Chapter I - GENERAL PROVISIONS
8

Article 8

Critical products with digital elements

Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 — published 10 December 2024 · Last reviewed by Kunnus: March 2026

(1)

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 61 to supplement this Regulation to determine which products with digital elements that have the core functionality of a product category that is set out in Annex IV to this Regulation are to be required to obtain a European cybersecurity certificate at assurance level at least ‘substantial’ under a European cybersecurity certification scheme adopted pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/881, to demonstrate conformity with the essential cybersecurity requirements set out in Annex I to this Regulation or parts thereof, provided that a European cybersecurity certification scheme covering those categories of products with digital elements has been adopted pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/881 and is available to manufacturers. Those delegated acts shall specify the required assurance level that shall be proportionate to the level of cybersecurity risk associated with the products with digital elements and shall take account of their intended purpose, including the critical dependency on them by essential entities as referred to in Article 3(1) of Directive (EU) 2022/2555.

Before adopting such delegated acts, the Commission shall carry out an assessment of the potential market impact of the envisaged measures and shall carry out consultations with relevant stakeholders, including the European Cybersecurity Certification Group established under Regulation (EU) 2019/881. The assessment shall take into account the readiness and the capacity level of the Member States for the implementation of the relevant European cybersecurity certification scheme. Where no delegated acts as referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph have been adopted, products with digital elements which have the core functionality of a product category as set out in Annex IV shall be subject to the conformity assessment procedures referred to in Article 32(3).

The delegated acts referred to in the first subparagraph shall provide for a minimum transitional period of six months, unless a shorter transitional period is justified for imperative reasons of urgency.

(2)

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 61 to amend Annex IV by adding or withdrawing categories of critical products with digital elements. When determining such categories of critical products with digital elements and the required assurance level, in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, the Commission shall take into account the criteria referred to in Article 7(2) and ensure that the categories of products with digital elements meet at least one of the following criteria:

a)

there is a critical dependency of essential entities as referred to in Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2022/2555 on the category of products with digital elements;

b)

incidents and exploited vulnerabilities concerning the category of products with digital elements could lead to serious disruptions of critical supply chains across the internal market.

Before adopting such delegated acts, the Commission shall carry out an assessment of the type referred to in paragraph 1.

The delegated acts referred to in the first subparagraph shall provide for a minimum transitional period of six months, unless a shorter transitional period is justified for imperative reasons of urgency.

European Commission Interpretation

Guidance of 27 July 2026

The EU Commission guidance of 27 July 2026 provides official interpretation notes on this provision. Each section: summary, key takeaways, and what it means for you in practice.

Section 6.1Core functionality — the key to product classification

Whether a product is 'important' (Annex III) or 'critical' (Annex IV) is determined solely by its core functionality — the main features without which it could not meet its intended purpose. Ancillary functions and integrated components do not change the classification; every product has exactly one core functionality, to be clearly identified in the technical documentation.

Key takeaways

  • Integration is not classification: a smartphone integrating an operating system does not have the core functionality of an operating system (Example 58).
  • Substantially exceeding or falling short of a category takes a product out of it: SOAR software is not a SIEM (Example 59), simple log collection tools without correlation are not either (Example 60).
  • No gaming via marketing: inconsistencies between promotional material, instructions and technical documentation may not be used to escape the stricter regime.
  • Modules of a product that are also marketed separately are classified individually (Example 61: security suite with SIEM, IDS and analytics modules).
  • The technical descriptions of the categories are laid down in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2392.

In practice

Write one sentence per product: 'Without function X the product cannot meet its purpose.' X is the core functionality — match only X against the categories in Annex III/IV (or Implementing Regulation 2025/2392), not your feature list. Make sure marketing material, instructions and technical documentation tell the same story.

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EU Commission Guidance (C(2026) 5252 final)The guidance reflects the European Commission's interpretation and is not legally binding. An authoritative interpretation of the EU CRA may only be given by the Court of Justice of the European Union.

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This text is reproduced from Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2024. It is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Only the text published in the Official Journal of the European Union is legally binding. Original text on EUR-Lex