The machinery Directive sets essential safety and health requirements relating to the design and construction of machines and safety components. The Machinery Directive came into force on 1st January 1993 and became a legal obligation on 1st January 1995. This means that from that date, no machinery may be placed on the market or installed if they do not bear the CE Marking. The Machinery Directive assigns a very broad description to the concept of a machine. The scope of the Machinery Directive therefore ranges from a simple jack used to lift a car to a complicated packaging line. The essential requirements formulated in the Directive relate to the safety of the product. Here, the CE Marking indicates that the product has been made to conform with the essential safety requirements set in the Directive.

Please note that the Machinery Directive 89/392/EEC and the amendments 91/386/EEC (only Article 1), 93/44/EEC and 93/68/EEC (only Article 6) were repealed in August 1998 and replaced by the Directive 2006/42/EC. This Directive integrates the previous Directive 89/392/EEC and its amendments.