January 2, 2023

New European safety standard edition for electronics postponed

Written by: Nemko

CENELEC The current version of the international risk-based safety standard for electronic equipment is IEC 62368-1, 3^rd Edition.
It was developed and is updated by the IEC technical standards committee TC108.
The final draft of the 4^thEdition of this standard is in process with forecasted publication within the third quarter of 2023.

In Europe, the Technical Board of the regional standards body CENELEC has formally decided to extend Date of Withdrawal (DOW) for the European version of the EN IEC 62368-1 3^rd Edition from 6 January 2023 to 6 July 2024.

In Europe, the DOW has particular significance when the standard is listed in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), which dictates which standards are applicable for Declaration of Conformity and CE-marking according to the applicable Directives. The 2^nd Edition of EN IEC 62368-1 is listed in the OJEU for the Low Voltage Directive (LVD), but the 3^rd Edition is not, (since not being cited as harmonized by the European Commission).

When DOW is decided by CENELEC, the former edition is automatically removed from the OJEU. So, this means that when the 3^rd Edition of EN IEC 62368-1 is officially withdrawn by CENELEC, there will be no valid version of this standard cited in the OJ. Then manufacturers would have to provide a separate risk analysis with their documentation for CE-marking according to the LVD.

The 4^th Edition is expected to be cited by the European Commission and be listed in the OJEU to replace the 2^nd Edition. By extending the Date of Withdrawal by 18 months, it is hoped that this can be achieved.

Further information you can contact Bard.Myrvollen@nemko.com or Morten.Andersen@nemko.com, and by subscribing to Nemko’s 62368-1 newsletter