ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU

Last reviewed: October 2026 · Legal status verified against EUR-Lex.

Directive 2014/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres — the "ATEX Equipment Directive" — replaced Directive 94/9/EC and has applied since 20 April 2016. ATEX (from ATmosphères EXplosibles) covers electrical and mechanical equipment, protective systems, safety devices, controlling devices, and regulating devices for use in atmospheres containing flammable gases, vapours, mists, or combustible dusts. Published as OJ L 96, 29.3.2014, p. 309.

The ATEX Equipment Directive 2014/34/EU is one of two ATEX legal instruments. The other — Directive 1999/92/EC (the "ATEX Workplace Directive") — addresses employer obligations to protect workers in workplaces with explosive atmospheres and is outside the CE marking framework.

Legal status and timeline

• Adoption: 26 February 2014.
• Date of application: 20 April 2016.
• Repeal of Directive 94/9/EC: 20 April 2016.
• Status (October 2026): applies, as amended by Directive (EU) 2024/2749 (emergency procedures for an internal market emergency, applicable from 30 May 2026).

Scope: products covered

Article 1 applies to: equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres; safety devices, controlling devices, and regulating devices intended for use outside potentially explosive atmospheres but required for or contributing to the safe functioning of equipment and protective systems with respect to risks of explosion; components intended to be incorporated into equipment and protective systems.

"Explosive atmosphere" is defined as a mixture with air, under atmospheric conditions, of flammable substances in the form of gases, vapours, mists, or dusts in which, after ignition has occurred, combustion spreads to the entire unburned mixture (Article 2(4)); a "potentially explosive atmosphere" is an atmosphere which could become explosive due to local and operational conditions (Article 2(5)).

Exclusions (Article 1(2))

• Medical devices intended for use in a medical environment;
• Equipment and protective systems where the explosion hazard results exclusively from the presence of explosive substances or unstable chemical substances;
• Equipment intended for use in domestic and non-commercial environments where potentially explosive atmospheres may only rarely be created, solely as a result of accidental leakage of fuel gas;
• Personal protective equipment covered by PPE Regulation 2016/425;
• Seagoing vessels and mobile offshore units together with equipment on board such vessels or units;
• Means of transport: vehicles and their trailers intended solely for transporting passengers by air, road, rail or water networks, and means of transport designed for transporting goods by air, by public road or rail networks or by water; vehicles intended for use in a potentially explosive atmosphere are not excluded;
• Equipment covered by Article 346(1)(b) TFEU (military equipment).

Equipment groups and categories (Annex I)

Annex I classifies equipment into two groups and several categories within each group:

• Group I — Mining. Equipment intended for use in underground parts of mines and surface installations of such mines endangered by firedamp and/or combustible dust.
  • Category M1 — very high level of protection, remains functional in the explosive atmosphere even with rare malfunctions;
  • Category M2 — high level of protection, intended to be de-energised in the event of an explosive atmosphere.
• Group II — Other industries. Equipment intended for use in other places where explosive atmospheres are likely to occur.
  • Category 1 — very high level of protection; for use in zones 0/20 (continuous or long-term presence of explosive atmosphere);
  • Category 2 — high level of protection; for use in zones 1/21 (likely occurrence);
  • Category 3 — normal level of protection; for use in zones 2/22 (unlikely or short occurrence).

The zone classification refers to the workplace classification under Directive 1999/92/EC. The manufacturer of the equipment marks it with the equipment group and category; the user (employer) selects equipment of the appropriate category for the zone.

Essential health and safety requirements (Annex II)

Annex II sets the essential health and safety requirements:

• 1. Common requirements for equipment and protective systems. Selection of materials, design and construction, potential ignition sources, hazards arising from external effects, requirements in respect of safety-related devices, integration of safety requirements relating to the system.
• 2. Supplementary requirements for equipment. Specific requirements for Group I and Group II equipment in each category.
• 3. Supplementary requirements for protective systems. Specific provisions for protective systems intended to contain or vent explosions.

