Don't miss out on any news and changes relating to CE! Register now for the CE InfoService
Share Article
The new Guide to the application of the new Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 (MR) is taking shape: Following the start of work on the new guidance document in early 2025, the first draft chapters covering selected requirements of the Machinery Regulation were published on 19 October 2026. These drafts provide initial insights into how the new legal requirements are expected to be interpreted and implemented in practice.
In this article, we summarise the current status, highlight the key topics covered by the first drafts and provide information on the expected publication date of the complete Guide.
Note: This article will be continuously updated. To ensure that you do not miss any important updates, register now for our free newsletter, the CE-InfoService.
The first meeting of the editorial group for the new guide took place on 28 January 2025. During this meeting, the first details of the organisational structure were also defined: the work will be carried out by a main editorial group and five subgroups for specific topics, such as AI-based safety functions, autonomous mobile machines or cyber security.
Following delays to the original timetable, the first draft chapters are now available. The documents, dated 18 October 2026 and published on 19 October 2026, cover four topics:
The drafts provide detailed explanations of the relevant essential health and safety requirements set out in Annex III of the Machinery Regulation. Some of the explanations follow the structure and numbering of the existing Guide to application of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC (Edition 2.3).
Important: These documents are draft chapters, not the final, complete Guide to the Machinery Regulation. Their content may still change before official publication.
When will the new guide for the Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 be published?
According to information currently available from the European Commission, the new guidance on the Machinery Regulation is due to be published in the fourth quarter of 2026. A specific publication date has not yet been announced.
However, initial progress has now been made: as of 18 October 2026, draft versions of selected chapters have already been drawn up. These cover, amongst other things, protection against cyber attacks (cybersecurity), restraint systems, vibrations and protection against live overhead power lines.
The drafts provide initial insights into the future interpretation of the Machinery Regulation’s requirements. However, the content may still change before the full guidance is published.
Seminar tip
Changeover to the new Machinery Regulation
In our webinar "Changeover to the new Machinery Regulation", we will provide you with compact information on the relevant changes to the new Machinery Regulation.
to the seminar
Detailed insights into the content changes of the new Guide will probably only be possible with the publication of the first draft documents (possibly in February 2025).
In their call for participation on 26 March 2025, however, the first details were published regarding the organisational structure and the focus on which these so-called subgroups are to specialise:
Group A will, among other things, review the suitability of the current Guide to application of the Machinery Directive with regard to the essential health and safety requirements (EHSRs) amended in the MR, the topic of ‘substantial modification’, and machine-specific provisions of the New Legislative Framework.
Group B focuses on functional safety and deals with the topics of AI-powered safety functions and software as a safety component.
Group C covers the topics of autonomous mobile machines, the risk of contact with overhead power lines, and seating/restraint systems (e.g. safety belts).
Group D deals with the topic of cybersecurity, which has been newly included in the MVO. Here, too, overlaps with another EU regulation are to be expected, namely the new Cyber Resilience Act. This requirement is to be specified in technical terms within the framework of the new prEN 50742 standard.
Group E is responsible for digital operating instructions and documentation (e.g. the declaration of conformity).
At the meeting of the Expert Group on Machinery in April 2026, it was decided that the new guidance should focus on the topics of cybersecurity and AI. Non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), on the other hand, was classified as a secondary priority. It was also suggested that references to type-C-standards should be omitted in order to avoid excessive detail (and consequently the effort required to keep the guidance up to date). The new guidance should therefore be limited exclusively to Type A and Type B standards.
The following sections provide a brief overview of the four draft documents published on 19 October 2026.
This draft addresses the new requirement for protection against corruption under Annex III, Section 1.1.9, together with the requirements concerning the safety and reliability of control systems under Section 1.2.1(a) and (f).
It explains how machinery manufacturers should protect safety-related software, data and interfaces against accidental or intentional interference.
