Less than three months to go: what to do before 20 January 2027 under the new Machinery Regulation, for buyers, rental companies, importers and dealers

In short: on 20 January 2027 Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 starts applying to every new machine placed on the EU market and the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC is repealed. Less than three months remain and, despite requests, no date has been postponed: neither the general application nor the cybersecurity requirements. What decides whether a machine falls under the Directive or the Regulation is the date it was first placed on the market, not the date it reaches the site. That means stock already invoiced to dealers can still be sold, rental fleets are unaffected, but an importer's unsold stock, a used machine from outside the EU or a substantially modified machine must comply with the Regulation from that date. This guide is the list of what to confirm and do now, by role; the general explanation of the Regulation is in our guide to what changes in 2027.

The rule that decides everything: "placing on the market"

The Regulation uses three concepts worth separating (article 3):

• Making available on the market (point 11): any supply of a machine for distribution or use in the course of a commercial activity, paid or free. Selling, reselling, renting and leasing are all making available.
• Placing on the market (point 12): the first making available of a machine on the Union market. Each unit is placed once, and that date fixes the applicable law.
• Putting into service (point 13): the first use of a machine in the Union for its intended purpose. It matters when a company imports a machine for its own use without selling it.

Article 52(1) guarantees that machines placed on the market under the Directive before 20 January 2027 may continue to be made available afterwards, with no new declaration of conformity. The European Commission's Blue Guide (2022, section 2.3), not binding but the authorities' reference, explains when placing happens: when the manufacturer or importer first supplies a unit to a distributor or end user, which requires manufacturing to be complete and an offer or agreement to transfer ownership or possession. Physical handover is not required. Three practical consequences follow: stock still held by the manufacturer or importer is not placed on the market; a unit of a model already sold before is only placed when that unit itself is supplied; and a compliant machine already placed may keep moving along the distribution chain even after the law changes.

Stock, orders and deliveries around the date

For used machines from outside the Union the consequence is heavy: an American or British used machine arriving in Portugal after 20 January must comply with the Regulation as if new, and whoever imports it takes on the importer's obligations. We explain the steps in our guide to importing construction machinery and the used platform buying checklist.

Rental fleets and retrofits

Renting is making available, so a fleet bought under the Directive keeps being rented without recertification. Two exceptions to watch:

• Non-EU machines for own use. A rental company that buys a machine outside the Union and puts it to work for the first time after 20 January is "putting it into service" under the Regulation (article 3(13)).
• Substantial modifications. Fitting anti-entrapment systems, telematics that act on the controls, new software functions or platform extensions may be a substantial modification (article 3(16)): a physical or digital change not foreseen by the manufacturer that creates a new hazard or increases a risk and requires new guards or changes to the control system. The company that modifies then becomes the manufacturer of the modified machine (article 18) and must carry out the conformity assessment of article 25. The Blue Guide considers that a software update can be a substantial modification. IPAF published guidance in October 2026 on installing additional systems on MEWPs; ask your supplier for it before any retrofit.

Importers and dealers: articles 13 and 15

Whoever imports (buys outside the EU and places on the market) must verify that the manufacturer carried out the article 25 conformity assessment and drew up the Annex IV technical documentation, that the machine bears the CE marking, the EU declaration of conformity and instructions; must put their name, address and digital contact on the machine, ensure instructions in Portuguese, look after storage and transport conditions, sample-test when the risk justifies it and keep a complaints register (article 13).

Whoever resells (distributor) must check that the machine bears the CE marking, the declaration of conformity and instructions "in a language which can be easily understood by users", plus the manufacturer's and importer's markings; must not make available a machine known not to conform, and must inform the authorities when there is a risk (article 15). Directive-compliant stock bought before the date can still be sold (article 52).

Aerial platforms and Annex I, Part B

The point that most affects this sector is a quiet one. Annex I, Part B of the Regulation lists 19 categories of machinery, among them item 14: devices for the lifting of persons, or of persons and goods, involving a hazard of falling from a vertical height of more than 3 m, in other words aerial work platforms. For these, the manufacturer may only use internal production control (module A) if the machine is designed to harmonised standards under the Regulation covering all applicable requirements; otherwise a notified body must be involved (article 25(3)). Forklifts, telehandlers, excavators and paving machines are not on the list and follow module A, except for their ROPS and FOPS (items 18 and 19) and any safety functions with self-evolving artificial intelligence.

