Article 15 of Machinery Regulation 2023/1230: distributor obligations before selling machinery

Direct answer: Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 requires every distributor — wholesaler, specialist shop, online platform or installer that resells equipment — to check, before making the machine available on the market, that it bears CE marking, that it is accompanied by the EU Declaration of Conformity and by instructions for use in the required language, and that the manufacturer and importer have fulfilled their own documentary obligations. This is not a mere formality: if the distributor detects, or has reason to suspect, non-compliance, it may not place the machine on the market until the issue has been corrected. In this article we detail exactly what a distributor must verify, how its obligations differ from those of the importer, and what happens if it unknowingly sells non-compliant machinery.

Regulation 2023/1230, which will replace Directive 2006/42/EC with full application from 20 January 2027, retains the chain-of-responsibility structure introduced by the EU's «New Legislative Framework» (Regulation 765/2008 and Decision 768/2008): manufacturer, authorised representative, importer and distributor have differentiated but complementary obligations. The distributor is the last link before the machine reaches the end user, which is why the Regulation demands from it a level of diligence («acting with due care») that goes beyond simple resale.

What must a distributor verify before selling a machine?

Article 15.2 sets out four mandatory checks, which must be carried out before the machine is made available on the market — that is, before each act of commercial supply, not only at the first sale from the importer to the distributor, but at every subsequent link in the chain whenever the product changes hands between distributors.

• CE marking present and visible. The distributor must physically check that the machine or related product bears CE marking in accordance with the rules of Article 24, including the notified body number where applicable.
• EU Declaration of Conformity attached. The machine must be accompanied by the Declaration referred to in Article 10.8 (or, in the case of partly completed machinery, by the Declaration of Incorporation under Article 11.8, as regulated for distributors of partly completed machinery by Article 16 of the Regulation).
• Instructions and information in the correct language. The instruction manual and the information required by Article 10.7 must be drawn up in a language easily understood by users in the Member State where the product is to be marketed, as determined by that Member State.
• Prior compliance by manufacturer and importer. The distributor must verify that the manufacturer has met the identification and marking requirements of Articles 10.5 and 10.6, and that the importer has met Article 13.3 (indication of its name, registered trade mark and address on the machine or its packaging).

What happens if the distributor suspects the machine is not compliant?

Article 15.3 introduces a proactive obligation: if the distributor «considers or has reason to believe» that a machine is not in conformity with the Regulation, it may not make it available on the market until it has been brought into conformity. Furthermore, if the product presents a risk to the health and safety of persons — and, where applicable, of domestic animals, property or the environment — the distributor must inform both the manufacturer or importer and the market surveillance authorities.

This duty to suspend marketing is triggered by «reason to believe», a lower threshold than full certainty. In practice, signs such as an incomplete Declaration, poorly printed CE marking, instructions missing in the required language, or a model that does not match the documentation are sufficient to trigger the obligation to hold the machine back as a precaution, even before any authority has intervened.

Distributor vs. importer: how do their obligations differ?

The Regulation clearly distinguishes between the obligations of the importer (Art. 13, the first operator to place the machine on the EU market from a third country) and those of the distributor (Art. 15, any subsequent commercial link). Both must verify, but with different scope and different exposure to risk.

Both figures, if they market the machine under their own brand or make modifications that affect compliance with the applicable requirements, assume the full obligations of a manufacturer under Article 17 of the Regulation — a scenario we analyse in detail in our dedicated article on cases where an importer or distributor becomes a manufacturer.

Storage and transport: the obligation that gets forgotten (Art. 15.4)

Article 15.4 requires that, while the machine is under the distributor's responsibility, storage or transport conditions must not jeopardise compliance with the essential health and safety requirements of Annex III. This obligation is frequently overlooked because it is not a documentary action but a physical one: humidity in a warehouse, impacts during handling with a forklift, improper stacking of equipment with sensitive electronic components, or exposure to extreme temperatures can alter the safety of a machine that left the factory perfectly compliant.

How IgeraIndustria solves distributor verification

Case study: the distributor that avoided a penalty by holding back a batch

Ferretería Industrial Novés, a wholesale distributor of workshop machinery in eastern Spain, received a batch of 15 compressors from an importer based in the Netherlands. When applying its Article 15 checklist, the quality manager found that the EU Declaration of Conformity referred to a different model (a lower-power variant) than the one shown on the rating plate of the physical units. Instead of marketing the batch, Novés held back the 15 units, reported the discrepancy to the importer and requested a corrected Declaration. Three weeks later, a regional market surveillance inspection reviewed that very batch at the original importer's warehouse; the units Novés had already distributed to other wholesalers without verification would have been exposed to a withdrawal order. The case, now anonymised in internal industry training, illustrates why a distributor's documentary verification is not a mere formality but a real safeguard against joint liability.

Frequently asked questions about Article 15

Does a distributor have to open the packaging to verify the machine?

The Regulation does not require an exhaustive technical inspection of each unit, but it does require a reasonable documentary and visual check carried out with the due care required by Art. 15.1. In practice, this means checking the CE marking visible from the outside or on the packaging (if not possible on the machine itself, in accordance with Art. 24.1), and cross-checking the accompanying documentation. There is no need to dismantle the equipment, but the documentation must be checked against the specific unit.

What happens if the distributor unknowingly sells non-compliant machinery?

If the distributor can demonstrate that it acted with the due care required by Art. 15.1 and 15.2 — documentary checks carried out and recorded — its liability differs from that of a distributor who ignored obvious warning signs. Nevertheless, as soon as it becomes aware of the non-conformity, Art. 15.5 requires it to cooperate in corrective measures: withdrawal, recall or bringing into conformity, and to inform the competent national authorities.

Must the distributor keep the machine's technical file?

No. The complete technical file (Annex IV) is the manufacturer's responsibility, and the importer must be able to provide it to the authority if requested. The distributor only needs to keep the traceability information required by Article 19 — the identity of who supplied it and to whom it supplied the product — for at least 10 years.

Do the same obligations apply to online sales of machinery?

Yes. A marketplace or online shop that acts as a distributor — that is, that makes the machine available on the market in its own name — is fully subject to Article 15, regardless of the sales channel. The digital nature of the channel does not exempt it from documentary checks or from the obligation to suspend the sale if there are signs of non-conformity.

How does Article 15 relate to the Declaration of Incorporation for partly completed machinery?

When the distributed product is partly completed machinery rather than complete machinery, the specific obligations of Article 16 of the Regulation apply (not to be confused with Article 16 on the EU Declaration of Conformity for complete machinery, which we analysed in an earlier article in this series), requiring verification of the Declaration of Incorporation under Article 11.8 and the assembly instructions, instead of the EU Declaration of Conformity and CE marking.

What penalties does a distributor face for breaching Article 15?

The specific penalties are set out in each Member State's national transposition legislation, under the penalty regime provided for in Article 50 of the Regulation. These can range from requirements to remedy the breach to administrative fines and, in cases of repeated non-compliance or serious risk, a temporary ban on marketing.

Sources: Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2023 on machinery (OJ L 165, 29.6.2023), Articles 3, 10, 13, 15, 17, 19 and 24; Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 on market surveillance. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or engineering advice.