, so time spent understanding cybersecurity, software control and substantial modification now is not wasted.
CE Recognition Has Been Confirmed
Recognition of CE marking for machinery in Great Britain was already indefinite following the Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment) Regulations 2024, in force from 1 October 2024. That recognition was tied to compliance with the Machinery Directive, and did not reach the new Regulation.
That gap has been addressed. The Supply of Machinery (Safety) (Amendment etc.) and the EU Machinery Regulation (Enforcement etc. in Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026, made under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025, amend SMSR 2008 so that machinery meeting the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 and bearing CE marking may continue to be placed on the Great Britain market. The relevant provisions extend to England, Wales and Scotland and take effect from 20 January 2027.
The practical effect is straightforward. A declaration citing Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, supported by CE marking, is acceptable for the GB market. UKCA marking remains available and valid. Machinery lawfully placed on the market under the Directive before that date is not disturbed.
What This Means in Practice for Owners and Operators
Your duties have not changed. PUWER continues to require that work equipment is suitable, properly maintained, inspected where appropriate, adequately guarded, and accompanied by adequate information, instructions and training. Nothing in the EU Regulation alters that.
Documentation will look different. Declarations citing 2023/1230 and instructions supplied digitally are legitimate, and should not be rejected on sight. Purchasers of imported equipment should confirm that the instructions can be downloaded and printed and held locally, so they remain accessible when the machine itself is down. The Regulation requires the format to allow this, and regulation 8 of PUWER requires the information to be available to those using the equipment. Paper is available free of charge, but only if requested at the time of purchase, so it is worth specifying at the order stage rather than on delivery.
Component supply will shift. We frequently encounter sites relying on like-for-like replacement of interlocks, light curtains and safety controllers. As EU suppliers transition their ranges, exact replacements may become harder to obtain, and substitution may change the performance level of a safety function. Obsolescence is a maintenance and validation issue under PUWER, not only a procurement one.
If you supply, you are in scope, and you may be supplying without realising it. Exporting machinery, supplying into the EU or Northern Ireland, or building lines for EU customers brings the Regulation to bear directly.
Closer to home, SMSR 2008 treats the machinery owner/employer as the manufacturer more often than expected, because designing or assembling machinery for your own use qualifies companies as such. Combining separate machines into an assembly, motorising manual equipment or converting it to automatic control can create a new machine in law, carrying conformity assessment, a technical file, a declaration and marking. Attention should be paid when buying from outside the UK. SMSR has no separate importer tier, so where a machine is bought straight from an overseas supplier and arrives without a declaration or conformity marking, the site that receives it cannot lawfully put it into service. The table below sets out which of the three positions applies.
| Question | Answer | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Did you design, assemble or modify it? | You are the manufacturer | Applies even if the machine never leaves your site. You take on the full manufacturer's duties, from conformity assessment through to the signed declaration and marking. |
| Did you buy it from a UK supplier? | The duty sits upstream | The responsible person is your supplier. You owe PUWER duties on the equipment in use. |
| Did you buy it direct from overseas? | No importer tier exists | If it arrives without a declaration or marking, you cannot lawfully put it into service. |
How machinery reaches a site determines the responsibility.
A measured approach
The sensible response is assessment rather than reaction:
- Maintain a machinery asset register recording conformity status, marking and documentation held.
- Verify conformity rather than assume it, particularly for imported and second-hand equipment.
- Review machinery modified since installation and record the reasoning.
- Check technical file completeness, including risk assessments, schematics and validation records under EN ISO 13849-1 and EN 60204-1.
- Plan for safety component obsolescence before it becomes a breakdown.
- Specify the applicable framework, CE under the Regulation or UKCA, in capital purchase contracts for 2027 deliveries.
Compliance must be verified, not assumed, whichever framework the paperwork cites.
Conclusion
Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 reshapes what manufacturers must do and what documentation looks like. It does not rewrite the duties of machinery owners and operators in Great Britain, which remain under PUWER. The change is real, but it sits upstream of most UK sites. The appropriate response is to verify what you hold rather than assume it remains adequate.
If you would like support reviewing machinery safety arrangements, guarding, or the conformity evidence held for your assets, get in contact today for a no obligation discussion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the EU Machinery Regulation apply to machinery in a UK factory?
Not in England, Wales or Scotland. Your duties for machinery in use remain under PUWER, and supply is governed by SMSR 2008. The Regulation applies directly in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework, and to anyone placing machinery on the EU market, including GB exporters.
Can I still buy CE-marked machinery in Great Britain after January 2027?
Yes. The 2026 Regulations amend SMSR 2008 so that machinery meeting Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 and bearing CE marking can be placed on the GB market from 20 January 2027. UKCA marking remains available. Both routes are valid, and you should record which applies to each asset.
Will the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 be replaced?
Not yet. The Government has stated it intends to update the 2008 Regulations as they apply in Great Britain to introduce measures similar to the EU Regulation, using powers in the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025. No date has been announced. Until then, SMSR 2008 remains the GB supply framework.
Does the new Regulation change my PUWER duties?
No. Suitability, maintenance, inspection, guarding, information and training obligations are unaffected. What changes is the documentation you receive from suppliers and the availability of replacement safety components, both of which feed into how you discharge existing PUWER duties rather than creating new ones.
