CE marking changes: the 2026 to 2030 timeline
This page tracks EU product-compliance dates that have passed and those still to come, with the status of each omnibus and pending proposal. It covers the CE marking acts and the adjacent rules that reach the same products, and links to the detailed CECheck page for each act. Everything is stated as at 31 October 2026.
Dates are application dates, the day from which requirements bind, unless stated otherwise. Entry into force is usually earlier and generally has no direct effect on manufacturers. Some dates are floors: several battery duties apply from a fixed date or a set period after a Commission act, whichever is later, so a passed date does not always mean a live duty. Those rows say so.
Upcoming dates
| Date | Act | What happens | Who is affected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Dec 2026 | AI Act, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 | New prohibitions apply. Generative AI systems placed on the market before 2 August 2026 must meet the Article 50(2) marking duty | AI providers |
| 20 Jan 2027 | Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 | Applies in full and replaces Directive 2006/42/EC. See the transition guide | Machinery manufacturers, importers, distributors |
| 18 Feb 2027 | Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 | Battery passport (Article 77), QR code, and removability and replaceability (Article 11) | Battery makers and importers; makers of products with portable or LMT batteries |
| 2 Mar 2027 | ESPR (EU) 2024/1781 | Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2 fixes the format for disclosing discarded unsold goods | Large enterprises discarding unsold consumer products |
| 2 Aug 2027 | AI Act | Commission deadline for delegated acts limiting certain requirements for Annex I Section A products (Article 2(13)). Not the machinery deadline | Annex I Section A manufacturers |
| 18 Aug 2027 | Battery Regulation | Supply-chain due diligence applies, postponed from 18 August 2025 by Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 | Operators above the turnover threshold |
| 2 Dec 2027 | AI Act | High-risk rules apply to Annex III systems | Providers and deployers of standalone high-risk AI |
| 11 Dec 2027 | Cyber Resilience Act (EU) 2024/2847 | Applies in full, with CE marking. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 (RED cybersecurity) is repealed the same day. Open-source stewards' reporting begins | Manufacturers of products with digital elements, including radio equipment |
| 31 Dec 2027 | MDR and IVDR | Transition ends for class III and class IIb implantable legacy devices (with exceptions) and class D IVDs | Device manufacturers relying on legacy certificates |
| 2 Aug 2028 | AI Act; Machinery Regulation | High-risk rules apply to Annex I products. Machinery delegated acts adding AI requirements to Annex III must apply by this date | Annex I manufacturers embedding AI; machinery manufacturers |
| 18 Aug 2028 | Battery Regulation | Earliest date for recycled-content documentation and for portable battery performance values (Articles 8 and 9); each depends on a Commission act | Battery makers |
| 31 Dec 2028 | MDR and IVDR | Transition ends for other legacy devices and class C IVDs | Device manufacturers |
| 31 Dec 2029 | IVDR | Transition ends for class B and class A sterile IVDs | IVD manufacturers |
| 19 Jul 2030 | ESPR | Unsold-goods ban and disclosure extend to medium-sized enterprises | Medium-sized apparel and footwear operators |
| 1 Aug 2030 | Toy Safety Regulation (EU) 2025/2509 | General application, including the toy passport; Directive 2009/48/EC repealed | Toy manufacturers, importers, distributors |
| 2 Aug 2030 | AI Act | Deadline for high-risk systems already used by public authorities (Article 111(2)) | Providers and public-sector deployers |
| 18 Aug 2031 | Battery Regulation | Minimum recycled content applies (16% cobalt, 85% lead, 6% lithium, 6% nickel) | Makers of industrial, EV and SLI batteries |
Omnibus and pending proposals: status on 31 October 2026
| Instrument | Status | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Digital Omnibus on AI, Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 | Law. Published 24 July 2026; in force 27 July 2026 | Moves high-risk dates; moves machinery to Annex I Section B of the AI Act |
| Batteries stop-the-clock, Regulation (EU) 2025/1561 | Law. Adopted 18 July 2025 | Due diligence moved to 18 August 2027; guidelines deadline moved to 26 July 2026 |
| Omnibus IV, digitalisation and common specifications, 2025/0134(COD) and 2025/0133(COD) | Not law. Provisional deal 9 June 2026; committee approval 14 July 2026; indicative plenary 23 November 2026; Council adoption and publication still to follow | Digital declarations of conformity, digital instructions, common specifications |
| Environmental Omnibus (December 2025) | Not law. The Council left the provisions on EPR authorised representatives out of its June 2026 mandate; Parliament's committee voted to narrow them | Proposed suspension of EPR authorised representatives for EU producers, including for batteries and WEEE |
| MDR and IVDR targeted revision, COM(2025) 1023, 2025/0404(COD) | Not law. Under examination in Parliament and Council; the current rules apply | Simplification of the device rules |
| European Product Act (revision of the New Legislative Framework and market surveillance rules) | Partly proposed. The standardisation proposal, COM(2026) 780, was published on 6 October 2026. The NLF and market surveillance part has been reported as postponed and had not been proposed at this review | Would reshape the horizontal CE framework; nothing binds yet |
A proposal changes nothing until it is published in the Official Journal and applies. Plan against the current text.