Key topics include:
The draft also provides guidance on the requirement in Section 1.2.1(f) to retain relevant records of safety-related software interventions and modifications for five years after their creation.
For manufacturers, this means that the risk of interference with safety-related systems must also be considered when applying the Machinery Regulation. The focus is on preventing hazardous situations rather than general IT security or the protection of confidential information.
The draft relating to Annex III, Section 3.2.2 explains the requirements for restraint systems on mobile machinery, particularly where there is a risk of tipping or rolling over.
One important aspect is the requirement to prevent powered travel where there is a significant risk of tipping or rolling over and the required restraint system is not being used.
The draft also addresses:
The explanations provide manufacturers of affected mobile machinery with further guidance for risk assessment and the safety-related design of restraint systems.
Another draft addresses vibration-related requirements under Annex III, Sections 1.5.9, 2.2.1.1 and 3.6.3.1.
In addition to reducing risks caused by vibration, it explains how vibration emissions should be determined and declared.
Particular attention is given to repeated shock vibrations, which may be relevant for both hand-held or hand-guided machinery and mobile machinery.
The draft covers suitable measurement methods, representative operating conditions, measurement uncertainties and the information to be included in the instructions for use.
The draft relating to Annex III, Section 3.5.4 addresses a new essential health and safety requirement for mobile machinery that may come into contact with live overhead power lines or cause an electric arc due to its height.
It explains which types of machinery and operating conditions may be affected and how the maximum height that a machine can reach should be taken into account. It also describes possible design and technical protective measures, warning and information systems, and relevant information to be included in the instructions for use.
The draft recommends generally considering this requirement for machinery with a maximum reachable height exceeding four metres. However, this is a guidance value proposed in the draft, not a legally binding height threshold. This guidance value is expressly not intended for machinery operating on electrified railways.
Does the current Guide to application of the Machinery Directive already cover the Machinery Regulation?
Following publication of the Machinery Regulation in the EU Official Journal in June 2023, a revision of version 2.2 of the Guide to the MD was initiated in order to communicate changes regarding the form of the instructions at an early stage.
Therefore, version 2.3 of the Guide to Application of the Machinery Directive already includes the amended sections § 255 (Form of the operating instructions), § 261 (Inclusion of the EC declaration of conformity in the operating instructions), § 264 (Assembly, installation and connection), § 382 (The EC declaration of conformity for a machine), § 384 (The Declaration of Incorporation for partly completed machinery) and § 390 (Assembly instructions for partly completed machinery). For these sections, compliance with the provisions of the Machinery Regulation with regard to the new format of the documents also means compliance with the corresponding provisions of the Machinery Directive.
Details can be found in our article on the new version 2.3 of the Guide to Application of the Machinery Directive.
Is the application of the contents of the guideline legally binding?
The future guide to the Machinery Regulation and other guides play an important role in interpreting the legal requirements of the MR and are valuable sources of knowledge in practice – however, these accompanying documents of the EU Commission are not legally binding like EU regulations or directives!
How does Safexpert, the CE software, support the application of the contents of the guideline for the Machinery Regulation?
As soon as a final edition of the guide is published by the EU Commission, we will provide the full-text PDF as a data set on the live server and prepare the individual contents of the guide promptly for the Safexpert Knowledge Base.
Posted on: 2026-10-20 (last amendment)
Daniel Zacek-Gebele, MSc Product manager at IBF for additional products and data manager for updating standards data on the Safexpert Live Server. Studied economics in Passau (BSc) and Stuttgart (MSc), specialising in International Business and Economics. Email: daniel.zacek-gebele@ibf-solutions.com
We will inform you free of charge by e-mail about new technical articles, important standard publications or other news from the field of mechanical and electrical equipment safety or product compliance.
Register
CE software for systematic and professional safety engineering
Practical seminars on aspects of risk assessment and ce marking
With the CE InfoService you stay informed about important developments in the field of product safety.