Questions about the updated ISO 10218 safety standard are becoming increasingly common in the robotics industry. Central to the discussion are CE certification requirements in Europe, as ISO 10218 is the key safety standard for industrial robots under the CE marking framework.
ISO 10218:2025 is the updated industrial robot safety standard and will become mandatory for CE-marked products under the new European Machinery Regulation. The legal transition is expected around 2027, although weakness in European manufacturing demand and potential cost pressures on small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) may push full implementation beyond this timeline. Unlike Europe’s binding CE framework, the equivalent U.S. standard update is voluntary, though effective compliance remains commercially necessary.
Established global vendors are largely prepared, while mid-sized and emerging suppliers show notable gaps in their readiness.
Once adopted, the new standard is expected to strengthen established vendors’ competitive position and increase market access risks for those suppliers that are less well prepared. A regulatory and standards transition is already underway. In Europe, the current legislative instrument, Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, will be superseded by Machinery Regulation EU 2023/1230 on Jan. 20, 2027. However, the timing of one critical supporting step remains uncertain: the formal listing of ISO 10218:2025 in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). This is a prerequisite for the standard to obtain full legal effect under the new regulation. Once this process is complete, ISO 10218:2025 will become a mandatory requirement for market access in Europe. Historically, when the 2011 edition of ISO 10218 was introduced, the harmonization process and OJEU listing took more than a year to complete. If a similar timeline occurs, full mandatory compliance may not be enforced until after 2027.
Source: The Robot Report