Guide
Electrical product safety compliance
How to comply with the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 when placing electrical products on the Great Britain market. Covers safety objectives, voltage scope, conformity assessment, technical documentation, UKCA and CE marking, EMC Regulations overlap, and RoHS requirements for electrical and electronic equipment.
If you manufacture, import, or distribute electrical equipment for the Great Britain market (England, Scotland, and Wales), you must comply with the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/1101). These regulations set safety objectives for electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits.
The Regulations retained the EU Low Voltage Directive (LVD) 2014/35/EU into domestic law. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) and local Trading Standards enforce compliance. Most electrical products must also comply with the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Regulations 2016 and, for electronic equipment, the RoHS Regulations 2012.
This guide explains what you must do to place compliant electrical equipment on the GB market.
Voltage scope and products covered
The Regulations apply to electrical equipment designed for use with a voltage rating of between 50V and 1,000V for alternating current (AC) and between 75V and 1,500V for direct current (DC). This covers the vast majority of mains-powered consumer and commercial electrical products.
Products outside scope (Schedule 2): Certain categories are excluded, including electrical equipment for use in explosive atmospheres, electro-radiology and electro-medical equipment, electrical parts of goods and passenger lifts, electricity meters, plugs and socket outlets for domestic use, electric fence controllers, radio-electrical interference equipment, and specialised equipment for ships, aircraft, or railways.
If your product falls below 50V AC or 75V DC, the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations do not apply, but the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 still require that any consumer product is safe.
Safety objectives you must meet
Schedule 1 sets out the essential safety objectives. Your electrical equipment must be designed so that it does not endanger persons, domestic animals, or property when properly installed, maintained, and used for its intended purpose. The key safety objectives are:
Protection against electrical contact: Persons and domestic animals must be adequately protected against danger of physical injury or other harm caused by direct or indirect electrical contact.
Environmental resilience: Equipment must withstand foreseeable environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, vibration) and remain safe throughout its expected life.
Temperature, arcs, and radiation: Equipment must not create danger from excessive temperatures, electric arcs, or radiation during normal operation.
Insulation: Insulation must be suitable for all foreseeable conditions and adequate to prevent breakdown.
Overload protection: Equipment must incorporate adequate protection against overload conditions.
Conformity assessment and documentation
The Regulations use internal production control (Module A) as the conformity assessment route. This means you self-assess your product against the safety objectives without mandatory third-party involvement. However, self-assessment carries full legal responsibility.
To demonstrate conformity you must:
- Identify which safety objectives apply to your equipment
- Design and test the product to meet those objectives, preferably using UK designated standards (which provide a presumption of conformity)
- Compile technical documentation including a general description, design drawings, test reports, and descriptions of solutions adopted to meet safety objectives
- Draw up a UK Declaration of Conformity (or EU Declaration of Conformity for CE marking) stating the equipment satisfies the applicable safety objectives
- Retain technical documentation and the Declaration of Conformity for 10 years from when the equipment was placed on the market
Manufacturer identification: Your name, registered trade name or trade mark, and postal contact address must appear on the product or its data plate. Where the product is too small, this information may appear on the packaging. Importers must also place their name and contact address on the equipment or its packaging.
EMC and RoHS: overlapping requirements
Most electrical products must comply with additional regulations beyond the LVD safety requirements:
Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/1091): These require that your equipment does not generate electromagnetic disturbance exceeding a level allowing radio and telecommunications equipment and other apparatus to operate as intended, and that it has an adequate level of immunity to electromagnetic disturbance. You need a separate conformity assessment for EMC, but you can issue a single combined Declaration of Conformity covering both LVD and EMC.
RoHS Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/3032): If your product is electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), it must not contain more than the permitted maximum concentration values of 10 restricted substances (including lead, mercury, cadmium, and four phthalates) in any homogeneous material. RoHS applies across 11 EEE categories and requires its own Declaration of Conformity and technical documentation.
In practice, most electrical product manufacturers address LVD, EMC, and RoHS together as part of a single compliance programme. Your technical file should cover all three sets of requirements.