Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU

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

Directive 2014/68/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of pressure equipment — the "PED" — replaced Directive 97/23/EC and has applied since 19 July 2016. It covers pressure equipment and assemblies with a maximum allowable pressure (PS) greater than 0.5 bar. The Directive classifies products by hazard (combining pressure, volume or nominal size, and fluid group) into four categories with conformity assessment routes scaled accordingly. Published as OJ L 189, 27.6.2014, p. 164.

Legal status and timeline

• Adoption: 15 May 2014.
• Date of application: 19 July 2016 (for most provisions); Article 13 (classification) from 1 June 2015, aligned with the CLP Regulation.
• Repeal of Directive 97/23/EC: 19 July 2016.
• Status (October 2026): applies, as amended by Directive (EU) 2024/2749 (emergency procedures for an internal market emergency, applicable from 30 May 2026); no replacement under preparation.

Scope: products covered

Article 1 and Article 4 of the Directive apply to "the design, manufacture and conformity assessment of pressure equipment and assemblies with a maximum allowable pressure PS greater than 0.5 bar". "Pressure equipment" (Article 2(1)) includes vessels, piping, safety accessories, and pressure accessories.

Exclusions (Article 1(2))

• Pipelines for the conveyance of fluids or substances under a regulated network commencing from the last isolating device located in the perimeter of an industrial installation;
• Equipment specifically designed for nuclear use;
• Drilling and pressure-control equipment for oil, gas, and geothermal exploration;
• Equipment intended for the functioning of vehicles covered by the motor vehicle, tractor and two- or three-wheel vehicle type-approval legislation;
• Equipment such as bottles or cans for carbonated drinks intended for end consumers;
• Equipment falling within the scope of Directive 2014/29/EU (Simple Pressure Vessels);
• Items not exceeding 0.5 bar maximum allowable pressure;
• Aerosol dispensers (separate Directive 75/324/EEC);
• Military equipment (equipment covered by Article 346 TFEU).

Article 13 classification

Article 13 establishes the classification of pressure equipment into categories I, II, III, and IV based on:

• The type of equipment (vessel, piping, safety accessory, pressure accessory);
• The state of the fluid (gas, liquid);
• The fluid group:
  • Group 1 — dangerous fluids classified under CLP Regulation (EC) 1272/2008 as, among others, explosives, flammable gases (categories 1 and 2), oxidising gases, flammable liquids (categories 1 and 2, and category 3 where the maximum allowable temperature is above the flashpoint), flammable solids, pyrophoric substances, oxidising liquids and solids, organic peroxides, acutely toxic (oral and dermal categories 1 and 2, inhalation categories 1 to 3) or STOT single exposure category 1; Group 1 also covers fluids contained at a maximum allowable temperature TS above their flashpoint (Article 13(1)(a));
  • Group 2 — all other fluids not in Group 1.
• Maximum allowable pressure (PS) in bar;
• Volume (V) in litres for vessels, or nominal size (DN) for piping.

Annex II tables 1–9 then map the PS × V (or PS × DN) product against the equipment type and fluid group to assign a category. The higher the category, the more stringent the conformity assessment.

Sound Engineering Practice (Article 4(3))

Equipment below the thresholds for Category I is governed by "Sound Engineering Practice" (SEP). It must be designed and manufactured according to SEP to ensure safe use, and must be accompanied by adequate instructions. SEP equipment does not bear the CE mark — affixing the mark on SEP equipment is an infringement.

Essential safety requirements (Annex I)

Annex I sets the essential safety requirements:

• 1. General. Design and manufacture, safety information.
• 2. Design. Design for adequate strength, provisions for safe handling and operation, means of examination, draining and venting, corrosion, wear, assemblies, provisions for filling and discharge, protection against exceeding allowable limits, safety accessories, external fire.
• 3. Manufacturing. Manufacturing procedures, permanent joining, non-destructive tests, heat treatment, traceability of materials.
• 4. Materials. Material requirements, met by materials complying with harmonised standards, covered by a European Approval for Materials (EAM), or subject to a particular material appraisal.
• 5. Specific requirements for fired or otherwise heated pressure equipment with a risk of overheating.
• 6. Piping.
• 7. Specific quantitative requirements for certain pressure equipment.

Conformity assessment procedures

Article 14 and Annex III provide a menu of modules scaled by category:

• Category I — Module A only.
• Category II — Modules A2, D1, or E1.
• Category III — Modules B (design type) + D, B (design type) + F, B (production type) + E, B (production type) + C2, or H.
• Category IV — Modules B (production type) + D, B (production type) + F, G, or H1.

