Topic
Product lifecycle
The Regulation as a timeline: design, ship, support, retire.
Read as a timeline, the duty set has four phases. Before shipping: risk assessment, essential requirements, technical documentation F-016. At shipping: conformity assessment, declaration, CE marking. After shipping: the support period the manufacturer sets — at least five years unless the product is genuinely shorter-lived — during which vulnerability handling and free security updates run F-015 F-045.
The long tail
Retention outlives the product: technical documentation and the declaration are kept for at least ten years after placing on the market F-016, and the Annex II user information stays at the disposal of users and authorities for at least ten years too F-049.
Why teams should draw this
Support-period choice, update capacity and documentation retention are budget lines that extend past most product roadmaps F-015. The lifecycle view is how you find the cost the launch plan forgot.
Verified facts this page relies on
- F-015 Support period: determined by the manufacturer to reflect the expected use time; at least five years unless the product is expected to be in use for less; the end date (month and year) is stated at purchase. A security update, once issued, remains available for at least ten years or the remainder of the support period, whichever is longer. Art. 13(8), (9), (19)
- F-016 Technical documentation (Annex VII) is drawn up before placing on the market and kept, with the EU declaration of conformity, for at least ten years after placing on the market or the support period, whichever is longer. Art. 13(12)–(13), Art. 31
- F-049 Manufacturers keep the user information and instructions (Annex II) at the disposal of users and authorities for at least ten years after placing on the market or for the support period, whichever is longer; a notification is displayed when the support period ends where technically feasible. Art. 13(18)–(19)
- F-045 Manufacturers ensure secure distribution of updates and that security updates are provided free of charge, in a timely manner, with advisory messages. Annex I Part II(7)–(8)
Facts are maintained and human-verified in the CEMarque Facts Table (v2026.09.4, verified 2026-09-10).
Editorial review: Claude (AI reviewer, delegated by the editor), 2026-10-08. Methodology and correction process: how this site works.