Directives
If your product(s) fall(s) within the sector of simple pressure vessels Directive 2014/29/EU applies.
Verify requirements
The New Approach Directives for CE marking have been designed by the European Union in such a manner that they cover all requirements for products from each of the aforementioned sectors.
The Directive 2014/29/EU on simple pressure vessels specifies the essential requirements the product has to meet in order for the manufacturer to affix the CE marking.
The Directive applies to simple pressure vessels manufactured in series with the following characteristics:
(a) the vessels are welded, intended to be subjected to an internal gauge pressure greater than 0,5 bar and to contain air or nitrogen, and are not intended to be fired
(b) the parts and assemblies contributing to the strength of the vessel under pressure are made either of non-alloy quality steel or of non-alloy aluminium or non-age hardening aluminium alloys
(c) the vessel is made of either of the following elements:
(i) a cylindrical part of circular cross-section closed by outwardly dished and/or flat ends which revolve around the same axis as the cylindrical part or
(ii) two dished ends revolving around the same axis
(d) the maximum working pressure of the vessel does not exceed 30 bar and the product of that pressure and the capacity of the vessel (PS × V) does not exceed 10 000 bar.L
(e) the minimum working temperature is no lower than – 50 °C and the maximum working temperature is not higher than 300 °C for steel and 100 °C for aluminium or aluminium alloy vessels.
These vessels are required to comply with the essential safety requirements set out in Annex I to the Directive.
Need for notified body?
A Notified Body verifies the compliance of a product with the Directive by conducting a conformity assessment. Depending on the use or not of harmonised European standards and the potential pressure hazard determined by the total energetic content of the vessels - determined by the product of PS (pressure) and V (volume) - appropriate conformity assessment procedures are defined in the Directive.
If the Notified Body is involved in the production control phase, its identification number will follow the CE marking.
If the product is in compliance with the directive, the Notified body will issue a certificate to confirm this. The manufacturer will then draw up the EU Declaration of Conformity (EU DoC) to declare on their sole responsibility conformity of the product to the relevant Directives. The establishment of the EU DoC is a legal obligation.
The EU Declaration of Conformity must include the manufacturer’s details such as name and address, object of the declaration, statement that the object of the declaration is in conformity with the relevant Union harmonisation legislation , references to the relevant harmonised standards used or references to other technical specifications in relation to which conformity is declared, and the name and identification number of the Notified Body. For further details please consult Annex IV of the specific Directive.
To find the Notified Bodies appointed by the Member States to carry out conformity assessment, please refer to NANDO – the New Approach Notified and Designated Organisations database. You can search for Notified Bodies by Directive or by country via the NANDO homepage.
Check conformity
Vessels of which the product of PS × V exceeds 50 bar.L shall be subject to the EU-type examination (Module B) set out to in point 1 of Annex II, as follows:
- for vessels manufactured in accordance with the harmonised standards referred to in Article 12, at the choice of the manufacturer, in either of the following two manners:
- assessment of the adequacy of the technical design of the vessel through examination of the technical documentation and supporting evidence without examination of a specimen (Module B – design type);
- assessment of the adequacy of the technical design of the vessel through examination of the technical documentation and supporting evidence, plus examination of a prototype, representative of the production envisaged, of the complete vessel (Module B – production type).
- for vessels not manufactured, or manufactured only partly, in accordance with the harmonised standards referred to in Article 12, the manufacturer shall submit for examination a prototype, representative of the production envisaged, of the complete vessel and the technical documentation and supporting evidence for examination and assessment of the adequacy of the technical design of the vessel (Module B – production type).
Vessels shall be subject to the following procedures:
- where the product of PS × V exceeds 3 000 bar.L, to conformity to type based on internal production control plus supervised vessel testing (Module C1) set out in point 2 of Annex II;
- where the product of PS × V does not exceed 3 000 bar.L but exceeds 200 bar.L, at the choice of the manufacturer, to either of the following:
- conformity to type based on internal production control plus supervised vessel testing (Module C1) set out in point 2 of Annex II;
- conformity to type based on internal production control plus supervised vessel checks at random intervals (Module C2) set out in point 3 Annex II;
- where the product of PS × V does not exceed 200 bar.L but exceeds 50 bar.L, at the choice of the manufacturer, to either of the following:
- conformity to type based on internal production control plus supervised vessel testing (Module C1) set out in point 2 of Annex II;
- conformity to type based on internal production control (Module C) set out in point 4 of Annex II.
Whether a Notified Body has been involved or not, the manufacturer must draw up and sign the EU Declaration of Conformity.
Technical documentation
Annex II to Directive 2014/29/EU on simple pressure vessels requires the manufacturer to prepare the technical documentation enabling the assessment of the conformity of the vessel with the requirements of the Directive. The documentation shall contain at least the following elements:
- a general description of the vessel
- conceptual design and manufacturing drawings and schemes of components, etc.
- descriptions and explanations necessary for the understanding of those drawings and schemes and the operation of the vessel
- a list of the harmonised standards applied in full or in part, the references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, and, where those harmonised standards have not been applied, descriptions of the solutions adopted to meet the essential safety requirements of this Directive, including a list of other relevant technical specifications applied
- results of design calculations made, examinations carried out, etc.
- test reports
- the instructions and safety information
- a document describing:
- the materials selected
- the welding processes selected
- the checks selected
- any pertinent details as to the vessel design.
The manufacturer, or his authorised representative established in the European Union, is requested to keep copies of the technical documentation for a period of 10 years after the last vessel has been placed on the market.
Affix CE marking
Once the necessary steps have been successfully completed, the logo must be affixed to the product.
The marking must be placed visibly and legibly on the product or, if not possible because of the nature of the product, be affixed to a data plate. The CE marking shall consist of the initials 'CE' taking the following form:

The various components of the CE marking must have substantially the same vertical dimension and may not be smaller than 5 mm. If the CE marking is reduced or enlarged, the proportions given in the above graduated drawing must be respected.
When the product is subject to other Directives covering other aspects and which also provide for the ‘CE’ marking, the accompanying documents must indicate that the product also conforms to those other Directives.
However, when one or more of those Directives allow the manufacturer, during a transitional period, to choose which arrangements to apply, the ‘CE’ marking has to indicate conformity with the Directives applied by the manufacturer. In this case, the particularities of the Directives applied, as published in the Official Journal of the European Union, must be given in the documents, notices or instructions required by the Directives and accompanying such products.
If a Notified Body is involved in the production control phase, its identification number must be also displayed.
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