EN ISO 20607 sets requirements for the manufacturer regarding the preparation of the parts of the instructions for use related to safety: their content, structure and presentation throughout the life cycle of the machine. The regulatory requirements for the instructions themselves come from Directive 2006/42/EC and, from January 20, 2027, from Regulation (EU) 2023/1230. The edition of the current standard dates back to 2019.
In short
- The standard applies to the parts of the notice relating to safety Content, structure, presentation. The requirements for the notice The texts come from: Directive 2006/42/EC (Annex I, point 1.7.4) until 19 January 2027, Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 (Annex III, point 1.7.4) from 20 January 2027.
- Elle It is not mandatory in itself. Its reference was published by the Commission under the directive (Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/480): following it gives, under the directive, a presumption of conformity for the parts of the notice relating to safety. Under the regulation, the presumption will depend on the references that the Commission will publish for it.
- The reference that counts is the one published by the Commission Today, EN ISO 20607:2019 is in effect. The stage of a new edition at ISO is information, not a reference. The standard cannot be downloaded for free: it must be purchased from AFNOR or ISO.
What EN ISO 20607 is and what it is not
Its title says its subject: «Machine safety — Instructions for use — General drafting principles» (iso.org). It is addressed to those who write the instructions, at the manufacturer: design office, technical writer, documentation manager.
What she is. According to its official summary on iso.org, the document «specifies requirements for the machine manufacturer regarding the preparation of the safety-related parts of the machine’s instruction manual.» It deals with «the safety-related content, the corresponding structure, and the presentation of the instruction manual, taking into account all phases of the machine’s lifecycle.» It complements the general requirements of ISO 12100:2010 on information for use (paragraph 6.4.5).
Commission Decision (EU) 2020/480 of 1 April 2020 published the reference to it under Directive 2006/42/EC as a harmonized standard «on the preparation of the parts relating to the safety of the machine instruction manual».
This is what gives it its weight. Under the directive, a manufacturer that follows a harmonized standard benefits from a presumption of compliance with the requirements covered by that standard: here, the parts of the safety notice that are relevant, not the entire notice. For Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, the presumption depends on the references that the Commission publishes in its own name in the Official Journal: check them when you rely on the standard.
What she is not.
- Not an obligation per se. It is a recognized way to meet part of the requirements on the label, not an additional requirement.
- No model to fill out. She doesn't know your machine: the values, the settings, the residual risks come from your design and your risk analysis.
- Not a single certificate. Writing «compliant with ISO 20607» on the cover does not prove anything; it is the content that proves it.
Norms and regulatory texts: what sets the rules
The most common mistake is to look in the standard for what the instructions should contain. The requirements are in the regulatory text; the standard specifies how to meet them for the safety-related parts.
| Text | What he fixes | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Directive 2006/42/EC, Annex I, point 1.7.4 «Instruction notice» | The requirements for the notice | Applicable to machines placed on the market until January 19, 2027 |
| Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, Annex III, point 1.7.4.1 | General principles of drafting: the notice takes into account, in particular, the normal use of the machine and its reasonably foreseeable misuse, and the case of a machine intended for non-professional users | From January 20, 2027 (the regulation repeals the directive on that date) |
| Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, Annex III, point 1.7.4.2 | The minimum content of the notice | Starting from January 20, 2027 |
| Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, Article 10 §7 | The form: digital notice possible under certain conditions; paper version provided free of charge upon request by the user at the time of purchase; language determined by the Member State. For machines intended for non-professional users or likely, under reasonably foreseeable conditions, to be used by them, the essential safety information is provided on paper. | Starting from January 20, 2027 |
| EN ISO 20607:2019 | The preparation of the parts of the notice relating to safety: content, structure, presentation | Voluntary; reference published under Directive 2006/42/EC |
The regulatory text says What is required. The standard says How to prepare it so that the reader can find and understand the safety instructions. A notice can contain everything required by the texts and remain unusable: the instruction to be placed in the middle of a description paragraph, the warning three pages after the dangerous operation.
The details of what the instruction manual should contain are the subject of a separate article: Machine instruction sheet: what it should contain
Structuring the manual: our guidelines, in the order of the machine's life
A manual is consulted when needed: at delivery, during assembly, at initial adjustment, when something goes wrong. Reading it at once is the exception. This leads to an organization that follows the order in which the machine is used, rather than the order in which it was designed. The summary of the standard says so in its own way: it takes into account all the phases of the machine’s life cycle.
Here are our guidelines for organizing a notice in this order. These are not the summary of the standard.
- Identification The manufacturer, the machine, its designation and, if you wish, the range of numbers covered by the manual.
- Security : intended use, residual risks, protective equipment, what not to do.
- Description The machine, its components, its controls.
- Transport, handling, storage.
- Installation and commissioning.
- Settings and usage, including changes in production.
- Cleaning, inspection and maintenance.
- Search for defects.
- Disassembly, decommissioning, end of life.
- Appendices Schematics, parts, reference documents.
The principle matters more than the numbering: each chapter has a reader (the carrier, the installer, the operator, the maintenance technician), and that reader must find their safety instructions in that chapter, not just in a general chapter at the top of the manual.
