Technical standards
The Machinery Directive’s final encore: new harmonised standards four months before farewell
The Machinery Directive returns for a final encore: 67 new harmonised references, two corrigenda and four months to manage the technical impact.
After almost twenty years with the Machinery Directive, we had begun preparing our farewells. The final risk assessments, the final declarations, one last January together. Then, on 7 September 2026, the Official Journal put Directive 2006/42/EC back in the spotlight: 67 new entries in the list of harmonised standards and two corrected references, just over four months before its repeal.
It is a very European finale: while Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 waits in the wings, the old Directive returns for one last technical encore. The move also has an immediate practical effect. For machinery placed on the market before 20 January 2027, Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/2015 updates the references that may provide a presumption of conformity with the essential requirements they cover.
At a glance
- The Decision entered into force on 7 September 2026, the date of publication.
- Its Annex adds 67 rows and replaces two more to include corrigenda.
- The most widely relevant references include EN ISO 3744:2026, EN ISO 13855:2024, EN ISO 14119:2025 with A11:2026, and EN IEC 62061:2021 with A1:2024.
- Decision 2023/1586, as amended, will be repealed on 20 January 2027 when the Machinery Regulation becomes applicable.
- The future ISO 12100 is absent because it remains under development. EN 50742:2025 is also absent: it is published, but it is not a harmonised reference for the Machinery Directive.
A final encore, with immediate effect
The short remaining period does not make this update symbolic. Presumption of conformity follows publication of a reference in the Official Journal and applies only to the essential requirements actually covered by the standard. Application remains voluntary: it does not replace risk assessment or turn the standard into legislation.
There is a further practical detail. The Decision inserts the new references into the existing list without setting separate dates for the cessation of presumption of conformity for most predecessor entries. The decisive curtain falls when Decision 2023/1586 is repealed in full on 20 January 2027. This brief coexistence does not justify selecting an edition by habit: the reference used should be supported by the placing-on-the-market date, the state of the art, the actual machinery and the requirements covered.
The updates that deserve immediate attention
Four horizontal references
For many engineering teams, the most important group sits among the type-B standards. The new citation of EN ISO 3744:2026 updates the reference for determining sound power by sound pressure. EN ISO 13855:2024 brings the revised positioning of safeguards with respect to the approach of the human body into the Official Journal. EN ISO 14119:2025 with A11:2026 updates the principles for interlocking devices associated with guards. EN IEC 62061:2021 with A1:2024 completes the reference for functional safety of safety-related control systems.
These are not merely numbers to replace in a declaration. They may affect design assumptions, selection criteria, testing, validation and evidence retained in the technical file. Our earlier analysis explains the practical implications of EN ISO 13855:2024 for safeguard positioning.
Robotics, packaging and autonomous machinery
The type-C landscape also moves forward: EN ISO 10218-1:2025 and EN ISO 10218-2:2025 enter the list for industrial robots, robot applications and robot-cell integration; EN 415-4:2025 covers palletisers, depalletisers and associated equipment; and EN 1175:2025 covers electrical and electronic requirements for industrial trucks.
The EN ISO 18497-1 to -4:2024 series is especially notable. It addresses the safety of partially automated, semi-autonomous and autonomous agricultural machinery, including design principles, obstacle protection systems, autonomous operating zones and validation. Further additions cover agricultural and forestry machinery, machine tools, woodworking machinery, lifting equipment, refrigeration systems, food-processing equipment and electric tools.
Additive manufacturing and corrigenda
EN ISO/ASTM 52938-1:2025 introduces a dedicated safety reference for metal powder-bed fusion machines using a laser beam. The rows for EN 13155:2020+A1:2025 and EN 14439:2025 are replaced to include their AC:2026 corrigenda. Even a corrigendum must be traceable: it may affect the exact version declared and the supporting design evidence.
What to do with open projects
- Fix the product’s legislative date. Separate machinery to be placed on the market by 19 January 2027 from machinery subject to the Regulation from the following day.
- Compare the edition used with the new citation. Perform a targeted gap analysis, especially for distances, interlocks, robotics, functional safety and applicable type-C standards.
- Realign the evidence. Where necessary, update the risk assessment, safety-requirement specifications, calculations, tests, validation, instructions and declaration.
- Keep the two lists separate. A list supporting Directive 2006/42/EC does not automatically become the harmonised-standards list for Regulation (EU) 2023/1230.
The key is to avoid two opposite shortcuts: ignoring a new edition because “there is little time left”, or adopting it without checking its scope and effect on the design. Defensible conformity depends on a traceable decision.
Two absences to interpret: ISO 12100 and EN 50742
Anyone waiting for a new EN ISO 12100:2025 will have to wait a little longer. As checked on 8 September 2026, the ISO catalogue still identifies ISO 12100:2010 as the published, current edition; the revision is shown as ISO/DIS 12100.3, meaning that it remains under development. It cannot be treated as a newly published edition, still less as a harmonised standard.
EN 50742:2025, “Safety of machinery — Protection against corruption”, is published. Its absence from this list does not remove its technical value: it means that the standard is not cited as a harmonised reference for the Machinery Directive. It may nevertheless help define the state of the art for protecting safety-related data and software.
In other words, the Directive has asked for one last round of applause, but the two most eagerly awaited performers are already rehearsing for the next show.
