Machinery instructions under EU Regulation 2023/1230
From 20 January 2027, machinery placed on the market in Croatia must meet Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, and Serbia applies the same rules through its Rulebook on Machinery. We translate your instructions into Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian and Montenegrin, lay them out in your original format, keep them online for at least 10 years and send paper copies when buyers ask for them.
What changes on 20 January 2027
Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 replaces the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. Serbia has taken it over in its Rulebook on Machinery, which applies from the same date.
- Language. The instructions for use, the safety information and the EU declaration of conformity must be in a language users can easily understand, as set by each country.
- Digital instructions. Instructions may be digital. The machine or its packaging must show where to find them, users must be able to download and print them, and they must stay online for the expected lifetime of the machine and at least 10 years.
- Paper on request. If a buyer asks for paper at the time of purchase, the manufacturer must send it free of charge within one month.
- Machinery for non-professional users. The safety information needed to put the machine into service and use it safely must always be supplied on paper.
- Warnings on the machine. Written warnings must also be in the user’s language, unless they are symbols or pictograms.
- Maintenance instructions. Instructions for specialised maintenance staff may stay in one official EU language those staff understand.
Country overview
In Croatia and Serbia the new rules apply from 20 January 2027. In Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina the existing rules, based on the old Directive, stay in force until new ones are adopted.
| Country | Rules | Language of the instructions | Applies from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 and the Croatian implementing act (Narodne novine 128/26) | Croatian, Latin script | 20 January 2027 |
| Serbia | Rulebook on Machinery (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia 2/2026), which takes over Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 | Serbian | 20 January 2027 |
| Montenegro | Rulebook on Machinery Safety (Official Gazette of Montenegro 22/14), based on Directive 2006/42/EC | Official language of Montenegro | In force; new rules not yet adopted |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Order on Machinery Safety (Official Gazette of BiH 4/10) | As set by the Order | In force; new rules not yet adopted |
Who is responsible, and the penalties
The manufacturer must supply the instructions, but importers and distributors can be fined too. In Croatia, a distributor is fined if it does not check that the instructions in Croatian come with the machine.
| Country | Who | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Croatia | Manufacturer (company) | €10,000–50,000 |
| Croatia | Importer (company) | €10,000–40,000 |
| Croatia | Distributor (company) | €5,000–30,000 |
| Croatia | Responsible person in the company | €1,000–6,000, depending on the role |
| Serbia | Supplier of a non-compliant product (company) | RSD 50,000–2,000,000 |
| Serbia | Responsible person in the company | RSD 5,000–150,000 |
In Serbia the fines are set by the Law on Technical Requirements for Products and Conformity Assessment. In Montenegro, inspectors can ban the sale of a product or order its withdrawal.
What we translate
We translate into Croatian, Serbian (Latin or Cyrillic script), Bosnian and Montenegrin. We offer only these four languages for this service, because our own linguists check every sentence in them and we can guarantee the quality.
- Instructions for use
- Safety information, including the paper safety sheet for machinery used by non-professionals
- The EU declaration of conformity
- Warnings and labels on the machine and its packaging
- Every later change to the original
Quality and experience
Each translation is produced with a Claude model and then checked and corrected, sentence by sentence, by a linguist whose native language is the target language.
- Certified by Bureau Veritas to ISO 9001 and ISO 17100 since 2015, and to ISO 18587 (post-editing of machine translation) since 2017
- Instructions and technical documentation for car, truck, bus and motorcycle makers and their suppliers
- Machines, power tools, lifts, cleaning equipment and building automation
Formats and layout
You get the translation in the format of your original. We do the layout (DTP) ourselves.
- Layout programs: Adobe InDesign, Adobe InCopy, Adobe FrameMaker and CorelDRAW
- Other files we translate: Word, Excel and PowerPoint, XML (including DITA), HTML, and XLIFF exported from documentation systems
- PDF: a well-made PDF can be converted; a PDF that cannot be converted cleanly is rebuilt
- Delivery: a print-ready PDF for paper copies, and a file your users can download and print
Hosting for at least 10 years
We keep your instructions online for as long as the Regulation requires: the expected lifetime of the machine and at least 10 years. You choose where:
- On our servers: you get your own server and domain, which we rent at Hostinger and no other client uses. You choose where the server is: Germany (Frankfurt or Düsseldorf), France, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, the United States or India. We host every language version, give each model its own QR code and replace the files whenever the original changes.
- On your servers: we prepare the files and QR codes and upload every change to your website.
Hosting, paper copies and updates are covered by a 10-year contract with Traverse. You can pay for hosting monthly or yearly. The server is paid a year in advance and the domain three years in advance; the domain name and ending (.com, .info…) are agreed with you.
