The Guidelines for the application of Directive 2000/14/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the noise emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors was updated in June 2017.

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The Guidelines contribute to facilitate the application of Directive 2000/14/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the noise emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors.

The Guidelines of the so called Outdoor Noise Directive (OND) are addressed to the users to ensure the free circulation of the CE-marked products in the scope and a high level of protection throughout the Union.

This document shall not be considered as an official statement of the position of the European Commission. Only the text of the Directive is authentic in law, and it is the relevant national transposition of the Directive which is legally binding. Accordingly, the text of the Directive is applicable where there are differences between the provisions of the Directive and the contents of these Guidelines.

Although the Directive is only really applicable after it has been transposed into national law in each of the EU Member States, such transposition must not change the spirit of the Union legislation. The Guidelines are intended to explain this spirit.

The Commission has produced a horizontal guide called Blue Guide for the implementation of the EU harmonisation legislation on health and safety of products in the internal market based on the "New/Global Approach" and the "New Legislative Framework", which may be of interest to the authorities responsible for market surveillance and the notified bodies, as well as for all the sectorial economic operators, stakeholders and interested parties.

These Guidelines cover only the provisions of Directive 2000/14/EC on noise emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors. Some of the equipment in the scope may be covered also by other EU legislation, such as the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC.

The Low Voltage Directive guidelines are available here.