Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU

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

Directive 2014/35/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 the making available on the market of electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits — commonly the "Low Voltage Directive" or LVD — applies to electrical equipment with a voltage rating between 50 V and 1000 V for alternating current and between 75 V and 1500 V for direct current. It replaced Directive 2006/95/EC and has applied since 20 April 2016. The Directive was published in the Official Journal as OJ L 96, 29.3.2014, p. 357. As of May 2026 there is no successor regulation under preparation; the LVD remains the principal piece of EU law on the basic safety of in-scope electrical equipment.

Legal status and timeline

• Adoption: 26 February 2014.
• Publication in the OJEU: 29 March 2014.
• Entry into force: 18 April 2014.
• Date of application: 20 April 2016.
• Repeal of predecessor (Directive 2006/95/EC): 20 April 2016.
• Status in May 2026: applies. No replacement or substantive amendment in train.

The LVD is one of the foundational New Legislative Framework directives. Its provisions on economic operators, conformity assessment, and CE marking mirror the templates of Decision 768/2008/EC.

Scope: products covered

Article 1 and Article 2 of the Directive apply to "electrical equipment designed for use with a voltage rating of between 50 and 1000 V for alternating current and between 75 and 1500 V for direct current". The voltage rating refers to the input or output voltage of the equipment, not to any internal voltages.

Annex II — equipment excluded

Annex II lists categories of equipment outside the LVD's scope, principally because they are covered by other Union legislation:

• Electrical equipment for use in explosive atmospheres (covered by ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU);
• Electrical equipment for radiology and medical purposes (covered by Medical Devices Regulation (EU) 2017/745);
• Electrical parts for goods and passenger lifts (covered by Lifts Directive 2014/33/EU);
• Electricity meters (covered by Measuring Instruments Directive 2014/32/EU);
• Plugs and socket-outlets for domestic use;
• Electric fence controllers;
• Radio-electrical interference (covered by EMC Directive 2014/30/EU and Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU);
• Specialised electrical equipment for use on ships, aircraft, or railways complying with safety provisions drawn up by international bodies in which Member States participate.

Voltage below 50 V AC / 75 V DC

Equipment operating below the lower voltage thresholds is not in scope of the LVD. Battery-powered consumer electronics, USB-powered devices, and similar low-voltage equipment fall outside the LVD even though they may be in scope of the EMC Directive, RoHS, the Radio Equipment Directive, the Battery Regulation, and — for consumer products — the General Product Safety Regulation. The safety of below-50V equipment is therefore not addressed by the LVD but by the act under which the product is in scope (typically the RED for wireless devices, or the GPSR for consumer products outside any harmonisation act).

Essential requirements: safety objectives

Article 3 and Annex I of the Directive express the LVD's requirements as "safety objectives" rather than detailed technical requirements. The equipment must be:

• Constructed in accordance with good engineering practice, ensuring that it does not endanger the safety of persons, domestic animals, or property when properly installed and maintained and used in the applications for which it was made;
• Marked with essential information for safe and intended use (or, where not possible on the equipment itself, in the accompanying documents);
• Accompanied by instructions for safe use.

Annex I, points 1.1 to 1.6, sets out the principal safety hazards to be addressed: protection against direct contact with live parts; protection against indirect contact; protection against insulation breakdown; protection against the effects of temperature, arcs, and radiation; protection against the effects of non-electrical origins (mechanical, chemical, thermal); and protection against the effects of overload and short-circuit. Annex I also covers the protection that equipment must provide against external influences, including pollution and corrosion, that may affect its safety.

The LVD does not specify technical solutions. Conformity is demonstrated by applying harmonised standards (presumption of conformity) or by alternative technical means documented in the technical file.

Conformity assessment

The LVD applies a single conformity assessment route: Module A — internal production control, under Annex III of the Directive (which corresponds to Module A of Annex II of Decision 768/2008/EC). There is no Notified Body involvement. The manufacturer:

• Performs a safety analysis to identify hazards arising from the design and use of the equipment;
• Compiles the technical documentation in accordance with Annex III, point 2;
• Manufactures in conformity with the documentation;
• Affixes the CE marking (no Notified Body identification number applies);
• Draws up the EU Declaration of Conformity (Annex IV).

The four-digit Notified Body identification number does not appear next to the CE marking for LVD-only products. Where a product is also in scope of an act requiring third-party assessment (Machinery Regulation Annex I, MDR Class IIa+, RED with cybersecurity requirements where standards not applied in full), the number reflects that act's assessment, not the LVD.

Technical documentation

Annex III, point 2, requires the technical documentation to "make it possible to assess the electrical equipment's conformity to the relevant requirements" and contain, as applicable:

• A general description of the electrical equipment;
• Conceptual design and manufacturing drawings and schemes of components, sub-assemblies, circuits;
• Descriptions and explanations necessary to understand those drawings and the operation of the equipment;
• A list of the harmonised standards applied in full or in part, with references as published in the OJEU, and a description of solutions adopted to address safety objectives where harmonised standards have not been applied;
• Results of design calculations made, examinations carried out;
• Test reports.

The Commission has emphasised since the 2021 enforcement initiative on consumer electronics that LVD technical files must contain a documented safety analysis — comparable in function to a risk assessment though not labelled as such by the Directive. See technical documentation and risk assessment for CE marking.