Paper copies on request
When a buyer asks for a paper copy at the time of purchase, you forward the request to us. We print the instructions and send them within the one-month deadline: by Post Express in Serbia and by DHL to other countries.
We print in black and white or in colour, in A4, A5 or the format of your manual, stapled or bound.
Prices
All prices are in euros, excluding VAT. Serbian VAT is added only for clients established in Serbia.
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Translation with editing into Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian or Montenegrin | €0.06 per source word, minimum €30 |
| Layout (DTP), simple pages | €5 per page per language |
| Layout (DTP), complex pages | €10 per page or €35 per hour |
| Large projects | Fixed price on quote |
| Conversion of a well-made PDF | €3 per page |
| Rebuilding a PDF that cannot be converted | €35 per hour; we count 30 minutes per page, 60 for complex pages, and send an estimate before we start |
| Set-up (QR code and files per language for each model) | €25 per model, once |
| Your own server at Hostinger (100, 200, 300, 500 or 700 GB), rented for a year at a time | €15, €35, €50, €70 or €90 per month, paid yearly |
| Your own domain, registered for three years at a time | About €50 for 3 years, depending on the ending (.com, .info…) |
| Hosting on our servers, first 20 models | €6 per model per month or €60 per year |
| Hosting on our servers, each further model up to 50 | €4 per model per month or €40 per year |
| Hosting on your servers | €3 per model per month or €30 per year |
| Updates | Changed words at €0.06, layout at €35 per hour |
| Paper copy on request | €15 per request, plus printing at €0.50 per page and shipping per copy: up to €10 in Serbia (Post Express); by DHL, up to 2 kg, €63 to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia, €170 to other European countries; to the rest of the world on quote |
More than 50 models: on quote. 100% repetitions are not charged.
Price calculator
Estimate your costs for 10 years
Enter the details of your manuals and choose the services you need. The calculator uses the prices above.
The fields show an example. Enter your own figures.
Your manuals
In total: 12 models, 480 pages
Calculated at 250 words per page. Enter your own count if you have it.
Sentences repeated across your manuals (100% matches) are free.
Languages
Layout
Your pages
Complex pages have many images or complicated tables. “No layout needed” is for editable files you lay out yourself, for example from XML or XLIFF.
Hosting and updates
Hosting
Your server
Your own server and domain at Hostinger. We rent the server for a year at a time and register the domain for three years at a time. You choose where the server is: Germany, France, Lithuania, the UK, the US or India.
Payment
All models together. Enter 0 if your manuals will not change.
Paper copies on request
Buyers who ask for the instructions on paper get a printed copy from us within the one-month deadline. Enter the requests you expect per year.
Your estimate
One-time
- 96,000 words × 2 languages × €0.06
- Repeated text, free: 24,000 words
- 80 pages × 30 minutes = 40 hours × €35
- We confirm the time when we see the file.
- 480 pages × 2 languages × €5
- 12 models × €25
- QR code and files per language for each model
One-time total€18,020
Every year
- 100 GB: 12 × €15
- Rented at Hostinger for a year at a time, paid yearly
- About €50 for 3 years
- Name and ending agreed with you, for example .com or .info
- 12 × €60
- 1,000 words × 2 languages × €0.06
- Layout of the changes: €35 per hour, on estimate
- Handling: 3 requests × €15
- Printing: 3 requests × 40 pages × €0.50
- Shipping in Serbia: 2 × €10
- DHL to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia: 1 × €63
Per year€1,225
Total for 10 years
€30,270
One-time costs plus 10 years of hosting, updates and paper copies.
This calculator is for information only. Your final quote may differ.
Ask for an exact quoteOr write to office@traversetranslations.com
Prices in euros, excluding VAT. Items on quote or on estimate are not in the totals. For large projects we offer a fixed price.
What we do not do
- We do not carry out conformity assessment or affix the CE marking.
- We are responsible for the translation, not for the technical content of your original.
- This page is general information about the rules, not legal advice.
Regulations
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on machinery
- Croatia: Act implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 (Narodne novine 128/26)
- Serbia: Rulebook on Machinery (Official Gazette RS 2/2026)
- Serbia: Law on Technical Requirements for Products and Conformity Assessment (Official Gazette RS 49/2021)
- Montenegro: Rulebook on Machinery Safety (Official Gazette of Montenegro 22/14)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: Order on Machinery Safety (Official Gazette of BiH 4/10)
Send us your file.
Write to us with the file, the language pair and the model you want. We reply with a quote.
Traverse Limited
Nikole Spasića 3/1
11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Registration no. 20767855
Tax ID 107171899
Activity code 7430
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