The limitation clock
Article 16 provides a three-year limitation period linked to awareness, or reasonable awareness, of the damage, defectiveness and identity of the relevant economic operator. National rules on suspension or interruption are preserved. An invoice date is therefore not a universal substitute for the awareness analysis.
The expiry clock
Article 17 provides a ten-year expiry period, subject to proceedings being initiated in time. It starts from relevant market placement or putting into service, or from later availability or service after substantial modification. Do not reset this clock for every ordinary repair or update.
Latent personal injury
Article 17(2) provides a twenty-five-year exception where an injured person could not initiate proceedings within ten years because of the latency of a personal injury. This is not a general twenty-five-year period for all claims. Preserve medical chronology and obtain jurisdiction-specific advice promptly.
Records that help the review
Use the following as a practical starting point. Select and preserve records appropriate to the product, incident and applicable procedure.
- Market placement or service date
- Substantial-modification records if relevant
- Awareness chronology for each specified fact
- Proceedings and national interruption rules
Do not rely on this overview to calculate a filing deadline. National law and the full facts must be checked.
Primary sources and legal scope
This page explains the EU Directive framework. Check national implementing law, the corrected temporal scope and relevant procedure before applying it to a case.
- Directive (EU) 2024/2853, consolidated text: Articles 16, 17 ↗
- Official Journal corrigendum, 7 May 2026: Article 2(1) ↗
Source register: corrected scope verified 16 October 2026. Article references identify the legal basis. No qualified legal review or national implementation status is claimed.