Gas Appliances Regulation (EU) 2016/426

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

Regulation (EU) 2016/426 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on appliances burning gaseous fuels — the "Gas Appliances Regulation" or GAR — replaced Directive 2009/142/EC and has applied since 21 April 2018. It covers appliances burning gaseous fuels used for cooking, refrigeration, air-conditioning, space heating, hot water production, lighting, washing, and forced-draught burners, together with fittings (safety devices, controlling devices, regulating devices, sub-assemblies). The Regulation was published in the OJEU as OJ L 81, 31.3.2016, p. 99.

Legal status and timeline

• Adoption: 9 March 2016.
• Date of application: 21 April 2018.
• Repeal of Directive 2009/142/EC: 21 April 2018.
• Status (October 2026): applies, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/2748 (emergency procedures for an internal market emergency, applicable from 29 May 2026); no replacement under preparation. The Commission has indicated that interaction with the Ecodesign Regulation will continue to develop.

Scope: products covered

Article 1 applies to "appliances" and "fittings" as defined in Article 2:

• Appliance (Article 2(1)) — an appliance burning gaseous fuels used for cooking, refrigeration, air conditioning, space heating, hot water production, lighting, or washing, and forced-draught burners and heating bodies to be equipped with such burners.
• Fitting (Article 2(2)) — a safety device, controlling device, or regulating device, and sub-assemblies thereof, designed to be incorporated into an appliance or assembled to constitute an appliance.

Exclusions (Article 1(3))

• Appliances specifically designed for use in industrial processes carried out on industrial premises;
• Appliances specifically designed for use on aircraft and railways;
• Appliances designed for research purposes for temporary use in laboratories.

Essential requirements (Annex I)

Annex I sets the essential requirements for appliances and fittings, organised into:

• General conditions — appliances must be safe under normal use, with instructions and warnings appropriate to the level of competence expected of users.
• Materials — appropriate for intended use, resistant to mechanical, chemical, and thermal conditions to which they will be subjected.
• Design and construction — structural soundness; safety devices including flame supervision and protection against gas leakage; ignition; combustion (correct combustion, completeness, prevention of carbon monoxide and unburnt fuel emission); rational use of energy; release of unburnt gas; explosion hazards; condensate management; release of hazardous substances; surface temperatures; protection against parts in motion.

Categories of gas supply

The Regulation distinguishes appliance categories based on the gases and pressures they are designed to use, set out in EN 437 (test gases and pressures). Appliances are designated with codes (e.g., I3B/P, II2H3B/P, III1ab2H3+) corresponding to the gas families (1 — town/manufactured gas; 2 — natural gas; 3 — LPG) and sub-categories. Member States communicate the types of gas and corresponding supply pressures used on their territory (Article 4 and Annex II), and the Commission publishes them in the OJEU; appliances must be designed for the gas supply conditions of the Member State of destination.

Conformity assessment procedures

Article 14 and Annex III provide modules for appliances and for fittings.

Appliances

• Series-produced appliances: Module B (EU type-examination, production type) + Module C2 (conformity to type with supervised product checks at random intervals), D (production QA), E (product QA), or F (product verification) (Article 14(2)).
• Single units or small quantities: any of the above, or Module G (unit verification) (Article 14(3)).

Fittings

Fittings follow the same module options. Fittings are CE-marked only when placed on the market separately; fittings incorporated into an appliance form part of that appliance's conformity assessment.

Notified Body involvement is required for all GAR appliances and fittings, since every route includes Module B or Module G. Under Article 17(3), the CE marking is followed by the identification number of the Notified Body involved in the production control phase and by the last two digits of the year in which the CE marking was affixed.

Technical documentation

Annex III, Module B (and others) requires: a general description of the appliance/fitting; conceptual design and manufacturing drawings; descriptions necessary to understand the drawings and operation; list of harmonised standards applied; results of design calculations and examinations; test reports. Retention: 10 years after the appliance or fitting has been placed on the market (Article 7(3)). See technical documentation.

EU Declaration of Conformity

Article 15 and Annex V set the Declaration's contents; for fittings, the Declaration must also state the fitting's characteristics and give instructions for incorporation into an appliance (Article 15(3)). See EU Declaration of Conformity.

Marking and labelling

Article 17 requires the CE marking, the Notified Body identification number and the last two digits of the year of affixing. Article 7(5) and (6), Article 18 and Annex IV require the appliance or its data plate to bear the manufacturer's name, registered trade name or registered trade mark (and postal address), the type, batch or serial number, the type of electrical supply where applicable, the appliance category marking, the nominal supply pressure, and the information necessary for correct and safe installation. Fittings bear the same information as far as relevant. See affixing the CE mark.

Harmonised standards

The references of harmonised standards under the Regulation are listed in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2024/2944, as amended by Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1793. They include the EN 30 series (domestic cooking appliances), the EN 203 series (gas-heated catering equipment), EN 15502-1, EN 15502-2-1 and EN 15502-2-2 (gas-fired heating boilers), and standards for safety and control devices such as the EN 88 series (pressure regulators), EN 125 (thermoelectric flame supervision devices), EN 1106 (manually operated taps) and EN 1854 (pressure sensing devices). The EN 15502 series supersedes earlier boiler standards such as EN 297, which was cited under the former Directive 2009/142/EC and does not appear in the Regulation's list. See harmonised standards.

Recent and upcoming changes

The GAR is one of several regulations whose product scope is being progressively narrowed by climate policy: the EU's REPowerEU Plan and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EU) 2024/1275 set the objective of phasing out fossil-fuel boilers by 2040 and end financial incentives for stand-alone fossil-fuel boilers from 1 January 2025. The GAR remains the placing-on-market regime for the appliances themselves while they are still being manufactured; its interaction with hydrogen-ready and hydrogen-blend appliances is an active area of standardisation work.

Related legislation

• Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU — PED Article 1(2)(f) excludes pressure equipment classified no higher than category I that is covered by the gas appliances legislation; higher-category pressure equipment remains subject to the PED.
• Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU — for the electrical aspects of gas appliances with electrical components.
• EMC Directive 2014/30/EU — for electromagnetic compatibility of appliances with electronic controls.
• Ecodesign Regulation 2024/1781 — applies in parallel for energy-related appliances (e.g., boilers under Commission Regulation (EU) 813/2013).
• Energy Labelling Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 — energy label requirements for in-scope appliances.

Common errors

• Wrong appliance category for the destination Member State. An appliance designed for natural gas category 2H only cannot be sold in a Member State requiring 2H+3B/P or 2E+. The Member States' gas supply conditions communicated under Article 4 and published in the OJEU must be consulted.
• Missing fittings markings. Fittings placed on the market separately require their own CE mark, Declaration of Conformity, and technical file.
• Reliance on outdated EN editions. The harmonised standard list must be checked at the time of conformity assessment.
• Module A self-declaration. Module A is not available under the GAR; Notified Body involvement is required for in-scope products.

Sources

• Regulation (EU) 2016/426 (Gas Appliances) — EUR-Lex consolidated text.
• European Commission — Gas appliances sector page.
• Commission Notice — Blue Guide 2022 — EUR-Lex.
• EN 437 — test gases and pressures (CEN).
• Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EU) 2024/1275 — EUR-Lex.