Conformity assessment procedures

Article 13 and Annexes III–IX provide modules scaled by category:

• Group I Category M1 and Group II Category 1 — Module B + Module D (production QA), or Module B + Module F (product verification). Notified Body required throughout.
• Group I Category M2 and Group II Category 2
  • Electrical equipment and internal combustion engines: Module B + Module C1 (with checks), or Module B + Module E (product QA);
  • Other equipment: Module A with submission of the technical documentation to a Notified Body for archive (Annex VIII).
• Group II Category 3 — Module A (internal production control), no Notified Body involvement on production.
• Safety devices intended for use outside the explosive atmosphere — assessment route depends on the level of protection needed by the equipment they supervise.
• Protective systems — Module B + D or Module B + F, or Module G (Article 13(2)).
• Single units of any category — Module G (unit verification) is available as an alternative.

Technical documentation

Annex VIII (Module A) and the relevant annexes for other modules set the technical documentation contents — a general description, design drawings, descriptions of operation, list of standards applied, results of design calculations, test reports. Retention: 10 years after the product has been placed on the market (Article 6(3)). See technical documentation.

EU Declaration of Conformity

Article 14 and Annex X set the contents. See EU Declaration of Conformity.

Marking and labelling

Article 16 requires the CE marking and, where a Notified Body is involved in the production control phase, its identification number. Article 16(4) and Annex II, Section 1.0.5, additionally requires the specific marking of explosion protection — the "Ex" hexagon symbol (Ex symbol) followed by:

• The equipment group (I or II);
• The category (M1, M2, 1, 2, or 3);
• For Group II equipment, "G" (gas, vapour, mist) or "D" (dust) indicating the type of atmosphere;
• Where applicable, additional information from the relevant harmonised standard (e.g., "Ex db IIB T4 Gb" indicating the type of protection, gas group, temperature class, and equipment protection level).

This Ex marking is in addition to, not in place of, the CE mark. See affixing the CE mark.

Harmonised standards

The EN IEC 60079 series covers electrical equipment for explosive atmospheres (Part 0 general, Part 1 flameproof "Ex d", Part 7 increased safety "Ex e", Part 11 intrinsic safety "Ex i", Part 15 type of protection "Ex n", Part 18 encapsulation "Ex m", Part 31 dust ignition protection, and others). The EN ISO 80079 series covers non-electrical equipment. EN 1127-1 sets out basic concepts and methodology. See harmonised standards.

Recent and upcoming changes

The only amendment to the ATEX Equipment Directive since 2016 is Directive (EU) 2024/2749, which adds emergency procedures that operate only when an internal market emergency is activated (applicable from 30 May 2026). Standards continue to be updated through the IEC 60079 series.

Related legislation

• Directive 1999/92/EC (ATEX Workplace) — employer obligations in workplaces with explosive atmospheres; not a CE marking instrument.
• Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 — applies in parallel for ATEX equipment that is also machinery.
• Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU — does not apply (electrical equipment for explosive atmospheres is excluded from the LVD under its Annex II).
• EMC Directive 2014/30/EU — applies in parallel for EMC aspects.
• Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU — applies in parallel for pressurised ATEX equipment above thresholds.

Common errors

• Missing Ex marking. The Ex hexagon and equipment group/category are not optional; they are required by Annex II, Section 1.0.5.
• Wrong category for the intended zone. Category 3 equipment is not safe in Zone 1 or Zone 0; category selection follows zone classification.
• Affixing CE without Notified Body number for Category 1/M1 equipment. The number must accompany the CE mark.
• Module A submission without filing the technical file with the Notified Body for Category 2/M2 non-electrical equipment. Annex VIII requires submission for archive.
• Use of certifications from non-EU schemes (e.g., IECEx). IECEx certifications are not, in themselves, evidence of conformity with ATEX; they may form part of the file but do not substitute for ATEX Notified Body assessment where required.

Sources

• Directive 2014/34/EU (ATEX Equipment) — EUR-Lex consolidated text.
• European Commission — ATEX sector page.
• Commission guidelines on the application of Directive 2014/34/EU (ATEX 2014/34/EU Guidelines, 6th edition, January 2026) — Commission.
• Commission Notice — Blue Guide 2022 — EUR-Lex.
• Directive 1999/92/EC (ATEX Workplace) — EUR-Lex.