Dates already passed
| Date | Act | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Dec 2024 | GPSR (EU) 2023/988 | Replaced Directive 2001/95/EC; responsible person, marketplace and recall duties |
| 28 Dec 2024 | RED, Directive (EU) 2022/2380 | Common charger rules for phones, tablets and other listed categories |
| 2 Feb 2025 | AI Act | Prohibited practices and AI-literacy duties |
| 16 Apr 2025 | ESPR | First working plan adopted, COM(2025) 187 |
| 1 Aug 2025 | RED, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 | Cybersecurity requirements of Article 3(3)(d), (e) and (f) became mandatory |
| 2 Aug 2025 | AI Act | General-purpose AI obligations; governance and notified-body chapters |
| 18 Aug 2025 | Battery Regulation | Separate collection symbol; end-of-life chapter; Directive 2006/66/EC repealed. Due diligence did not start, as it was postponed |
| 1 Jan 2026 | Toy Safety Regulation | In force; notified-body and empowerment provisions apply. The Directive still governs toys until 2030 |
| 8 Jan 2026 | CPR (EU) 2024/3110 | Began applying in phases alongside Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 |
| 28 Apr 2026 | RED | Common charger rules extended to laptops |
| 29 Apr 2026 | Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/339 | Published; repeals the RED cybersecurity act from 11 December 2027 |
| 28 May 2026 | MDR and IVDR | First four EUDAMED modules became mandatory (Commission Decision (EU) 2025/2371) |
| 11 Jun 2026 | Cyber Resilience Act | Rules on notifying conformity assessment bodies apply |
| 19 Jul 2026 | ESPR | Ban on destroying unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear applies to large enterprises, with derogations in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/296 |
| 20 Jul 2026 | Digital Product Passport | EU registry reported live; operating rules in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778. No product registration duty arises until a product act requires it |
| 27 Jul 2026 | Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 | AI omnibus entered into force |
| 2 Aug 2026 | AI Act | General application, including transparency; high-risk obligations deferred |
| 12 Aug 2026 | Packaging Regulation (EU) 2025/40 | General application. Not a CE marking act, but it reaches the same products |
| 18 Aug 2026 | Battery Regulation | Date passed but not triggered: the Annex VI label applies from this date or 18 months after the labelling implementing act, whichever is later, and that act had not been reported as published at this review. The same applies to the EV carbon footprint class |
| 11 Sep 2026 | Cyber Resilience Act | Article 14 reporting applies; ENISA's single reporting platform is operational |
| Oct 2026 | AI Act | First AI Act harmonised standard, on quality management, cited by Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/2274 |
What the main changes mean
Machinery Regulation: 20 January 2027
The Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 replaces Directive 2006/42/EC with no parallel period: machinery placed on the market from 20 January 2027 must comply with the Regulation, while units placed on the market before that date may continue to circulate. Notified-body provisions have applied since 20 January 2024. The Regulation introduces third-party assessment for six categories in Annex I Part A and addresses software safety, AI-driven safety functions and corruption of safety systems.
The date has not moved. Industry bodies asked the Commission to align the cybersecurity requirements with the CRA's December 2027 date, and no decision to do so had been reported at this review. No harmonised standard had been reported as cited under the Regulation either; the Commission is reported to plan citations in the fourth quarter of 2026. Check the Official Journal before relying on a presumption of conformity, because citations under Directive 2006/42/EC do not carry over by themselves.
AI Act after the omnibus
Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 deferred the high-risk rules: Annex III systems from 2 December 2027, and AI in Annex I products from 2 August 2028. The second date is the one most product manufacturers should plan against. It also moved the Machinery Regulation to Section B of Annex I, so machinery will not follow the AI Act's high-risk procedure. Instead, the Commission must add AI health and safety requirements to Annex III of the Machinery Regulation by delegated act, and those acts must apply by 2 August 2028. The omnibus sets an application date for them, not an adoption deadline. See the AI Act and CE marking.
