Free online PED / DESP classification calculator for industrial piping. Determines the European conformity classification per EU Directive 2014/68/EU Annex II Tables 6 to 9: Article 4 §3 (also called BPI in French Bonnes Pratiques d'Ingénierie or SEP Sound Engineering Practice, no CE marking), Category I (Module A, manufacturer self-declaration), Category II (Modules A2/D1/E1, Notified Body), or Category III (Modules B+C2/D/E/F, full type examination). Note that Category IV exists in the directive but applies only to vessels (Tables 1-5), not to piping. Supports Group 1 hazardous fluids (per CLP Regulation EC 1272/2008) and Group 2 non-hazardous fluids, in both gas and liquid states. Built by a piping estimator with 25 years of field experience.
Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU - Piping Classification (Tables 6-9)
| PARAMÈTRES | |
|---|---|
| PS (bar) : | |
| DN : | |
| RÉSULTATS | |
|---|---|
| PS × DN = | 1 440 |
| Catégorie : | Hors DESP |
| RÈGLES DE CLASSIFICATION | |
|---|---|
| Condition | Catégorie |
| PS<0,5 | Hors DESP |
| DN<32 OU PS×DN≤1000 | 4.3 |
| DN≥32 ET 1000<PS×DN≤3500 | Catégorie I |
| DN>100 ET 3500<PS×DN≤5000 | Catégorie II |
| DN>250 ET PS×DN>5000 | Catégorie III |
| Évaluation des facteurs de défaillance | Catégorie de risque DESP | |||
| 4.3 (cat. 0) |
Cat. I | Cat. II | Cat. III | |
| Faible | C | C | B1 | B1 |
| Moyenne | C | B2 | B1 | B1 |
| Importante | B2 | B2 | B1 | A |
| Très importante | B2 | B2 | A | A |
| Groupes de matériau : 1.1 & 1.2 / 8.1 / 43 / 45 | |||||
| Type d'examen |
Catégorie de construction | Notes | |||
| A | B1 | B2 | C | ||
| RT ou UT | 25% | 5% | 0% | 0% | Note a |
| PT ou MT | 10% | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| Produits | f/z | Catégories de construction | |||||
| A | B1 | B2 | B2 | C | C | ||
| Ctrl spéc. | Ctrl spéc. | Ctrl spéc. | Ctrl non spéc. | Ctrl spéc. | Ctrl non spéc. | ||
| Tubes sans soudure | f | f₁ | f₁ | f₁ | f₂ | f₁ | f₂ |
| z | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Tubes soudés hélicoïdal. (ctrl continu) |
f | f₁ | f₁ | f₁ | f₂ | f₁ | f₂ |
| z | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Tubes soudés longitud. (ctrl continu) |
f | f₁ | f₁ | f₁ | f₂ | f₁ | f₂ |
| z | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Tubes soudés longitud. (sans ctrl) |
f | f₁ | f₁ | f₂ | f₁ | f₂ | |
| z | 0,85 | 0,85 | 0,85 | 0,7 | 0,7 | ||
| Tubes roulés soudés atelier |
f | f₁ | f₁ | f₁ | f₂ | f₁ | f₂ |
| z | 1 | 0,85 | 0,85 | 0,85 | 0,7 | 0,7 | |
This free online PED classification calculator (also called DESP calculator in French — Directive des Équipements Sous Pression) determines the European conformity classification of pressure piping: Article 4 §3 (BPI / SEP, no CE marking), Category I, Category II or Category III. It implements the full classification logic of Directive 2014/68/EU Annex II — Tables 6 to 9 (piping) — covering all combinations of fluid group, physical state and PS × DN. Note that vessels (Tables 1-5) can additionally reach Category IV; piping tops out at Category III.
You enter the maximum allowable pressure PS, the volume V (for vessels) or nominal size DN (for piping), the fluid group (1 or 2) and the physical state (gas or liquid). The tool reads the correct Annex II table automatically and tells you the category, the recommended construction code, and the NDE (non-destructive examination) requirements.
