PLD product scope checker

Product scope under the 2026 liability rules

Screen whether a product, software, or AI system is a candidate for the revised directive.

Saved answers stay inside these labels: kind_band, service_band, commercial_band, foss_band, movement_band, timing_band, role_band, base_band, found_band, soft_band, update_band, learn_band, integrate_band, safety_band, modified_band, control_band, purpose_band, hazard_band, risk_band, foresaw_band, version_band, design_band, change_band, test_band, defect_band, file_band, trace_band, keep_band, owner_band, handling_band, stock_band, date_band, map_band, digital_band, evidence_band, nation_band, plan_band

What kind of product is this?Is a related service part of the facts?Is there a commercial activity?How is free or open-source software supplied?Was it placed on the EU market or put into service?Is that date after 2026-12-08?

What this checks

This checker asks whether a physical product, software, an AI system, or a component looks inside Directive (EU) 2024/2853. A date after 2026-12-08 is the new-framework candidate. An earlier date stays a legacy framework review. Free and open-source software developed or supplied outside a commercial activity is the narrow exclusion. A related service, or any missing fact, is not turned into a final scope decision.

Who should use this

Manufacturers, importers, and software publishers preparing for the EU Product Liability Directive 2026.

How results work

Complete facts can show likely in scope, likely out of scope, a legacy framework review, a required review, or a national-law check.

Dates used in this screen

Member States must transpose Directive (EU) 2024/2853 by 2026-12-09. The new liability framework is for products placed on the market or put into service after 2026-12-08. Earlier products remain with the previous framework. National transposition is not filled in here.

Official sources

Use the current text of Directive (EU) 2024/2853, the 2026 corrigendum, the Commission pages on defective-product liability, and national transposition information when it is published. The older product liability directive remains the prior framework.

Limitations

This is not a legal conclusion on scope. Related-service coverage and national transposition can still need a separate check.

How to read the screen

Start with known facts

Choose the product kind, the commercial setting, the market movement, and whether the date is after 2026-12-08.

Leave gaps open

Unknown dates, unknown movement, or an unknown commercial setting stay in review.

Readiness is not a judgment

A legacy review is not an exemption, and an out-of-scope signal is not a defence.

Questions

Does software count?

Yes. Software, including AI systems, is expressly in the product scope unless the narrow open-source exclusion fits and the facts are complete.

What if the product is older?

Products placed or put into service on or before 2026-12-08 stay in a legacy framework review. That is not a finding that no claim can exist.

Does this store documents or names?

No. Only the selected categories and the ruleset version can be saved.

Where do national rules fit?

If implementation in a Member State matters and is not verified, the result stays a national-law check. No national date is invented.