The Notified Body identification number appears next to the CE mark whenever a Notified Body is involved in the production-phase module. See conformity assessment modules.

Technical documentation

Annex III, point 1, requires the documentation to allow assessment of conformity. Contents include: a general description; design and manufacturing drawings; descriptions of operation; list of standards applied; design calculations; weld qualification and procedures; non-destructive testing procedures and results; manuals for operation. Retention: 10 years after the pressure equipment or assembly has been placed on the market (Article 6(3)). See technical documentation.

EU Declaration of Conformity

Annex IV sets the contents. For Category I to IV, the Declaration lists the PED and any other applicable acts. See EU Declaration of Conformity.

Marking and labelling

Articles 18 and 19 govern the CE marking and the Notified Body identification number where applicable. Annex I, section 3.3, requires inscription of:

• Manufacturer's name and contact details;
• Year of manufacture;
• Identification of the equipment (type, serial or batch number);
• Essential maximum/minimum allowable limits (PS, TS, minimum/maximum allowable temperatures);
• Specific information depending on the type of equipment.

For SEP equipment (below Category I thresholds), no CE mark and no Notified Body number. See affixing the CE mark.

Assemblies

Article 4(2) provides for assemblies — combinations of pressure equipment forming an integrated functional whole. The manufacturer of the assembly is responsible for its overall conformity assessment, even where individual components are CE-marked separately. The assembly's conformity is assessed against the category corresponding to the most hazardous element, with the protection systems of the assembly considered. Common assemblies include packaged steam-generation systems, water-heating systems with pumps and burners, and process skids.

Harmonised standards

• EN 13445 series — unfired pressure vessels;
• EN 13480 series — metallic industrial piping;
• EN 12952 series — water-tube boilers;
• EN 12953 series — shell boilers;
• EN 13458 series — cryogenic vessels;
• EN 14222 — stainless steel shell boilers;
• EN ISO 15614 series — welding procedure qualification;
• EN ISO 9712:2022 — qualification and certification of non-destructive testing personnel (cited in Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/165; relevant to Annex I, point 3.1.3, which requires NDT of permanent joints by suitably qualified personnel, approved by a recognised third-party organisation for categories III and IV).

See harmonised standards.

Recent and upcoming changes

The only amendment to the PED since 2016 is Directive (EU) 2024/2749, which adds emergency conformity assessment and market surveillance procedures that operate only when an internal market emergency is activated (applicable from 30 May 2026). Otherwise, the principal developments are alignment of CLP fluid classifications and ongoing OJEU updates to dated editions of harmonised standards. The Commission has not signalled a successor regulation.

Related legislation

• Simple Pressure Vessels Directive 2014/29/EU — for series-manufactured simple pressure vessels with PS ≤ 30 bar and PS·V ≤ 10 000 bar·L; PED does not apply in parallel.
• Transportable Pressure Equipment Directive 2010/35/EU (TPED) — covers pressure equipment for the transport of dangerous goods; uses the "Pi" mark, not CE; PED does not apply.
• Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 — applies in parallel for pressure equipment that is also machinery.
• ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU — applies in parallel for pressure equipment in potentially explosive atmospheres.
• Gas Appliances Regulation 2016/426 — for gas appliances within the GAR scope; PED does not apply to those specific aspects.

Common errors

• CE mark on SEP equipment. Equipment below Category I thresholds must not bear CE marking.
• Misclassification of fluid group. CLP classification of the fluid determines whether it falls in Group 1 or Group 2. Older classifications under Directive 67/548/EEC are not the operative reference.
• Treating an assembly as the sum of its components. Article 4(2) requires the manufacturer of the assembly to assess overall conformity at the appropriate category.
• Missing Notified Body number on Category II–IV equipment. The Notified Body's four-digit number must appear next to the CE mark for the production-phase module.
• Inadequate weld qualification documentation. Annex I, Section 3.1.2, requires qualified welders and welding procedures; documentation of qualification is a frequent finding in surveillance audits.

Sources

• Directive 2014/68/EU (PED) — EUR-Lex consolidated text.
• European Commission — Pressure equipment sector page.
• Commission Guideline on the application of Directive 2014/68/EU — Commission.
• Regulation (EC) 1272/2008 (CLP) — EUR-Lex.
• Commission Notice — Blue Guide 2022 — EUR-Lex.