Pressure Equipment Directive (PED)

What is the Pressure Equipment Directive about?

The Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) applies to the design, manufacture and conformity assessment of pressure equipment and assemblies with a maximum allowable pressure greater than 0.5 bar gauge including vessels, piping, safety accessories and pressure accessories.

Not all pressure equipment is covered by this directive as The Transportable Pressure Equipment Directive and the Simple Pressure Vessels Directive both cover certain equipment and products which present a relatively low hazard from pressurization. These may be covered by other directives, e.g. Machinery Equipment Directive, ATEX Directive, Low Voltage Directive or the Electro Magnetic Compatibility Directive.

We offer technical advice to help you understand the regulations, testing and CE marking for the PED.

Who is the Directive for?

This Directive is relevant to manufacturers (and may include importers, suppliers or authorized representatives) of pressure equipment selling into most European countries. The definition of pressure equipment includes vessels, piping, safety accessories or pressure accessories.

Once you meet the requirements of the Directive you will be able to apply the CE marking to the products.

What products do we provide Notified Body services for?

Typical examples of pressure equipment covered include: 

  • shell and water tube boilers
  • heat exchangers
  • pressure vessels
  • process pipework
  • electric heaters
  • valves - isolation
  • valves - control
  • meters
  • relief valves
  • safety valves
  • bursting discs
  • buckling rods
  • controlled safety pressure relief systems
  • pressure switches
  • temperature switches
  • fluid level switches
Not all pressure equipment is covered by this Directive as The Transportable Pressure Equipment Directive (TPED) and the Simple Pressure Vessels Directive both cover certain equipment and products which present a relatively low hazard from pressurization. These may be covered by other directives, e.g. the Machinery Equipment Directive, the ATEX Directive, the Low Voltage Directive or the Electro Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive.