Legal act:
Regulation (EU) 2017/746
Directive 98/79/EC until 25/05/2022 and 26/05/2028 (Partial end of validity)

Amendments of Regulation (EU) 2017/746:
Regulation (EU) 2022/112
Regulation (EU) 2023/607

Parts of Directive 98/79/EC that remain active:
Regulation (EU) 2017/746, Article 112 - Repeal

Consolidated acts:
20/03/2023 of Regulation (EU) 2017/746
11/01/2012 of Directive 98/79/EC

Subject matter and scope

1. This Regulation lays down rules concerning the placing on the market, making available on the market or putting into service of in vitro diagnostic medical devices for human use and accessories for such devices in the Union. This Regulation also applies to performance studies concerning such in vitro diagnostic medical devices and accessories conducted in the Union.
2. For the purposes of this Regulation, in vitro diagnostic medical devices and accessories for in vitro diagnostic medical devices shall hereinafter be referred to as ‘devices’.
3. This Regulation does not apply to:
   1. products for general laboratory use or research-use only products, unless such products, in view of their characteristics, are specifically intended by their manufacturer to be used for in vitro diagnostic examination;
   2. invasive sampling products or products which are directly applied to the human body for the purpose of obtaining a specimen;
   3. internationally certified reference materials;
   4. materials used for external quality assessment schemes.
4. Any device which, when placed on the market or put into service, incorporates, as an integral part, a medical device as defined in point 1 of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/745 shall be governed by that Regulation. The requirements of this Regulation shall apply to the in vitro diagnostic medical device part.
5. This Regulation is specific Union legislation within the meaning of Article 2(3) of Directive 2014/30/EU.
6. Devices which are also machinery within the meaning of point (a) of the second paragraph of Article 2 of Directive 2006/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 1 ) shall, where a hazard relevant under that Directive exists, also meet the essential health and safety requirements set out in Annex I to that Directive to the extent to which those requirements are more specific than the general safety and performance requirements set out in Chapter II of Annex I to this Regulation.
7. This Regulation shall not affect the application of Directive 2013/59/Euratom.
8. This Regulation shall not affect the right of a Member State to restrict the use of any specific type of device in relation to aspects not covered by this Regulation.
9. This Regulation shall not affect national law concerning the organisation, delivery or financing of health services and medical care, such as the requirement that certain devices may only be supplied on a medical prescription, the requirement that only certain health professionals or health care institutions may dispense or use certain devices or that their use be accompanied by specific professional counselling.
10. Nothing in this Regulation shall restrict the freedom of the press or the freedom of expression in the media in so far as those freedoms are guaranteed in the Union and in the Member States, in particular under Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Definitions

Unique Device Identifier (UDI) means a series of numeric or alphanumeric characters that is created through internationally accepted device identification and coding standards and that allows unambiguous identification of specific devices on the market.

Making available on the market means any supply of a device, other than a device for performance study, for distribution, consumption or use on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge.

Placing on the market means the first making available of a device, other than a device for performance study, on the Union market.

Putting into service means the stage at which a device, other than a device for performance study, has been made available to the final user as being ready for use on the Union market for the first time for its intended purpose.

Fully refurbishing, for the purposes of the definition of manufacturer, means the complete rebuilding of a device already placed on the market or put into service, or the making of a new device from used devices, to bring it into conformity with this Regulation, combined with the assignment of a new lifetime to the refurbished device.

Importer means any natural or legal person established within the Union that places a device from a third country on the Union market.

Distributor means any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, that makes a device available on the market, up until the point of putting into service.

Post-market surveillance means all activities carried out by manufacturers in cooperation with other economic operators to institute and keep up to date a systematic procedure to proactively collect and review experience gained from devices they place on the market, make available on the market or put into service for the purpose of identifying any need to immediately apply any necessary corrective or preventive actions.

Market surveillance means the activities carried out and measures taken by public authorities to check and ensure that devices comply with the requirements set out in the relevant Union harmonisation legislation and do not endanger health, safety or any other aspect of public interest protection.

Withdrawal means any measure aimed at preventing a device in the supply chain from being further made available on the market.

Incident means any malfunction or deterioration in the characteristics or performance of a device made available on the market, including use-error due to ergonomic features, as well as any inadequacy in the information supplied by the manufacturer and any harm as a consequence of a medical decision, action taken or not taken on the basis of information or result(s) provided by the device.

Field safety corrective action means corrective action taken by a manufacturer for technical or medical reasons to prevent or reduce the risk of a serious incident in relation to a device made available on the market.

Article 17 - EU declaration of conformity

1. The EU declaration of conformity shall state that the requirements specified in this Regulation have been fulfilled. The manufacturer shall continuously update the EU declaration of conformity. The EU declaration of conformity shall, as a minimum, contain the information set out in Annex IV and shall be translated into an official Union language or languages required by the Member State(s) in which the device is made available.
2. Where, concerning aspects not covered by this Regulation, devices are subject to other Union legislation which also requires an EU declaration of conformity by the manufacturer that fulfilment of the requirements of that legislation has been demonstrated, a single EU declaration of conformity shall be drawn up in respect of all Union acts applicable to the device. The declaration shall contain all the information required for identification of the Union legislation to which the declaration relates.
3. By drawing up the EU declaration of conformity, the manufacturer shall assume responsibility for compliance with the requirements of this Regulation and all other Union legislation applicable to the device.
4. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 108 amending the minimum content of the EU declaration of conformity set out in Annex IV in the light of technical progress.

Article 18 - CE marking of conformity

1. Devices, other than devices for performance studies, considered to be in conformity with the requirements of this Regulation shall bear the CE marking of conformity, as presented in Annex V.
2. The CE marking shall be subject to the general principles set out in Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008.
3. The CE marking shall be affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly to the device or its sterile packaging. Where such affixing is not possible or not warranted on account of the nature of the device, the CE marking shall be affixed to the packaging. The CE marking shall also appear in any instructions for use and on any sales packaging.
4. The CE marking shall be affixed before the device is placed on the market. It may be followed by a pictogram or any other mark indicating a special risk or use.
5. Where applicable, the CE marking shall be followed by the identification number of the notified body responsible for the conformity assessment procedures set out in Article 48. The identification number shall also be indicated in any promotional material which mentions that a device fulfils the requirements for CE marking.
6. Where devices are subject to other Union legislation which also provides for the affixing of the CE marking, the CE marking shall indicate that the devices also fulfil the requirements of that other legislation.