From January 1, 2027, new requirements will apply to EU-wide market access for products in contact with water intended for human consumption (drinking water). Anyone who wants to place these products on the market in Europe in the future will need valid certification in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/370.
Article 11 of the EU Drinking Water Directive defines minimum hygiene requirements for products made of organic, metallic, cementitious, and ceramic materials. The risk-based approach (risk groups RG1 – RG4) is intended to ensure that products in contact with drinking water do not pose a direct or indirect risk to human health. Additional delegated acts serve as a further basis for EU-wide harmonized regulation.
OFI – Europe’s first accredited conformity assessment body
OFI is Europe’s first accredited conformity assessment body to carry out testing, inspections, and certifications in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/370 and Implementing Decision (EU) 2024/368. These legal acts specify the requirements of the European Drinking Water Directive (Directive (EU) 2020/2184). The testing and certification of products in accordance with these legal acts form the basis for the EU declaration of conformity that has to be issued by the manufacturer. With the ZI-21 DWD certification program from OFI CERT, you can secure future access to the European market for products in contact with drinking water!
A transition period applies in most EU countries until December 31, 2032. BUT PLEASE NOTE: This transition period only applies to products that already have a valid national conformity certificate on December 31, 2026.
After the end of the transition period, these products will also require DWD certification. All products that have not yet been certified by then must be certified according to EU-DWD as of January 1, 2027, otherwise the products may not be made available on the European market from that date onwards.
Ensure that your products can be labeled in accordance with Delegated Regulation 2024/371 (based on the EU certificate issued)!
Smooth market access or transfer of products already certified nationally from 2027 onwards!
Gain a competitive edge through a precisely regulated certification process and timely conformity assessment of your products!
ZI-21 DWD – Assessment and certification procedure for drinking water
We have created an accredited certification program – ZI-21 DWD – in accordance with the provisions of Directive (EU) 2020/2184 and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/370. It describes the entire certification process and defines the basis for conformity assessment. If a product that comes into contact with drinking water meets the minimum hygiene requirements specified by law, the manufacturer will receive an EU certificate in accordance with DWD from the certification body OFI CERT at the end of the certification process. OFI CERT will be notified body in the future. Applications for this certification can already be submitted now!
Non-final materials or substances (such as pre-products, intermediate products, or constituent products that do not fall within the scope of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/370) can be voluntarily certified according to the OFI CERT certification program ZG-321 DWD.
As soon as materials come into contact with drinking water, strict regulatory requirements apply. We support you in reliably meeting these requirements. We perform tests for a wide range of materials, from plastics, coatings, elastomers, and lubricants to cement-bound materials, metals, ceramics, and enamels. Our goal – your advantage! The safe and legally compliant use of your products in the drinking water sector.
As an accredited testing and inspection body in accordance with ÖVGW and DVGW standards, we support you from the product idea to successful approval. We test pipes, fittings, and components according to the applicable standards – reliably, independently, and in compliance with standards.
Whether sampling, auditing, or certification – we are your central point of contact for all conformity assessment services under one roof. Your OFI advantage – you receive your certification quickly and unbureaucraticly!
The testing effort varies depending on which test reports and national conformity certifications (KTW, ÖNORM) are already available. In any case, supplementary tests for the EU type examination (Implementing Decision (EU) 2024/368) must be carried out in order to obtain DWD certification. We would be happy to provide you with a customized offer.
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/370, which regulates certification under the EU Drinking Water Directive, will apply from December 31, 2026. From this date onwards, new products that come into contact with drinking water must be certified by a notified body in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/370 (this is a prerequisite for the labeling of products).
However, there is a transition period for products with valid national conformity certification, which ends on December 31, 2032. A decisive criterion is that the national conformity certification for the product is valid on December 31, 2026. However, this national conformity certification only allows market access for the respective country and not for the entire EU market.
AT:
In Austria, the following regulation applies in accordance with the Empfehlung Anforderungen an Materialien in Kontakt mit Wasser für den menschlichen Gebrauch (Trinkwasser) im Hinblick auf die Bestimmungen der Trinkwasserverordnung: “The suitability of materials for products can be ensured if they comply with the relevant ÖNORM standards, which also take national conditions into account. Proof of compliance with the ÖNORM requirements can be provided by the registration “ÖNORM B 5014 series” or by an accredited industry certifier.” Thus, ÜA registrations (registrations in accordance with ÖNORM B 5014 series) issued by the registration bodies and ÖVGW certifications are considered national conformity certificates.
DE:
According to the information published by the UBA for the transition period (UBA information: Hygienic requirements for materials in contact with drinking water – New European regulation according to Directive (EU) 2020/2184), a certificate issued by a certification body as well as a self-declaration by the manufacturer are considered a national conformity certificate in Germany, thus allowing existing products to benefit from the transition period.
AT:
Existing ÜA registrations can be maintained and extended during the transition period from December 31, 2026, to December 31, 2032, at the latest, provided that monitoring in accordance with ÖNORM B 5014 series, including reporting to the registration body, is continued. However, it is not possible to change the registration certificate, the certified products, or the materials.
DE:
The prerequisite for maintaining the certificate is the continuation of monitoring by the certification body (auditing and inspections as part of external monitoring, renewal of type tests, fulfillment of the imposed measures). Certificates can also be extended during the transition period until December 31, 2032, at the latest. However, no changes can be made to certified products that would require a reassessment (e.g., change of material, change of formulation, change of production process).