The documentation must be retained for ten years from the date the equipment was placed on the market (Article 7(7)).

EU Declaration of Conformity

Annex IV sets the contents of the Declaration: identification of the manufacturer and equipment, reference to the LVD and any other applicable Union acts, references to the harmonised standards applied with dated editions, identification of the signatory, and place and date of issue. The Declaration must be translated into the language(s) required by the Member State where the equipment is made available (Article 6(7)). See EU Declaration of Conformity.

Marking and labelling

Article 16 requires the CE marking to be affixed visibly, legibly, and indelibly to the equipment or, where not possible due to the nature of the equipment, to its packaging and the accompanying documents (in accordance with Article 30 of Regulation 765/2008). The equipment must bear:

• The type, batch, or serial number, or other element allowing identification;
• The name, registered trade name or trade mark, and postal address of the manufacturer (Article 6(6));
• Where applicable, the importer's name, trade name or trade mark, and postal address (Article 8(3));
• Safety information and instructions for use in the language easily understood by consumers, as required by the Member State concerned (Article 6(7)).

Harmonised standards

The LVD has the most extensive set of harmonised standards of any New Legislative Framework directive. The principal families:

• EN 60335 series — household and similar electrical appliances. EN 60335-1 contains general requirements; the EN 60335-2-XX series covers particular categories (vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, washing machines, ovens, kettles, hair clippers, etc.).
• EN 61010 series — safety requirements for electrical equipment for measurement, control, and laboratory use.
• EN 60204-1 — safety of machinery — electrical equipment of machines (also a Machinery Directive / Regulation harmonised standard).
• EN 60598 series — luminaires.
• EN 62368-1 — audio/video, information and communication technology equipment, which superseded EN 60065 and EN 60950-1 in 2020.
• EN 61347 series — control gear for lamps.
• EN 60519 series — safety in installations for electroheating and electromagnetic processing.

OJEU references are updated regularly. The Commission's harmonised standards portal for the LVD is the authoritative source. Standards are typically cited with dated edition (e.g., "EN 60335-1:2012+A11:2014+A1:2019+A14:2019+A2:2019") because amendments are part of the harmonised reference. Use of harmonised standards is voluntary; see harmonised standards.

Recent and upcoming changes

No structural amendment to the LVD has been adopted since 2016. The principal recent developments are:

• EN 62368-1:2020 became the harmonised replacement for EN 60065 (audio/video safety) and EN 60950-1 (IT equipment safety), with full transitional cessation in December 2020.
• The Commission's standardisation requests under Regulation 1025/2012 have refocused on alignment of LVD standards with cybersecurity-sensitive product categories where they overlap with the RED's cybersecurity essential requirements introduced by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30.
• The Ecodesign Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 introduces requirements on energy-related products that may overlap with LVD products; the two regimes apply in parallel.
• Brexit: from 1 January 2021 UK conformity assessment bodies lost Notified Body status. As the LVD requires no Notified Body, the practical effect was limited; UK-issued safety test reports remain technically valid as evidence in LVD files, but the EU's recognition of UK certifications depends on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and is not automatic.

Related legislation

LVD products are typically also in scope of:

• EMC Directive 2014/30/EU — for electromagnetic compatibility.
• RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU — for restriction of hazardous substances in EEE.
• Ecodesign Regulation 2024/1781 — for energy-related products subject to specific delegated acts.
• Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 — for industrial machinery; the LVD's safety requirements are largely absorbed into the Machinery Regulation under Article 1(2)(g) of the Regulation. Article 1(2)(g) excludes from the Machinery Regulation a defined list of LVD-only products (household appliances, AV/IT, office machinery, low-voltage switchgear, motors).
• Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU — for radio equipment, which has absorbed the LVD's safety objectives within its own essential requirements; products in scope of the RED are not separately in scope of the LVD.
• Battery Regulation 2023/1542 — for products incorporating batteries.

Common conformity assessment errors

• Treating "no Notified Body" as "no documentation". Module A still requires a complete technical file and safety analysis. The absence of third-party assessment shifts more documentary burden onto the manufacturer, not less.
• Citing EN 60335-1 without the relevant Part 2 standard. EN 60335-1 alone does not cover product-specific requirements. The product-specific Part 2 standard (EN 60335-2-XX) must be applied where one exists.
• Misidentifying scope. Battery-powered products below 50 V AC / 75 V DC are not in scope of the LVD. Applying the LVD by default to all electrical products misrepresents the legal basis of conformity.
• Failing to address products outside harmonised standards. Where no Part 2 standard exists for a novel product category, the manufacturer must demonstrate conformity by alternative means and document the analysis.
• Affixing a Notified Body number to LVD products. No NB is involved; affixing a four-digit number next to the CE mark misrepresents the assessment route.

Sources

• Directive 2014/35/EU of 26 February 2014 (Low Voltage) — EUR-Lex consolidated text.
• European Commission — Low Voltage Directive sector page.
• European Commission — Harmonised standards for the LVD.
• Commission Notice — Blue Guide 2022 — EUR-Lex.
• Decision No 768/2008/EC, Annex II Module A and Annex III — EUR-Lex.