The Pressure Equipment Directive originally came into force between the 31st August 1999 and 29th November 1999. The new Pressure Equipment Directive (2014/68/EU) has been implemented in two phases, replacing the previous Directive (97/23/EC). The classification rules is the first phase, which was implemented on the 1st June 2015. This was followed by the remainder of the Directive, which entered into force on the 19th July 2016.
The Directive applies to the design, manufacture and conformity assessment of pressure equipment and assemblies of pressure equipment with a maximum allowable pressure greater than 0.5 bar.
- Pressure equipment is defined as vessels, piping, safety accessories and pressure accessories.
- Assemblies are defined as several pieces of pressure equipment assembled by a manufacturer to constitute an integrated and functional whole.
The Directive contains a range of charts to help establish the classification of the equipment. There are exclusions to the scope of this Directive and these can be viewed in article 1, paragraph 3.