Batteries: staged, and partly waiting for the Commission
The Battery Regulation has two kinds of date. Fixed dates include the battery passport and removability on 18 February 2027 and due diligence on 18 August 2027. Conditional dates, such as the general label and the carbon footprint stages, run from a Commission act that may not yet exist. A date in a timeline is therefore a floor for those duties. Article 77 requires a passport for LMT batteries, EV batteries and industrial batteries above 2 kWh placed on the market from 18 February 2027.
Cybersecurity moves from the RED to the CRA
Internet-connected radio equipment has had to meet Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 since 1 August 2025, with EN 18031 as the supporting standards. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/339 repeals that act from 11 December 2027, when the Cyber Resilience Act applies in full. Products placed on the market up to 10 December 2027 stay subject to the RED cybersecurity rules; later ones must meet the CRA. Article 14 reporting has applied since 11 September 2026 and covers products already on the market.
Ecodesign and product passports
The ESPR is a framework, and its obligations arrive by delegated act. No product-group act imposing a Digital Product Passport had been reported as adopted at this review; iron and steel is first in line, with the Commission targeting the fourth quarter of 2026. The unsold-goods ban is different: it applies directly from the Regulation.
Toys and construction products
The Toy Safety Regulation (EU) 2025/2509 has been in force since 1 January 2026, but only its notified-body and empowerment provisions apply so far. It applies generally from 1 August 2030, when Directive 2009/48/EC is repealed (Articles 56 and 59). Toys lawfully placed on the market before then may continue to be made available (Article 57). The Construction Products Regulation (EU) 2024/3110 has applied in phases from 8 January 2026. It keeps a Declaration of Performance rather than a Declaration of Conformity, and old-regime standards remain usable during transitional periods for each product family.
The United Kingdom position
Great Britain recognises CE marking indefinitely for 21 product regulations, with UKCA remaining an optional alternative in those categories. On 21 October 2026 the UK government said it intends to recognise CE-marked medical devices indefinitely; until that is legislated, the existing statutory dates apply. Divergence risk now runs mainly through the EU updating its acts while the corresponding GB rules stand still: a product compliant with a new EU regulation is not automatically compliant with the older GB rules it mirrors, and vice versa. See CE marking vs UKCA.
What every manufacturer should do
- Re-check scope annually: the applicable-legislation analysis done at product launch goes stale as acts are replaced. The product checker gives a starting list.
- Re-date and re-verify the technical documentation whenever a cited act or harmonised standard is superseded.
- Watch the Official Journal for harmonised standard citations under the new acts. The presumption of conformity travels with the citation, not with publication by CEN or CENELEC.
- Confirm which conformity assessment module applies under the replacing act; several new regulations move product categories between modules.
- Update each Declaration of Conformity when the cited legislation changes, for example for radio products moving to the CRA in December 2027.
Frequently asked questions
Has the Machinery Regulation been postponed?
No. Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 applies from 20 January 2027. Industry asked for the cybersecurity requirements to be delayed to the CRA date of 11 December 2027, but no such decision had been reported at the 31 October 2026 review.
Is Omnibus IV law yet?
No. A provisional deal was reached on 9 June 2026 and the committee approved it on 14 July 2026. Parliament's plenary vote is indicatively set for 23 November 2026, and Council adoption and publication in the Official Journal must follow. Paper declarations and instructions rules stand until then.
Did the AI omnibus change CE marking for AI?
It changed the dates and the route for machinery, not the CE requirement. High-risk AI still carries CE marking under Article 48, from 2 December 2027 for Annex III systems and 2 August 2028 for Annex I products. Machinery moves to a route through the Machinery Regulation itself.
What happens to RED cybersecurity rules when the CRA applies?
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/339 repeals Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 from 11 December 2027. Radio equipment placed on the market from that date meets the Cyber Resilience Act instead, while equipment placed earlier stays under the RED cybersecurity rules.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI), procedure and summary — European Parliament Legislative Observatory; article text as reproduced by AI Act Explorer.
- Omnibus IV, procedure 2025/0134(COD) — European Parliament Legislative Observatory.
- European Commission — Radio Equipment Directive page (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/339).
- European Commission — Cyber Resilience Act: reporting obligations.
- European Commission — EUDAMED overview.
- Regulation (EU) 2023/988 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 on general product safety — EUR-Lex.
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2023 on machinery — EUR-Lex.
- Regulation (EU) 2024/3110 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonised rules for the marketing of construction products — EUR-Lex.
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2023 concerning batteries and waste batteries — EUR-Lex.
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products — EUR-Lex.
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence — EUR-Lex.
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 supplementing Directive 2014/53/EU with regard to the essential requirements referred to in Article 3(3)(d), (e) and (f) — EUR-Lex.