EU Machinery Regulation 2027: Digital Instructions Checklist
What Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 says about digital instructions for machinery, including access, downloads, language and paper requests.
From 20 January 2027, the EU Machinery Regulation applies. Its Article 10(7) allows digital instructions for use under conditions that govern how users find, save and read them. The delivery process therefore needs the same care as the instructions themselves.
Access and offline copies
Identify the product model clearly. Mark on the machine, packaging or accompanying document how to access the digital instructions. Users must be able to print and download them and save a copy on a device, including for use during a breakdown. Digital instructions must remain available online for the expected lifetime of the machinery and at least ten years after it is placed on the market.
Paper and language still matter
If a user requests paper instructions at purchase, the manufacturer must provide them free of charge within one month. Essential safety information for machinery intended for, or foreseeably used by, non-professionals must be supplied on paper. Instructions and safety information must be clear and in a language easily understood by users as determined by the Member State.
Make a delivery checklist
Test the access link or code, file downloads, print layout, model and version matching, language variants and long-term hosting. Digital AR guidance can supplement these instructions, but an interactive experience alone should not replace the downloadable and printable instructions required by Article 10(7). Check the current consolidated text and obtain product-specific legal review.