What is the difference between "placing on the market" and "making available on the market" with regard to legacy products?
Please note:
Various parties hold largely contrary interpretations of the underlying legal text for this FAQ. Among others, the BSI (German Federal Office for Information Security), which has been designated as the market surveillance authority for Germany, comes to a different interpretation than in this FAQ. OSADL is seeking to resolve this legal uncertainty with the highest priority and has taken immediate steps to do so. This FAQ will be updated as soon as there is sufficient clarity on the interpretation of the relevant legal text.
Answer:
With respect to legacy products "placing on the market" means the first making available of the product model in the EU prior to December 11, 2027. If the product continues to be sold after this date, it is being "made available on the market".
This understanding is based on the definition of “placing on the market” in Art. 3 (21) CRA and on the fact that context shows that this term is used with the meaning of "product model", e.g. in Recital 59 and Art. 69 (2).
Keywords
CRA; Legacy product; Making available on the market; Placing on the market
Most recent content update of this FAQ: November 2025
Next FAQ: If alternative spare parts are installed for legacy products since the original parts are no longer available, does the CRA only have to be complied with for these spare parts or for the legacy product as a whole?