AT:
Lead-containing alloys listed in the national positive lists may be used in Austria throughout the transition period.
DE:
In Germany, a ban on lead-containing alloys that cause the lead limit of 5.0 µg/L in drinking water to be exceeded will come into force on January 12, (UBA information: Hygienic requirements for materials in contact with drinking water – New European regulation according to Directive (EU) 2020/2184). The relevant metallic materials were listed in the 5th version of the Metal BWGL (Evaluation criteria for metallic materials in contact with drinking water):
DWD:
The EU positive lists (Implementing Decision (EU) 2024/367) no longer include any lead-containing alloys that would result in the lead limit of 5.0 µg/L in drinking water being exceeded in accordance with the EU Drinking Water Directive.
In future, manufacturers will receive a certificate for their product from the notified body after submitting an application and receiving a positive conformity assessment. According to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/370, the definition of a “manufacturer” is as follows: “… any natural or legal person who manufactures products or who has products designed or manufactured, and markets those products under its name or trademark, or who designs and constructs products for its own use.”
Thus, the term “manufacturer” also includes distributors who have a product manufactured and market it under their own brand. Consequently, distributors can also obtain a certificate according to DWD. In addition, distributors must also take responsibility for the conformity of the product by issuing an EU declaration of conformity and marking of the product with the conformity marking.
After a certificate has been issued by the notified body, the manufacturer must issue an EU declaration of conformity for the certified products and mark the products with the conformity marking. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/370 specifies the content that must be included in the EU declaration of conformity. The marking must be carried out in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/371.
By issuing the EU declaration of conformity and marking of the products with the conformity mark, the manufacturer takes responsibility for the conformity of its products with the minimum hygiene requirements.
Under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/370 and Decision No. 768/2008/EC, a “manufacturer” is not limited to manufacturers in the EU. Therefore, manufacturers from non-EU countries can also obtain a certificate and issue an EU declaration of conformity based on this certificate. The issuance of the EU declaration of conformity and the marking of products with the conformity marking is also the responsibility of the manufacturer or an authorized representative of the manufacturer (the authorized representative must be based in the EU).
Importers, who must be based in the EU, make products from manufacturers in third countries available on the EU market and are also responsible for the conformity of these products.
The Guidance Document is an additional regulatory document intended to assist notified bodies and manufacturers in implementing the EU Drinking Water Directive and the supplementary legal acts (Implementing Decision (EU) 2024/368, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/370, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/371). The Guidance Document was drafted by experts from the EU Member States, the European Drinking Water Industry Initiative (EDW) and the Group of Notified Bodies Drinking Water (NBDW). The Guidance Document is currently undergoing legal review by the Commission. Publication of the Guidance Document is planned for the end of 2025.
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/370 regulates the conformity assessment and certification of final materials.
Non-final materials such as preliminary products, intermediate products, and constituent products (constituents of cementitious materials) are not covered by the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/370. Therefore, non-final materials cannot obtain a certificate under this Regulation, do not require an EU declaration of conformity, and may not be marked with the conformity marking in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/371.
However, there is the option of voluntary certification for non-final materials. OFI CERT has already published a corresponding certification program (ZG-321 DWD) for this purpose. This voluntary certification can serve as a preliminary assessment for the subsequent EU certification of products manufactured from the corresponding materials in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/370. Manufacturers who use (voluntarily) certified materials for the manufacture of final products are thus spared certain tests.
The conformity assessment procedures for the DWD are described in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/370.
For higher-risk products (risk groups R1 and R2, or product groups A and B for metals), conformity assessment procedures Module B and Module D are specified, which are comparable to System 1+ of the KTW. Module B comprises the EU type examination (on withdrawn samples) and Module D comprises the initial inspection as well as annual inspections and annual reduced tests (surveillance tests).
For products with a lower risk (risk groups R3 and R4, or product groups C and D for metals), the conformity assessment procedures Module B and Module C are specified, which are comparable to the simplified procedure of the KTW. Module B again comprises the EU type examination (however, samples do not have to be withdrawn) and Module C is the internal production control.
The classification of metals into product groups for DWD is comparable to KTW and is specified in Implementing Decision (EU) 2024/365:
Products made from organic materials, enamels / ceramic / inorganic materials, and cementitious materials are classified into risk groups based on the CF factor for the corresponding product group. However, the risk groups differ from the KTW. Implementing Decision (EU) 2024/368 lists the product groups, CF factors, and risk groups according to DWD, which can be summarized as follows:
DWD no longer has a risk group for products with a negligible impact on drinking water quality (KTW: P4). Therefore, all products and components that come into contact with drinking water must be tested and evaluated.
The delegated acts specifying the minimum hygiene requirements of the EU Drinking Water Directive have already been published in the Official Journal of the European Union (January 23, 2024).
This means that testing for DWD can already start at OFI. Applications for DWD certification can also already be submitted to OFI CERT, as OFI CERT is already accredited for certification in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/370.
OFI combines all the activities of a conformity assessment body – inspection, testing, and certification – in a single institute. This saves you time and money! Sensitive product information only needs to be provided to one institute. Our experts have decades of experience and are themselves active in national and international standardization committees.