normakte / Retention periods
The period does not start with the design but with the placing on the market of each individual unit. Whoever builds a machine for years has to keep the documents correspondingly longer.
| What | How long | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Technical documentation and EU declaration of conformity | at least 10 years after placing on the market | Art. 10(3) |
| Partly completed machinery documentation and declaration of incorporation | at least 10 years after placing on the market | Art. 11 |
| Digital instructions | online for the lifetime, at least 10 years | Art. 10(7) |
| CRA: technical documentation and declaration | at least 10 years or the support period, whichever is longer | Art. 13 CRA |
| CRA: security updates | each update available for at least 10 years | Art. 13 CRA |
In practice the period runs per serial number. For a machine delivered for the first time in 2027 and for the last time in 2032, the documents must remain available until at least 2042 — in the version that applied to each delivery.
Every version with date and checksum, export at any time.
Sources. Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, OJ L 165 of 29.6.2023; Regulation (EU) 2024/2847, OJ L, 2024/2847 of 20.11.2024. Summarised; only the official text is authoritative. normakte is not legal advice.