PED Pressure Equipment Certification Service

The Pressure Equipment Directive (PED, 97/23/EC) is one of the EU mandatory directives. All equipment with a design pressure exceeding 0.5 bar must comply with PED requirements regardless of pressure rating and volume. Fire extinguishers, pressure gauges, valves, safety valves, air receivers, tanks, pipelines, pipe fittings, steam equipment and other fluid handling facilities are all subject to PED regulation.

Adopted on May 29, 1997, PED entered into force on November 29, 1999, with a 30-month transitional period ending on May 28, 2002. During the transition, products could comply with either PED or local national standards (products under national standards were restricted to domestic circulation). Since May 29, 2002, local regulations have been fully repealed, and PED has become the mandatory standard for pressure equipment across Europe. Manufacturers shall comply in advance to avoid market access barriers in Europe.

Requirements for Pressure Equipment & Components Above Specified Pressure/Volume Thresholds

Ensure operational safety
Meet essential safety requirements for design, manufacturing and testing
Complete approved conformity assessment procedures
Affix CE marking and statutory labels

Requirements for Pressure Equipment & Components Below Specified Pressure/Volume Thresholds

Ensure operational safety
Designed and manufactured in accordance with sound engineering practice
Mark with statutory labels (CE marking not mandatory)
Product Classification & Conformity Assessment Selection
Manufacturers shall classify products to match differentiated PED provisions. Products are divided into five levels: Article 3.3 (designed and manufactured per member states’ sound engineering practice) and Class I to Class IV. Higher risk corresponds to higher classification level and stricter regulatory requirements.

Technical Data Requirements for PED CE Certification

01 Product dimension, pressure rating and material description
02 Design and testing applicable standards
(ASME, ANSI, API, BS, EN…)
03 Product appearance drawings and design drawings
04 Quality management documents
(Inspection specifications, ISO 9001 certificate)
05 Material certification documents
(Physical and chemical properties)
06 Wall thickness test procedures
(Hydrostatic test, pneumatic test…)
07 Official test reports
(In-house testing acceptable)
08 English user manual, CE nameplate & product marking

New Directive Implementation

The EU Pressure Equipment Directive has been updated from 97/23/EC to 2014/68/EU, with mandatory enforcement starting in July 2016.

The EU directive 97/23/EC, enacted in 1997, has long guided the export of domestic pressure vessels. The updated version 2014/68/EU was officially finalized and fully enforced on July 19, 2016. Key revisions of the new PED directive are summarized below for manufacturers applying for PED certification.

Key Revisions:

Conformity Assessment Module Changes

97/23/EC	2014/68/EU
A1: Internal production control with final assessment surveillance	A2: Internal production control plus random supervised product inspection
B1: EC design examination	B: Design type examination
B: EC type examination	B: Production type examination
C1: Final assessment monitoring	C2: EU type conformity based on internal production control plus random supervised product inspection
Remark: 1. The upgrade from Module A1 to A2 introduces random factory inspection, allowing notified bodies to conduct sampling tests during production. 2. The old directive divides Module B and B1 into type examination and design review, which are unified into a single Module B in the new directive. 3. The revision from C1 to C2 strengthens the supervision authority of certification bodies.

Updated Module Selection by Product Category:

Category I = Module A

Category II = Module A2, D1, E1

Category III = Modules B (design type) + D, B (design type) + F, B (production type) + E, B (production type) + C2, H

Category IV = Module B (production type) + D, B (production type) + F, G, H1

Fluid Classification Update

Although the new directive took mandatory effect in July 2016, the revised fluid classification criteria for pressure equipment have been enforced since June 2015. Refer to WPG B-01 for requirements of Chapter 3, Article 12 (Classification of pressure equipment).