The PED 2014/68/EU is the European Union regulation that sets essential safety requirements for pressure equipment placed on the EU market. It applies when:
Compliance is mandatory and is demonstrated by CE marking, applied either by the manufacturer alone (low categories) or with a Notified Body's involvement (high categories). The directive replaced the older PED 97/23/EC in 2014 and applies in all 27 EU Member States. In the UK since Brexit, the equivalent regulation is PE(S)R 2016 with UKCA marking — the classification rules are technically identical.
Pressure piping under PED 2014/68/EU is split into 4 classifications. Note that Category IV exists in the directive but applies only to vessels (Tables 1-5) — piping (Tables 6-9) tops out at Category III.
| Classification | Risk level | Conformity assessment | Typical use (piping) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Article 4 §3 (BPI / SEP) | Lowest | Sound Engineering Practice — no CE marking | Utility water, instrument air below threshold, very small bore |
| Cat. I | Low | Module A — manufacturer self-declaration, CE marking | Low-pressure piping with non-hazardous fluids |
| Cat. II | Medium | Module A2, D1 or E1 — Notified Body involved | Industrial steam piping, medium-pressure utility |
| Cat. III | High | Module B + (C2/D/E/F) — full type examination | Process piping with hazardous fluids, high PS × DN |
The higher the classification, the stricter the design code (EN 13480, EN 13445), the more rigorous the NDE requirements (typically: visual + radiography 10% → 100%), and the more documentation is required for the technical file. For typical industrial steam piping at 10-40 bar carrying Group 2 fluid, you'll usually land in Cat. II; hazardous Group 1 services jump to Cat. III.
The PED splits fluids into two groups based on hazard:
Group 1 lands in stricter Annex II tables (Tables 1, 2, 6, 7) — same PS × V or PS × DN value typically gives one category higher than Group 2.
The classification is based on a single calculation:
This product is plotted on the appropriate Annex II diagram (Tables 1 to 9 depending on equipment type, fluid group, and state). The category is the zone in which the point falls. This calculator does that lookup automatically — you don't have to manually navigate the 9 tables.
The manufacturer of the pressure equipment is responsible for classification and conformity assessment. For piping, that's typically the fabrication shop. For vessels and accessories, it's the equipment maker. If the equipment is assembled (piping + vessels + accessories combined into a pressure assembly), the assembler takes responsibility for the assembly classification. Importers and distributors also have obligations under Article 8 and 9 of the directive.
Generally no — small-bore piping has significant exclusions. For Group 2 fluids (non-hazardous), piping with DN ≤ 32 and PS × DN ≤ 1000 is typically classified under Article 4 §3 (BPI / SEP, no CE marking). For Group 1 fluids (hazardous), the threshold is lower: Article 4 §3 applies up to DN ≤ 25 with PS × DN ≤ 1000 for gas/vapor. Some additional exclusions apply for very small bores (below DN 8). This calculator handles all of these edge cases automatically.
For equipment placed on the GB market (England, Scotland, Wales), the Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 (PE(S)R) apply instead of the PED. The categorization rules are technically identical to 2014/68/EU — same Annex II tables. The difference is the conformity marking: UKCA for GB instead of CE for EU. Northern Ireland still requires CE marking under the Windsor Framework. For our calculator the category output is identical; only the marking step downstream changes.
No — transportable pressure equipment falls under Directive 2010/35/EU (TPED) and is marked with the Greek letter π (pi), not CE. It covers gas cylinders, pressure drums and tubes intended for transportation of dangerous goods. This calculator is for the PED 2014/68/EU only (static equipment).
PED is a European regulation (mandatory law) that defines the conformity assessment framework. ASME B31.3 is an American design code (technical rules). PED requires you to use a recognized harmonized code for design — in Europe typically EN 13480 (piping) and EN 13445 (vessels), but ASME B31.3 is also accepted under PED Article 11 as a "particular technical assessment". Many global projects use ASME B31.3 for design AND apply PED for European market access.
Yes — 100% free, no registration, no email, no watermark. All calculations and table lookups run in your browser; no data sent anywhere. You can export the classification report to PDF without paying. The tool is built and maintained by a piping estimator with 25 years of industrial field experience.
References: Directive 2014/68/EU (PED, Annex II Tables 1-9) · Regulation EC 1272/2008 (CLP — fluid hazard classification) · EN 13480 (Industrial metallic piping) · EN 13445 (Unfired pressure vessels) · PE(S)R 2016 (UK post-Brexit equivalent)