Writing to be understood: audience, instructions, warnings
The standard deals with the presentation of the notice. We do not reproduce its text. Here, instead, are the questions we ask a notice when we read it. These are our guidelines, not the terms of the standard.
Who is reading this chapter? A trained operator, a maintenance technician, an intern, or a private individual? Point 1.7.4.1 of the regulation requires that a non-professional audience be taken into account when the machine is intended for them. The terminology, the level of detail, and the use of illustrations depend on it.
A command, an action. « Record the machine. Open the casing. » A verb, in the order of execution. Not « it is appropriate to ensure that the machine has been previously recorded ».
The warning before the stage. He talks about the danger that occurs if we ignore it and how to avoid it. He places it just before the relevant operation: grouped at the top of the leaflet, it is read once, then forgotten.
The foreseeable misuse, written in black and white. If a shortcut is tempting and dangerous (clearing a jam without stopping the machine, getting on the scaffold), the instructions name it and forbid it. This is one of the things that point 1.7.4.1 asks you to take into account.
The same words for the same things. A component retains the same name from the first to the last chapter, and the same reference on each figure. If the text says «locking lever» and the schematic diagram says «actuator 3», the technician looks for it.
The figure near the text. An illustration that refers to a distant page is not useful at the time of the intervention.
The new edition: what we know
As of September 25, 2026, iso.org indicates for ISO/FDIS 20607, second edition, stage 50.00: final text received or FDIS registered for formal approval. Its title listed is identical: «Safety of machinery — Instructions for use — General drafting principles».
That is all that is publicly verifiable. We do not announce either the content or the publication date, and we invite you to exercise the same caution when dealing with the summaries circulating.
Above all, two pieces of information do not mix. ISO stadium It indicates where the drafting of an international standard is at. reference published by the Commission The EU Official Journal states which edition gives the presumption of conformity. The second one counts for your notice.
In practice:
- Write on the edition whose reference is published Today the EN ISO 20607:2019.
- Check this reference on the Commission website, Not on the ISO catalog, before each new notice.
- Note in your file the edition used. The day the reference changes, you will know which notices to read again.
Where to obtain the standard
The standard is paid. AFNOR distributes it NF EN ISO 20607, the French homologation of the European standard; ISO sells the international standard, ISO 20607:2019. For a machine placed on the European market, the reference that counts is EN ISO 20607:2019: it is this that the Commission published in the EU Official Journal.
Before purchasing, please verify that the edition corresponds to the reference published by the Commission. We do not reproduce the standard and do not provide it, including in our tools.
Check your criteria list by criteria
Reading a manual against the norm means drawing up a grid, then looking for the passage that corresponds to it for each point, or noticing that it is missing. The most difficult part is not judging what is written: it is seeing what is not written. One reads a manual with the machine in mind, and one unknowingly completes what the text does not say.
Optima Doc Auditor does this for you. You submit the form; it passes it on to the 42 criteria that we have drawn from EN ISO 20607, edition 2019, These scores are weighted according to their criticality. This is our own rating system, not an official one. On the screen, the report breaks down the information by chapter according to this system, and gives a score and the number of discrepancies found for each chapter. It provides:
- one score out of 100 ;
- one score by chapter, to see at a glance which one to pick up first; ;
- the 5 priority areas of concern, Each of them should include the passage of the relevant notice, the paragraph of the standard concerned and a proposed correction.
What it does not do: certify the instruction manual. It is an automatic reading on our system, not the opinion of a notified body. It does not see the machine: it reads what is written. Your design office judges, corrects, and you, the manufacturer, bear the responsibility for the instruction manual.
Frequently asked questions
Is EN ISO 20607 mandatory?
No, not in itself. It is a recognized means of meeting part of the requirements on the label. Its reference was published by the Commission under Directive 2006/42/EC (Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/480): under the directive, following it gives a presumption of conformity for the parts of the label related to safety. Under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, the presumption depends on the references that the Commission publishes in its Official Journal: they must be verified.
Where can I find the ISO 20607 standard in PDF format?
There is no official free version. The French homologation, NF EN ISO 20607, can be purchased from AFNOR; the international standard, ISO 20607:2019, from ISO. A free PDF found online is not distributed by these organizations, and nothing guarantees that it corresponds to the edition whose reference is published.
What is the difference between ISO 20607, EN ISO 20607 and NF EN ISO 20607?
ISO 20607 is the international standard published by ISO. EN ISO 20607 is its European version published by CEN; it is the reference that the Commission published in the EU Official Journal under Directive 2006/42/EC. NF EN ISO 20607 is its French homologation issued by AFNOR.
Will the standard change with Regulation 2023/1230?
These are two separate texts. The regulation repeals Directive 2006/42/EC as of January 20, 2027 and from that date brings the requirements for the label to apply (Annex III, point 1.7.4, and Article 10 §7). The standard is evolving within the ISO according to its own timetable: its second edition, ISO/FDIS 20607, is at stage 50.00. The presumption attached to the 2019 edition has been established under the directive; for the regulation, please refer to the Commission publications.
French 
English