At a glance
- Designated equipment must be inspected before entry into service and periodically re-inspected — CE marking alone is not enough (decree, Arts. 21 and 22).
- Which equipment is designated follows per Annex II table and category from the Dutch regulation; fixed intervals run from 2 to 6 years.
- The user carries the duty and the cost — but hears about it from the supplier. Say it before delivery, not after.
Two regimes, one after the other
Directive 2014/68/EU ends at placing on the market and putting into service. What happens after that is national law. In the Netherlands it is the Warenwetbesluit drukapparatuur 2016 (pressure equipment decree, "WBDA") and the Warenwetregeling drukapparatuur 2016 (the regulation, "WRDA"). Together they decide whether your equipment must be inspected before it enters service and how often it must be re-inspected afterwards.
The pivot: a CE-marked item of equipment may not simply be put into service in the Netherlands. If it is designated, an inspection before entry into service comes first, carried out by a Dutch conformity assessment body. The duty and the cost sit with the user (decree, Art. 21) — but the question arises at the supplier's drawing board, and the customer hears it from you.
Which equipment is designated
Not every category is subject to inspection. The regulation designates per Annex II table which categories are covered — broadly: the higher categories of each table. For gas-filled vessels (table 2), for instance, categories III and IV; for liquid group 2 vessels (table 4), category II; for fired equipment (table 5), categories III and IV. Some tables extend the designation to lower categories for unstable, very toxic, explosive or aquatically toxic fluids.
Designated along with the vessels and piping are the safety accessories protecting them and the associated pressure accessories. There are exceptions too — air vessels up to 2,500 litres and 30 bar, for example, are exempt from both inspections.
The free (Dutch-language) tool on ped-check.nl determines the designation and the interval for a specific item, with the article reference at every step.
Fixed re-inspection intervals
| Interval | Applies to | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 2 years | fired or otherwise heated equipment with a risk of overheating | WRDA Art. 5(1)(a) |
| 4 years | pressure vessels from tables 1 to 4 | WRDA Art. 5(1)(b) |
| 4 years | installation piping from tables 6 to 9 | WRDA Art. 5(1)(c) |
| 4 years | fired equipment, where a risk analysis substantiates it | WRDA Art. 5(1)(d) |
| 6 years | follow-on interval in the absence of unacceptable risk | WRDA Art. 5(1)(e) |
| 5 years | cylinders for breathing apparatus | WRDA Art. 5(1)(f) |
Safety accessories follow the shortest interval of the equipment they protect. Extension and flexibilisation of intervals have conditions of their own.
What else the user must arrange
- Instructions for use at least in Dutch (decree, Art. 18) — stricter than the directive itself; an English manual does not suffice here.
- Proper maintenance and use as intended by the manufacturer (Art. 20).
- A record sheet with the declaration of entry into service (Art. 24) — only the Dutch inspection bodies may write on it.
- Modifications and repairs: Annex I of the directive applies analogously, and the inspection body is informed without delay (Art. 26). A modification can create an inspection duty that did not exist before.
- Re-inspection after relocation: designated equipment is inspected again after every assembly at a new place of installation (Art. 21) — moving it within the company is not a free action.
Large operating companies can, under conditions, run inspections through their own user inspection department under supervision of a designated body (decree, Art. 36) — worthwhile for a refinery with hundreds of designated items, not for a workshop with five vessels.
What this means for a non-Dutch supplier
Three practical rules. Tell your Dutch customer before delivery whether the equipment is designated and that an inspection before entry into service will follow — the invoice is theirs, the surprise should not be. Deliver the instructions in Dutch; it is a legal requirement of the use phase and a standard contract dispute. And hand over a complete final-assessment package — the Dutch inspection body will lean on your declaration, your proof test evidence and your safety accessory documentation at the first inspection.
Frequently asked questions
May CE-marked pressure equipment be used in the Netherlands straight away?
Not always. If the equipment is designated under the Dutch regulation, an inspection before entry into service by a Dutch conformity assessment body must take place first (decree, Art. 21). The CE marking covers placing on the market; the use phase is national law.
Who pays for the Dutch inspections?
The user. The decree places both the duty and the cost of the inspection before entry into service and the periodic re-inspection with the user of the equipment (Art. 21). In practice the supplier is expected to flag the duty before delivery.
How often must pressure equipment be re-inspected in the Netherlands?
At fixed intervals from the regulation: 2 years for fired or heated equipment with an overheating risk, 4 years for vessels from tables 1 to 4 and piping from tables 6 to 9, with a follow-on interval of 6 years where no unacceptable risk exists, and 5 years for breathing apparatus cylinders (WRDA Art. 5).
Must the instructions for use be in Dutch?
Yes, for use in the Netherlands the instructions must be available at least in Dutch (decree, Art. 18). That is stricter than the directive itself and a common gap in deliveries from abroad.
Does relocation trigger a new inspection?
Yes. Designated equipment is inspected again after every assembly at a new place of installation (decree, Art. 21). Moving equipment within the same company is therefore not a free action.
Supplying to a Dutch customer?
The full report includes a chapter on the Dutch in-service phase: designation, intervals, the record sheet, and what applies to modifications and repairs.
Run the free check or see the full report