Outdoor noise compliance sorted! With help from easyCE.

The outdoor-noise assessment establishes the guaranteed sound power level and, for equipment listed in Article 12, checks the applicable limit. This is not interchangeable with an operator-position sound pressure measurement.

Article 12 includes equipment subject to noise limits and marking, such as:

• Combustion-engine construction hoists and winches; specified compaction equipment; compressors below 350 kW; hand-held concrete breakers and picks.
• Dozers, dumpers, hydraulic or rope-operated excavators, backhoe loaders, graders, bucket-type landfill compactors and loaders, within the stated 500 kW limits.
• Hydraulic power packs, specified lawnmowers and lawn trimmers or lawn-edge trimmers, combustion-engine counterbalanced lift trucks and motor hoes below 3 kW.
• Mobile cranes, tower cranes, specified road pavers, power generators below 400 kW and welding generators.

Article 13 covers equipment subject to noise marking without a limit under this directive, including:

• Combustion-engine aerial platforms, brush cutters, portable chainsaws, hedge trimmers, leaf blowers and collectors, grass trimmers, scarifiers and shredders.
• Electric construction hoists and winches; building-site band saws and circular saw benches; explosion rammers; concrete or mortar mixers and conveying or spraying equipment.
• Conveyor belts, drilling rigs, pile drivers, pipe layers, trenchers, joint cutters, road-milling machines, high-compaction road pavers and truck mixers.
• Vehicle refrigeration equipment, silo or tank loading equipment, glass-recycling containers, mobile waste containers, refuse-collection vehicles and sweepers.
• Combined high-pressure flushing and suction vehicles, high-pressure flushers and water-jet machines, suction vehicles and non-submersible water-pump units.
• Piste caterpillars, specified rotary snow-removal machines, certain counterbalanced lift trucks and power generators at or above 400 kW.

Use the exact definitions and qualifications in the directive to classify the product; these grouped examples are not a substitute for the scope assessment.

• Equipment primarily intended to transport goods or people by road, rail, air or water is excluded. Listed working equipment mounted on a vehicle may still be covered for its working function.
• Equipment specifically designed and built for military, police or emergency-service purposes is excluded. Ordinary breakdown-assistance equipment is not automatically an emergency-service product.
• Permanently stationary installations and equipment intended for indoor use fall outside the definition of equipment for use outdoors. Temporary use in an enclosure or underground does not necessarily exclude equipment normally intended for outdoor use.

• Complete the relevant conformity assessment procedure.
• Determine and document the guaranteed sound power level.
• Affix the CE marking and the guaranteed sound power indication.
• Supply the equipment with an EC declaration of conformity.

• Annex VI: internal control of production with assessment of technical documentation and periodic checking.
• Annex VII: unit verification of the individual equipment.
• Annex VIII: full quality assurance.

For Annex VI, prepare the technical records, measurement results and guaranteed-value calculation for notified-body assessment. The procedure also includes checks during production; it is not only a one-off document review.

• Manufacturer and, where applicable, authorised-representative details.
• Equipment description, make, commercial name, type, series and identification numbers.
• Relevant technical data, drawings and explanations.
• The applicable directive and the conformity assessment procedure.
• Noise measurement reports using the prescribed methods.
• The evaluation of measurement uncertainty and production variation used to determine the guaranteed sound power level.

For the production-control procedures, records are generally retained for ten years after the last equipment is manufactured. They must remain accessible to the competent authorities; electronic storage must preserve that accessibility.

• The notified body checks the equipment against the technical documentation.
• It agrees the test location and carries out or arranges the required noise measurements.
• If the equipment meets the requirements, it issues the certificate of conformity specified by the directive. A refusal must be explained.

The manufacturer or authorised representative keeps the certificate with the technical documentation for ten years after the equipment is placed on the market.

This does not remove the manufacturer's duty to assess each equipment type and maintain technical evidence. For Article 13 equipment, Annex V internal control of production applies instead: the manufacturer documents the assessment, issues the declaration and applies the required markings.

• Manufacturer or authorised-representative details and the person holding the technical documentation.
• A description identifying the equipment.
• The conformity assessment procedure and any relevant notified-body details.
• The measured sound power level and the guaranteed sound power level.
• A statement of conformity with this directive and references to any other applicable directives.
• The place and date of issue and details of the authorised signatory.

The declaration accompanies the equipment and must meet the applicable language requirements. The former obligation to send copies for the EU noise database ceased on 29 November 2025; this did not remove the declaration or documentation duties.

The CE marking normally has a minimum height of 5 mm. The sound power indication shows the guaranteed value in dB with LWA and the prescribed symbol.

Keep the proportions shown in Annex IV when resizing. The sound power indication should be at least 40 mm high where possible.

The prescribed methods refer to standards such as ISO 3744 and equipment-specific test codes. Other standards may help with noise declarations or machinery assessments, but they do not automatically replace the statutory outdoor-noise test method. Check the applicable Annex III version and any transitional exceptions for the equipment concerned.