EU Product Liability Directive from 9 December 2026: what non-EU sellers and their Responsible Person need on file

2026-11-05 · IberTrust Global

From our files · questions from non-EU sellers renewing or appointing an EU Responsible Person, October–November 2026, anonymised

“Our Responsible Person wants our test reports and Declaration of Conformity before renewing. We have sold in the EU for two years and nobody asked. Why now?”

One reason is a date: 9 December 2026. From then, the new EU Product Liability Directive, Directive (EU) 2024/2853, covers products placed on the EU market. It replaces the 1985 Directive and, for the first time, names the non-EU manufacturer’s authorised representative as a party that can be held liable for harm. A GPSR Responsible Person acting under your written mandate plays exactly that role.

What changes on 9 December 2026

The Directive applies to products placed on the market or put into service after 8 December 2026 (the date as corrected in the Spanish version by a corrigendum published on 7 May 2026). Products placed on the market before that date stay under the old rules (Article 21). Member States had to transpose it by 9 December 2026 (Article 22); in Spain, the current rules are in Book III of the consumer protection law (TRLGDCU, Articles 128–149).

In EU product law, “placing on the market” refers to each individual unit, not to a model (Blue Guide, sections 2.2–2.3). The same model can fall under the old rules for units supplied in November and the new rules for units supplied in December.

Point	Directive 85/374 (until 8 Dec 2026)	Directive 2024/2853 (from 9 Dec 2026)
Who is liable when the manufacturer is outside the EU	The importer; a supplier only if the producer cannot be identified	The importer, the authorised representative, and, if neither exists, the fulfilment service provider (Article 8(1)(c))
Distributors and online platforms	Supplier liable if it does not identify the producer	Liable if they do not name an EU operator or their own supplier within one month of a request (Article 8(3) and (4))
Products covered	Movable goods and electricity	Also software, digital manufacturing files and related services (Article 4)
Damage covered	Death, personal injury, private property (with a 500 ECU threshold)	Also medically recognised psychological harm and loss of non-professional data; no threshold in the Directive (Article 6)
Evidence	Claimant proves defect, damage and causation	Courts can order disclosure of evidence; defect is presumed if the defendant does not disclose (Articles 9 and 10)
Time limits	3 years to claim; 10-year long-stop	3 years to claim; 10-year long-stop, 25 years for latent personal injury (Articles 16 and 17)

Why the documents matter more now

Liability under the Directive is strict: the injured person does not have to prove fault, only that the product was defective and caused the damage. When a court weighs whether a product is defective, it looks at labelling, instructions, foreseeable use and the product safety requirements that apply (Article 7). If a claimant shows that the product breaks a mandatory safety requirement, defect is presumed (Article 10(2)(b)).

So the technical file is no longer only something an authority might ask for. It is what the manufacturer, importer or authorised representative relies on to rebut a presumption in court.

This matches what we see in our own work. In autumn 2026 we were asked more often to produce the technical documentation for specific listings at short notice. When we checked our files, the gap was rarely the mandate or the label address. It was the Declaration of Conformity and the test reports: many sellers had sent us a business licence and product photos at onboarding, and nothing else.

Document checklist before 9 December

For each product you sell in the EU, the manufacturer should have these ready and share them with its Responsible Person:

EU Declaration of Conformity (or Declaration of Performance), where the product falls under EU harmonisation legislation, signed and matching the model sold.
Test reports against the standards listed in the DoC, issued for this model, not a “similar” one.
Technical documentation: general description, essential safety characteristics and an analysis of possible risks (GPSR, Article 9(2)–(3)), kept for 10 years.
Instructions and safety information in the language of each country where you sell (GPSR, Article 9(7)).
Product identification: type, batch or serial number on the product, and the manufacturer’s name and contact details (GPSR, Article 9(5) and (6)).
Supply records: who supplied the units to you and to whom you supplied them, so you can answer a “name your supplier” request within the one-month window.
Complaint and incident records, and any corrective actions or recalls.
For connected products: a record of software versions and security updates. Missing safety updates can keep you liable (Article 11(2)).
A written mandate with your Responsible Person that lists its tasks and says how documents will be shared.

Common mistakes

“The Responsible Person is just an address.” Under the new Directive an authorised representative can be sued directly by an injured person. Expect it to ask for documents and to check them.
Relying on a contract clause to cap liability. Liability towards the injured person cannot be limited or excluded by contract (Article 15). A contract can only govern who reimburses whom afterwards (Article 14).
Test reports for a different model, or a DoC that does not list the model sold.
Treating it as a warranty issue. A product that simply stops working is a guarantee matter. The Directive covers damage to people, other property and data.
Not knowing who your fulfilment provider is. With no EU importer or authorised representative, the fulfilment service provider becomes liable, and can then seek recourse against you.
Waiting for national law. Plan for 9 December now.

Who this does not apply to

Units placed on the EU market before 9 December 2026: the old rules continue to apply to them.
Damage to the defective product itself, or to property used exclusively for professional purposes (Article 6).
Claims by companies for their own business losses: the Directive covers damage suffered by natural persons.
Free and open-source software supplied outside a commercial activity (Article 2(2)).
It does not replace your GPSR or sector-specific obligations: those still apply in full.

FAQ

Does the new Directive apply to products we already sold?

No. Units placed on the EU market before 9 December 2026 stay under the rules of the 1985 Directive, as implemented nationally. Units placed on the market from 9 December 2026 fall under the new Directive.

Can our EU Responsible Person be held liable for our product?

Yes, if it is your authorised representative under a written mandate and you are established outside the EU. You remain liable as manufacturer, and an injured person may claim against either of you.

We only sell through a marketplace. Is the platform liable instead?

Only in limited cases: a platform acting as an intermediary can become liable if it presents the product as its own and does not name an EU operator or its supplier within one month of a request.

Can we limit liability in our contract with the Responsible Person?

Not towards the injured person. You can agree between yourselves who reimburses whom, subject to national law.

Which documents should we send first?

The EU Declaration of Conformity and the test reports for each model, followed by the risk analysis and instructions in the local languages.

Want a document check before 9 December?

IberTrust Global S.L. acts as EU Responsible Person for non-EU manufacturers and sellers. We review your Declaration of Conformity, test reports, labels and instructions against the products you actually sell, and tell you what is missing before the new rules apply.

Ask about EU Responsible Person service →
Or write to contact@ibertrust.info with your product list and sales channels.

Sources: Directive (EU) 2024/2853 on liability for defective products (Articles 2, 4, 6–11, 14–17, 21, 22), also on EUR-Lex; Corrigendum of 7 May 2026 (Spanish version, Article 2(1)); EUR-Lex summary of the Directive; Directive 85/374/EEC; Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR), Articles 9 and 16; The “Blue Guide” on the implementation of EU product rules 2022, sections 2.2–2.3; Spanish TRLGDCU (Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007), Book III; IberTrust files (anonymised). General information, not legal advice.