Chapter VI, harmonised standards and technical specifications
Article 15: Presumption of conformity
Conformity with a harmonised standard cited in the Official Journal, or with a technical specification adopted by implementing act, creates a presumption of conformity to the extent it covers the requirement.
- Citation
- Article 15, CELEX 32019L0882 (Directive)
- Binds
- Manufacturers and service providers who choose to rely on harmonised standards or technical specifications.
- In the instrument
- Chapter VI, harmonised standards and technical specifications
- Applies from
- 28 June 2025 for products placed and services provided from that date (Article 31(2)). The Article 4(8) 112 duty may be deferred to 28 June 2027 where a member state uses Article 31(3).
- Source
- EUR-Lex, CELEX 32019L0882
What it requires
Paragraph 1 gives the presumption: a product or service in conformity with harmonised standards, or parts of them, whose references have been published in the Official Journal, is presumed to conform to the accessibility requirements to the extent the standards cover them.
Paragraph 2 records the standardisation route. The Commission was to ask the European standardisation bodies to prepare standards for the Annex I product requirements, with the first draft request sent to the relevant committee no later than 28 June 2021.
Paragraph 3 allows implementing acts to set technical specifications where no harmonised standard reference has been published and either the standardisation work is delayed or not accepted, or the Commission can show the specification meets the relevant regulation's requirements apart from the non-profit origin condition. Paragraph 4 gives conformity with those specifications the same presumption, again only to the extent they cover the requirement.
In practice
Record standards at clause level, not document level. For each Annex I requirement, name the standard, the edition, the clause and whether it was applied in full or in part. Where a clause was not applied, write the alternative solution in the same row. That table is what an authority reads first, and it also feeds the Annex IV point 2(b) description.
What to do
- List every harmonised standard or technical specification applied, in full or in part.
- Record the parts applied and the parts not applied, with the alternative solution used.
- Keep the version and citation of each standard relied on.
- Do not claim presumption beyond what the standard actually covers.
Evidence to keep
- The standards register with publication references and versions.
- The Annex IV point 2(b) description of solutions where a standard was not applied.
- A coverage map from each standard clause to each Annex I requirement.
Dates
- 2021-06-28Latest date for the first draft standardisation request under paragraph 2. (Article 15(2))
- 2025-06-28The presumption matters as the requirements apply. (Article 31(2))
Cross-references
Where teams get this wrong
A certificate or a test report for a standard is not the same as the presumption. The standard's reference must be published in the Official Journal, and the coverage has to match the requirement you are claiming.
Read from the Official Journal text of Directive (EU) 2019/882, OJ L 151/70, 7 June 2019, Article 15. Check it yourself: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019L0882. This page states the provision in our own words and is not legal advice; it does not certify any product or service.