EMC Directive 2014/30/EU

Last reviewed: October 2026 · Sources listed at the end of this page.

Directive 2014/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to electromagnetic compatibility — commonly the "EMC Directive" — applies to all equipment liable to cause electromagnetic disturbance or whose performance is liable to be affected by such disturbance. It replaced Directive 2004/108/EC and has applied since 20 April 2016. The Directive was published in the OJEU as OJ L 96, 29.3.2014, p. 79.

Legal status and timeline

• Adoption: 26 February 2014.
• Publication in the OJEU: 29 March 2014.
• Date of application: 20 April 2016.
• Repeal of predecessor (Directive 2004/108/EC): 20 April 2016.
• Amendments: Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 (aviation reference) and Directive (EU) 2024/2749 (emergency procedures, applicable from 30 May 2026).
• Status in October 2026: applies, as amended; no replacement act. The “Omnibus IV” digitalisation package, provisionally agreed in June 2026, would allow digital declarations under this and other product acts; it had not been found in the Official Journal at this review, so it is not yet law. The Commission’s planned European Product Act would revise the New Legislative Framework; no proposal had been published at this review.

Scope: products covered

Article 2(1) applies the Directive to "equipment", defined in Article 3(1)(1) as "any apparatus or fixed installation". Article 3(1)(2) defines "apparatus" as any finished appliance or combination thereof made available on the market as a single functional unit, intended for the end-user and liable to generate electromagnetic disturbance, or the performance of which is liable to be affected by such disturbance. "Fixed installation" (Article 3(1)(3)) is a particular combination of several types of apparatus assembled, installed, and intended to be used permanently at a predefined location.

Article 2(2) — exclusions

Equipment outside the EMC Directive's scope:

• Equipment covered by the Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU (the OJ text refers to its predecessor, Directive 1999/5/EC), which absorbs EMC requirements for radio equipment;
• Aeronautical products, parts and appliances under Regulation (EU) 2018/1139;
• Radio equipment used by radio amateurs within the meaning of the ITU Radio Regulations, unless made available on the market;
• Equipment whose physical characteristics are such that it is incapable of generating or contributing to electromagnetic emissions exceeding a level allowing radio and telecommunication equipment to operate as intended, and its operation in the presence of electromagnetic disturbance customarily present in its intended use is not unacceptably degraded (Article 2(2)(d) — the "inherently benign" exclusion);
• Custom-built evaluation kits destined for professionals to be used solely at research and development facilities for such purposes (Article 2(2)(e)).

Fixed installations

Fixed installations are subject to the essential requirements (Article 19, Annex I, point 2) but are not CE-marked and do not require a Declaration of Conformity. The person responsible for the assembly must apply good engineering practice, document the practices used, and keep the documentation for as long as the installation is in operation. Apparatus that may be incorporated into a fixed installation is subject to all the provisions for apparatus. The exception is apparatus intended for a particular fixed installation and not otherwise made available on the market: Articles 6 to 12 and 14 to 18 are not compulsory for it, but its documentation must identify the installation and the precautions for incorporation (Article 19(1)).

Essential requirements

Annex I sets out two essential requirements:

1. Emission — equipment must be designed and manufactured so that the electromagnetic disturbance generated does not exceed a level above which radio and telecommunication equipment or other equipment cannot operate as intended.
2. Immunity — equipment must have a level of immunity to the electromagnetic disturbance to be expected in its intended use which allows it to operate without unacceptable degradation of its intended use.

The Directive does not prescribe quantitative limits. These come from the harmonised standards. The choice of which standards apply depends on the type of equipment (e.g., residential vs. industrial, audio vs. lighting, IT vs. industrial measurement).

Conformity assessment

Article 14 and Annexes II and III provide two conformity assessment options for apparatus. The manufacturer may also restrict Module B + C to some aspects of the essential requirements and use Module A for the rest.

• Module A — Internal production control (Annex II). The manufacturer performs the EMC assessment, draws up the technical documentation, manufactures in conformity, affixes CE marking, signs the Declaration of Conformity. No Notified Body. This is the standard route for the vast majority of EMC products.
• Module B + Module C — EU type-examination + conformity to type (Annex III, Parts A and B). Used at the manufacturer's choice, typically where harmonised standards have not been applied in full and the manufacturer wants third-party confirmation of the EMC assessment. A Notified Body issues an EU type-examination certificate.

No Notified Body identification number appears next to the CE marking under the EMC Directive: even where Module B + C is used, Module C (Annex III, Part B) is conformity to type based on internal production control, with no Notified Body involvement in the production phase. In practice, the overwhelming majority of EMC-only products use Module A.

Technical documentation

Annex II, point 2, requires an electromagnetic compatibility assessment covering all normal intended operating conditions. Point 3 requires technical documentation that makes it possible to assess conformity and includes an adequate analysis and assessment of the risks. It must contain, wherever applicable:

• A general description of the apparatus;
• Conceptual design and manufacturing drawings and schemes of components;
• Descriptions and explanations necessary to understand the drawings and operation;
• A list of harmonised standards applied in full or in part, with OJEU references and dated editions;
• Description of solutions adopted to meet the essential requirements where harmonised standards have not been applied;
• Results of design calculations and examinations;
• Test reports. The Directive does not require an accredited laboratory for Module A.

The retention period is ten years from the date the apparatus was placed on the market (Article 7(3)).

EU Declaration of Conformity

Article 15 and Annex IV set the contents. The Declaration must reference the EMC Directive and the harmonised standards applied. Where the apparatus is also covered by other Union acts (typically Low Voltage Directive, RoHS Directive), a single Declaration covering all applicable acts is issued. See EU Declaration of Conformity.

Marking and labelling

Articles 16 and 17 require the CE marking to be affixed in accordance with Article 30 of Regulation 765/2008 (affixing the CE mark); its form and proportions are set by Annex II of that Regulation. Apparatus must bear:

• Type, batch, or serial number (Article 7(5));
• Manufacturer's name, registered trade name or trade mark, and postal address (Article 7(6));
• Importer's name and contact details where applicable (Article 9(3));
• Instructions and information for assembly, installation, maintenance and use in a language easily understood by end-users (Articles 7(7) and 18), including a clear restriction where compliance is not ensured in residential areas (Article 18(2)).

Harmonised standards

EMC harmonised standards fall into three categories:

• Generic standards. The EN 61000-6 series covers generic emission and immunity for residential/commercial/light-industrial (EN 61000-6-3 emission, EN 61000-6-1 immunity) and industrial (EN 61000-6-4 emission, EN 61000-6-2 immunity) environments. Applied when no product-family standard exists.
• Product-family standards. EN 55014 (household appliances and electric tools), EN IEC 55015 (lighting), EN 55032 (multimedia equipment emissions, successor to EN 55013 and EN 55022), EN 55035 (multimedia immunity), EN 61326 (laboratory and process control), EN 61547 (immunity for lighting).
• Basic standards. EN 61000-4 series — test and measurement methods. Cited by product standards rather than applied directly for presumption of conformity.

Check the Commission's list for the exact edition and amendments cited; see harmonised standards.

Recent and upcoming changes

The substantive requirements are unchanged since 2016. Two amendments have been made. Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 updated the aviation reference, and Directive (EU) 2024/2749 inserted Articles 40a to 40c on emergency procedures, which operate only when an internal market emergency is activated (applicable from 30 May 2026). Other developments:

• Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/1326, as amended, cites EN 55032:2015 with A11:2020 and EN 55035:2017 with A11:2020, among others.
• Omnibus IV, provisionally agreed in June 2026, was not yet law at this review.

Related legislation

• Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU — absorbs EMC requirements for radio equipment; the EMC Directive does not apply in parallel.
• Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU — applies to the same equipment for safety; the two directives apply in parallel for mains-powered equipment.
• Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 — applies in parallel for machinery.
• Medical Devices Regulation 2017/745 — medical devices apply only the MDR (which includes EMC requirements as part of Annex I); the EMC Directive does not apply in parallel, because the MDR is more specific Union legislation within the meaning of Article 2(3) (MDR Article 1(11)).
• Directive 2014/90/EU on marine equipment — marine equipment has its own regime. Where it lays down EMC requirements more specifically, the EMC Directive does not apply to those requirements (Article 2(3)).

Common errors

• Applying the EMC Directive to radio equipment. Radio products are exclusively under the RED; EMC requirements are integrated within the RED's Article 3(1)(b). Applying both directives produces duplicate listings on the Declaration of Conformity.
• Self-declaration without test reports. Module A does not eliminate the need for test evidence. Emission and immunity tests must be performed and documented; "assessed by analysis only" is rarely defensible.
• Using generic standards where a product-family standard exists. Where a product-family standard (EN 55014 for household appliances, EN 55032 for multimedia) applies, generic EN 61000-6 standards do not produce a separate presumption.
• Forgetting the immunity requirement. Both emission and immunity must be addressed in the technical file. Emission-only assessments are incomplete.
• CE marking a fixed installation. Fixed installations are subject to good engineering practice but are not CE-marked. Affixing the mark on the assembled installation is incorrect.

Sources

• Directive 2014/30/EU of 26 February 2014 (EMC) — OJ text; consolidated text of 30 May 2026.
• European Commission — EMC Directive sector page.
• European Commission — Harmonised standards for the EMC Directive.
• Commission Notice — Blue Guide 2022 — EUR-Lex.
• Decision No 768/2008/EC, Annex II Modules A and B+C — EUR-Lex.
• Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/1326 — EUR-Lex.