Access equipment

The relevant laws at a glance

Our lives and social coexistence are regulated by European regulations and directives, German laws and ordinances, legal regulations of the federal states but also municipal ordinances. The laws and ordinances laid down by the state, the Länder and the municipalities are legally binding regulations.

At the beginning of 2022, German federal law comprised more than 1,750 laws and over 2,750 ordinances. German laws are made available free of charge by the Federal Ministry of Justice at www.gesetze-im-internet.de.

List of laws relevant for access equipment in Germany

ProdSG - Product Safety Act - Act on the Provision of Products on the Market
- Legal regulations on the safety requirements of technical work equipment and consumer products in Germany.
- Contains, among other things, regulations for the prerequisite for awarding the GS mark.
- It replaced the Equipment and Product Safety Act (GPSG) on 1 December 2011.
Regulation (EU) 2023/988 - European Product Safety Regulation
- Published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 23 May 2023 and entered into force on 12 June 2023.
- The new Regulation is applicable from 13 December 2024 and replaces the previous Directive 2001/95/EC.
- With the new EU Regulation, the content and structure of the previous Product Safety Directive has been adapted to current EU law and changed market requirements, e.g. with regard to information obligations, online marketplaces, digitalisation, cybersecurity or product compliance processes.
Regulation (EU) 2016/425 of the European Parliament and of the Council on personal protective equipment.
- Regulates the provision of personal protective equipment to which the CE marking is affixed by the manufacturer or his authorised representative and to which an EU declaration of conformity is issued.
- Since 21 April 2018, this regulation has replaced the European Directive 89/686/EEC (8th ProdSV).
9th ProdSV - Ninth Ordinance to the Product Safety Act (Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC)
- The Machinery Ordinance transposes the European Directive 2006/42/EC (Machinery Directive) into national law in Germany.
- The ordinance regulates the placing on the market of new machines. A prerequisite for placing machinery on the market is that the manufacturer affixes the CE marking to the machine and issues an EC declaration of conformity.
Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 - EU Machinery Regulation
- Published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 29 June 2023 and entered into force on 19 July 2023.
- The European Machinery Regulation will replace the current EC Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC on 14 January 2027. Some articles and requirements will already apply at earlier dates, e.g. Article 52 with reference to Chapter VI Union market surveillance and safeguard clause procedures.
- In addition to a structural and substantive revision, requirements in the area of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence have been included, as well as the possibility of a digital instruction manual.

ArbSchG - Occupational Health and Safety Act
- German law on the implementation of occupational health and safety measures to improve the safety and health of workers at work.
- Implementation of EC Directive 89/391/EEC on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work and EC Directive 91/383/EEC supplementing the measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers with fixed-term employment contracts or temporary employment contracts.

ArbStättV - Ordinance on Workplaces
- The Workplace Ordinance, including the Workplace Guidelines, is valid throughout Germany. It contains basic requirements for workplaces, e.g. requirements for internal traffic routes. For individual regulations, there are so-called "workplace rules" which contain more precise definitions and interpretations.

BetrSichV - Ordinance on Safety and Health Protection in the Provision of Work Equipment and its Use at Work, on Safety in the Operation of Installations Requiring Inspection and on the Organisation of Occupational Safety and Health
- The Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health is the German implementation of the Work Equipment Directive 89/655/EEC, later replaced by Directive 2009/104/EC.
- In terms of occupational safety, it regulates the provision of work equipment by the employer, the use of work equipment by employees at work, and the operation of installations requiring monitoring. The protection concept contained in it is applicable to all hazards arising from work equipment.
BaustellV - Construction Site Ordinance
- The Construction Site Ordinance aims to contribute to an improvement in the safety and health protection of employees on a construction site through special measures.
- It is the German implementation of the European Construction Site Directive 92/57/EEC.