Time and again, we (standard entry in our Regulatory ESSENTIALS) and our customers are faced with the question of which documents must be provided to the customer or the authorities in which language. The EU legal acts generally refer to the understandable language in the respective country. The national implementations of the EU legal acts are sometimes more and sometimes less informative on this point. If there is no clear regulation in the national transposition, it is important to find out which official languages are defined by law in the respective country.
The official national language is often required for many documents. However, there are also countries with several equivalent national languages or other special features.
Examples of the EMC Directive:
Switzerland Operating instructions: German, French, Italian or English
Switzerland EU Declaration of Conformity: German, French, Italian, English or translated into one of these languages
Luxembourg EU Declaration of Conformity: French or German or English
Iceland EU Declaration of Conformity: Icelandic, English, Norwegian, Danish or Swedish
Türkiye: Requires all documents in Turkish.
UK: Requires all documents in English.
The technical documentation is accepted by most authorities in English, but not all.
We have always been happy to refer to the documents from AdCo-RED and AdCo-EMC for RED and EMC. AdCo-EMC updated the language requirements document in September 2025.
Who is AdCo?
Definition of the EU (see link below)
Administrative Cooperation Group (AdCo)
European cooperation on market surveillance takes place through informal groups of market
surveillance authorities, called Administrative Cooperation Groups (AdCos).
All national market surveillance authorities of the EU27+EFTA are organized in the group for an EU legal act requiring CE marking. There is therefore a group for each of these EU legal acts. Most groups meet at least twice a year to discuss current cases and plan priorities for market surveillance campaigns. AdCo-RED often meets three times a year.
AdCo-RED is currently making its 2021 version available. The change has been announced because in most countries EMC and radio are handled by the same authority.
The following link takes you to the documents that all AdCo groups have published.
→ Click here to go directly to "Administrative Cooperation Groups (AdCos)"
At the very bottom of this page you will find the heading "Documents" and below it the entry
"Documents from the AdCo Groups".
There, in addition to the language information, you will find some other interesting information.
Of course, the respective list only applies to the respective legal act and represents the opinion of AdCo. Courts may decide differently. We find it a good aid for electrical products, as they all have to meet the requirements of the EMC Directive.
We will keep you informed and will be happy to provide you with further details.
Author's note
This article has been machine translated into English.
TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
Regulatory ESSENTIALS are modular information packages that bundle the crucial information for the compliant introduction of your products in the respective target markets. You receive a precise analysis of the regulatory requirements, a clear identification of the responsibilities of the economic operators involved and all important information on the applicable market access conditions. This is supplemented by a clear list of labeling and documentation requirements and a practical "Route to Compliance" that guides you step by step to a compliant product.
EMC: Electromagnetic compatibility
RED: Radio Equipment Directive
AdCo: Group of EU-27 Market Surveillance Authorities
