Regulations · EU and UK

Know which rules apply to your robot.

Most robotics teams we speak to assume they're exempt. From 20 January 2027, the EU Machinery Regulation applies to every robot sold or put into service in the EU, with no transition period. Check where you stand in two minutes.

Key datesEU and UK
11 Sep 2026Cyber Resilience ActVulnerability and incident reporting starts
You are here
9 Dec 2026Product Liability DirectiveSoftware and AI count as products
20 Jan 2027Machinery RegulationApplies in full, with no transition period
2 Dec 2027AI ActHigh-risk rules for uses such as managing workers
11 Dec 2027Cyber Resilience ActFull requirements and CE marking
2 Aug 2028AI ActRules for AI inside regulated products
Fig. 1 · Dates as published, checked 11 October 2026.

Regulations checker.

Check how the current and upcoming regulations may affect your deployment. For illustration only.

01
Where will your robot be sold or used?Choose all that apply
02
What are you doing with it?
03
What kind of robot is it?
04
Does AI or machine learning influence how it moves or keeps people safe?
05
How close does it work to people?
06
Is it connected to a network, the cloud or remote updates?
07
Does it monitor, rate or assign work to people, or recognise faces?
08
Who made it?
Your result
Answer all eight questions to see which rules apply, from when, and what to prepare.

These rules apply to you.

Some rules may apply to you.

No rule applies directly today.

For illustration only. This is not legal advice.The check gives a general picture based on your answers, and it may not fit your situation or reflect the latest changes to the law. Check the official texts and take advice from a qualified professional. See our terms of use.
EU Machinery RegulationFrom 20 Jan 2027
Applies

Every robot sold or put into service in the EU must meet it from 20 January 2027, with no transition period. Pilots count.

Machine learning that keeps learning in use and ensures a safety function needs assessment by a notified body, not self-assessment.

Your risk assessment must cover how the AI affects movement and safety, including after updates.

Working near people raises the protective measures you must show.

A substantial modification makes you the robot's manufacturer for these rules.

Prepare
  • Risk assessment covering AI behaviour and cybersecurity
  • Technical file and EU declaration of conformity
  • Records of how the robot behaves in operation
Check

Your supplier must CE mark the robot. If you change it substantially, you take on the manufacturer's duties.

Prepare
  • Ask your supplier for the declaration of conformity
  • Check any changes you make against "substantial modification"
Unlikely

You haven't selected the EU or Northern Ireland.

EU Cyber Resilience ActReporting since 11 Sep 2026 · in full 11 Dec 2027
Applies

Connected products in the EU must report actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents, with an early warning within 24 hours. That already applies.

Prepare
  • A process to receive and handle vulnerability reports
  • A software bill of materials (SBOM)
  • Security updates for the support period
Check

Robots used only in your own operations aren't made available on the market, but the first sale or pilot changes that. In Northern Ireland, confirm how the CRA applies.

Prepare
  • Plan vulnerability handling before your first sale
  • Keep a software bill of materials (SBOM)
Unlikely

You haven't selected the EU, or the robot isn't connected.

A robot with no network link, cloud connection or remote updates is outside the CRA. Adding any of them brings it in.

EU AI ActHigh-risk uses from 2 Dec 2027
Applies

AI that monitors, rates or assigns work to people, or recognises faces, is high-risk from 2 December 2027.

Prepare
  • Risk management and human oversight for those functions
  • Logging and record-keeping
  • AI literacy for your staff, which already applies
Check

Parts of the AI Act may apply, depending on where and how the robot is used.

AI inside a machine is now covered mainly through the Machinery Regulation, but AI literacy duties already apply to you.

How the AI Act applies in Northern Ireland is not settled for every product. Confirm it before you rely on it.

Prepare
  • AI literacy for the people who build and run the robot
  • Document what the AI decides and its limits
Unlikely

No AI in decisions about movement, safety or people, or you haven't selected the EU or Northern Ireland.

EU Product Liability DirectiveProducts from 9 Dec 2026
Applies

From 9 December 2026, software and AI count as products. You can be liable for harm caused by a defect, including one introduced by an update.

Prepare
  • Records of how the robot behaved before an incident
  • Update and version history
  • Evidence of the safety level you designed for
Check

If you modify the robot, or later supply it to others, you can take on a manufacturer's liability.

Prepare
  • Keep records of changes and updates you make
Unlikely

You haven't selected the EU or Northern Ireland.

Great Britain machinery rulesApply now · update planned
Applies

The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 apply now. The government plans an update aligned with the EU Regulation, and CE marking stays accepted.

Selling in the EU as well means the EU rows apply too.

Prepare
  • UKCA or CE marking and a declaration of conformity
  • Risk assessment and technical file
Check

Your supplier marks the robot. As an employer you still have duties for the safe use of work equipment (PUWER).

Prepare
  • Check the declaration of conformity
  • Assess risks where the robot is used
Unlikely

You haven't selected Great Britain.

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Five rules.

What each one covers and what it asks of you, as published today.

RuleApplies fromWho it coversWhat it asks of you
EU Machinery Regulation20 Jan 2027Every robot sold or put into service in the EU and Northern Ireland, including pilots.Risk assessment that covers AI and cybersecurity. Notified body assessment for safety functions that keep learning. Technical file and CE marking.
EU Cyber Resilience Act11 Sep 2026 · 11 Dec 2027Robots with a network link, cloud connection or remote updates, sold in the EU.Report actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents. Software bill of materials. Security updates for the support period.
EU AI Act2 Dec 2027 · 2 Aug 2028AI that monitors, rates or assigns work to people, or recognises faces. AI literacy duties apply now.Risk management, human oversight and logging for high-risk uses. Trained staff.
EU Product Liability Directive9 Dec 2026Robots, software and AI supplied in the EU and Northern Ireland.Nothing to file, but you carry liability for defects, including ones introduced by updates. Records are your defence.
Great Britain machinery rulesApply nowRobots supplied or put into service in Great Britain.UKCA or CE marking and a declaration of conformity. An update aligned with the EU Regulation is planned.
Dates checked 11 October 2026 against EU and UK government publications. For illustration only, not legal advice.

“We're exempt.” Usually not.

The reasons we hear most, and what the rules say.

01“It's only a pilot.”A pilot at a customer's site puts the robot into service. The rules apply from the first deployment, not the first sale.
02“We're not based in the EU.”The rules follow the robot. If it is sold or used in the EU, they apply, wherever you are based.
03“The AI Act was delayed.”Only its high-risk deadlines moved. The Machinery Regulation still applies from 20 January 2027, and AI literacy duties already apply.
04“Our integrator handles CE marking.”If you substantially modify a robot or change what it does, you take on the manufacturer's duties for it.
05“Our AI isn't safety-critical.”Then your risk assessment has to show it. If machine learning that keeps learning ensures a safety function, a notified body must assess it.

Evidence, not certification.

Naiva doesn't certify robots or make them compliant. It keeps the records an assessor, insurer or customer will ask for, so you can show what your robot did.

01

Behaviour records for your technical file

How the robot behaves across every layer, kept as evidence rather than screenshots.

02

Signed incident records

What changed first, when and where, ready for an incident report or a liability claim.

03

Update and version history

Which software and models were running when something happened.

04

Coverage report

What Naiva can see on your robot and what it can't, so the gaps are documented too.

Run Naiva free in simulation.

See the records it keeps on your own robot model before the rules apply.