Does the CRA apply to desktop software?
Likely yes
Likely yes. Desktop software supplied commercially in the EU is a product with digital elements; the direct-or-indirect connection element is met by update checks, licensing calls or any network feature [[F-005]] [[F-007]].
The deciding factors
| Factor | If true | If false | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made available on the EU market | Scope questions continue | Likely out of scope | F-101 |
| Supplied in the course of a commercial activity | Scope questions continue | Likely out of scope (or the open-source light regime) | F-007 |
| Has a direct or indirect connection to a device or network | It is a product with digital elements | Likely out of scope | F-005 |
| Already on the EU market before 11 December 2027 | Full requirements only on substantial modification | Full requirements apply from placing on the market | F-004 |
Check your own product
Start the short scope check with the product type pre-selected. Every legally material fact — EU availability, commercial activity, exclusions, your role — is asked, never assumed.
Example scenarios
-
Subscription photo editor for Windows and macOS
Likely in scope · role: _
Installed software, sold in the EU, with online licensing and updates: a product with digital elements in scope.
Deciding fact: Art. 3(1), Art. 2(1)
-
Perpetual-licence CAD tool already sold in the EU since 2019
Likely in scope · role: _
In scope, but because it was placed on the market before 11 December 2027 the full requirements apply only if it is substantially modified after that date; reporting obligations still apply.
Deciding fact: Art. 3(1), Art. 2(1)
-
Standalone tool with no data connection of any kind (rare for software)
Likely out of scope · role: _
With no direct or indirect, logical or physical data connection to a device or network, the software is not a product with digital elements. Check this carefully: file import, USB or update features are connections.
Deciding fact: Art. 3(1), Art. 2(1)
-
Not sure whether the licence server counts as a connection
It depends on one fact · role: _
Connection is the deciding fact. A licence check or update call is an indirect network connection; answer yes and the product is likely in scope.
Deciding facts: Art. 3(1), Art. 2(1); Art. 3(1), Art. 2(1)
Each scenario is a fixture: the shared CEMarque rules engine evaluates its inputs at build time and the page cannot be served if the outcome shown here differs from the engine's.
Edge cases
- _
- _
- _
- _
Why
The definition, applied to installed software
A product with digital elements is a software or hardware product with a direct or indirect connection to a device or network, together with its remote data processing solutions [1]. Desktop software meets this in almost every real case: an update check, a licence activation, a telemetry ping or a cloud save is a connection, and the element covers logical or physical data connections to a device as well as to a network [1]. Software with no data connection of any kind is outside the definition, and that is rare [1].
Commercial supply
The Regulation applies to products made available on the market in the course of a commercial activity, which includes charging a price, charging for support or monetising the product otherwise [2]. A licence fee, a subscription or a paid support contract each qualifies. An internal tool that is never supplied to a third party is not made available on the market [3].
Products already on sale
Products placed on the market before 11 December 2027 are subject to the Regulation only if substantially modified after that date, while Article 14 reporting obligations apply to them anyway [4]. A substantial modification is a change after placing on the market that affects compliance with the essential requirements or modifies the intended purpose [5]. Customers and distributors may still ask for conformity evidence before it is legally required [6].
Two clocks
Article 14 reporting obligations apply from 11 September 2026 [7]. The Regulation applies in full from 11 December 2027 [8]. The scope check names both dates for your own product when you give it your market position.
Timing
Article 14 reporting applies from 2026-09-11; full requirements and CE marking apply from 2027-12-11. Dates come from the Facts Table entries cited below, evaluated for the first example; run the check for your own product's dates.
What to do next
CRARequired only answers applicability. CEMarque carries your answers forward and adds your role, class, conformity route, dates, obligations, and a permanent cited verdict.
Check my product Run the full cited determination on CEMarque
Related applicability questions
Sources
- F-005 A product with digital elements is a software or hardware product and its remote data processing solutions, including components placed on the market separately, whose intended purpose or reasonably foreseeable use includes a direct or indirect logical or physical data connection to a device or network. Art. 3(1), Art. 2(1) EUR-Lex ↩
- F-007 The Regulation applies to products made available on the market in the course of a commercial activity; charging a price, charging for support, monetising via advertising or data, or otherwise intending to monetise are commercial activity. Art. 2(1), Art. 3(22), Recitals EUR-Lex ↩
- F-101 Made available on the market means supply for distribution or use on the EU market in the course of a commercial activity. Art. 3(22) EUR-Lex ↩
- F-004 Products placed on the market before 11 December 2027 are subject to the Regulation only if substantially modified after that date; Article 14 applies to them regardless. Art. 69(2)–(3) EUR-Lex ↩
- F-014 Substantial modification: a change after placing on the market affecting compliance with essential requirements or resulting in a modification of the intended purpose; a person who substantially modifies a product becomes its manufacturer. Art. 3(30), Art. 22 EUR-Lex ↩
- F-105 For products already on the market, conformity is not required until substantial modification, but customers and distributors may ask for it; Article 14 applies regardless. Art. 69(2)–(3) EUR-Lex ↩
- F-002 Article 14 (reporting obligations of manufacturers) applies from 11 September 2026. Art. 71(2) EUR-Lex ↩
- F-003 The Regulation applies in full from 11 December 2027. Art. 71(2) EUR-Lex ↩
CRARequired answers applicability only, using scope logic and cited regulatory facts maintained by CEMarque, which encodes Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 and published guidance as of Facts v2026.09.4 (10 September 2026). Results are "likely" or "conditional" readings of your answers, not a legal opinion and not a conformity assessment. Run the full cited determination on CEMarque before you act. Methodology.