The problem is the standards timetable. On 30 October 2026 no list of harmonised standards has yet been published under Regulation 2023/1230. The Commission has announced a first implementing decision "before the end of the year", expected to carry over most of the Directive's standards, some with restrictions. Meanwhile, Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/2015 of 4 September 2026 was the last Directive list and repeals Decision 2023/1586 with effect from 20 January 2027; in the Commission's list, EN 280-1:2022 (platforms), EN 474 (earth-moving machinery) and EN 1459 (telehandlers) show an end of legal effect on that date. EU type-examination certificates issued under the Directive remain valid until the date they state (article 52(2)). For buyers the practical effect is simple: for machines placed on the market from January, ask the manufacturer which standards and which module were used, and whether a notified body was involved.

Cybersecurity and artificial intelligence: the dates have not moved

In January 2026 the European manufacturers' associations (CECE, CECIMO, EGMF and FEM) asked the Commission to postpone the Annex III cybersecurity requirements (points 1.1.9 and 1.2.1) to 11 December 2027, the Cyber Resilience Act date. CECE met DG GROW on 22 January, the trade unions objected and the item was on the expert group agenda in April. As of 30 October 2026 there has been no decision and no legislative proposal, so from 20 January 2027 new machines must withstand reasonably foreseeable malicious attempts, identify the safety software installed and keep a log of interventions and versions for five years.

On artificial intelligence there was one change: Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, in force since 27 July 2026, moved machinery to Section B of Annex I of the AI Act, so there is no separate AI conformity assessment; the Commission will insert the high-risk AI requirements into Annex III through delegated acts applying by 2 August 2028. None of this touches the 20 January 2027 date. Note too that the penalty rules (article 50) have applied since 20 October 2026.

Portugal: who enforces and what fines

The Directive was transposed by Decree-Law 103/2008, which remains in force and will keep applying to machines placed on the market under the Directive. Enforcement belongs to ASAE and ACT (article 14), with fines of €498 to €2,493 for individuals and €3,740 to €44,890 for companies, plus possible forfeiture of the machine (article 16). For market surveillance in general, Decree-Law 125/2026, in force since 27 June 2026, confirms ASAE as the competent authority and single liaison office and the Tax and Customs Authority as the control authority at the external borders, with the power to recover control costs from non-compliant operators. On 30 October 2026 we found no Portuguese decree-law adapting national law to Regulation 2023/1230; since the Regulation is directly applicable, national law is only needed for penalties and the designation of authorities. Until it appears, expect ASAE, ACT and the fines of Decree-Law 103/2008.

Calendar to 2028

Checklist by role

Buying a new machine

• Ask which act the declaration of conformity cites: Directive 2006/42/EC means placed before 20 January; Regulation 2023/1230 means after. Keep proof of the date (invoice, contract, transport).
• If you want a paper manual, ask for it at the time of purchase: the manufacturer has one month to supply it free of charge (article 10(7)). Check that the machine shows how to access the digital instructions and that they are in Portuguese.
• Ask who supplies the safety-software updates and who keeps the five-year intervention log.
• For aerial platforms placed from January, ask which standards and which assessment module were used and whether a notified body was involved.

Rental companies

• The fleet is unaffected; document each machine's acquisition date.
• Before any retrofit, assess whether it is a substantial modification; if so, either have the manufacturer do it or take on the manufacturer's obligations.
• A machine bought outside the EU and put to work for the first time after 20 January is put into service under the Regulation.

Importers

• Clear or place on the market before 20 January any stock bought outside the EU that you have not yet sold; whatever remains must comply with the Regulation.
• Check the Annex IV documentation, the CE marking and the declaration, put your name, address and digital contact on the machine and ensure instructions in Portuguese (article 13).

Dealers

• Check CE, declaration, Portuguese instructions and the manufacturer's and importer's markings on every machine (article 15).
• Directive-compliant stock you already own can still be sold (article 52).

Sellers of used machines

• A used machine from outside the EU sold from 20 January is a new placing on the market: it complies with the Regulation in full and whoever brings it in is the importer.
• Used machines already circulating in the EU do not change regime; always ask for the original declaration and the manual.

In every case, none of this replaces the user's obligations in Portugal: the periodic checks under Decree-Law 50/2005 still apply to every machine, new and old.

Where Trapézio de Prismas comes in

We are the JLG and Power Curbers dealer in Portugal. The machines we deliver come with the manufacturer's declaration of conformity, and from January 2027 we tell you, for each unit, whether it was placed on the market under the Directive or the Regulation. We carry out the periodic checks of Decree-Law 50/2005 on platforms and telehandlers of any brand, and we help assess whether a retrofit you are considering is a substantial modification. If you have purchases planned for the first quarter of 2027, talk to us before December: the difference between invoicing in 2026 and in 2027 can be the difference between two regimes.