Who is allowed to repair Ex equipment?
Abstract
The manufacturer, or any service facility meeting IEC 60079-19, such as an independent repairer or the user's own workshop, with a responsible person, competent operatives, a quality system and the manufacturer's documents. Manufacturers may reserve some repairs.
Neither IEC 60079-19 nor the EU ATEX rules limit Ex repair to the original manufacturer, although some national rules and operators set their own conditions. Besides the manufacturer, the work may be done by any service facility that meets IEC 60079-19, such as an independent repairer or the user's own workshop. It needs a responsible person, competent operatives, a quality system and, wherever they exist, the manufacturer's drawings. The manufacturer's instructions can still reserve some repairs to the manufacturer or to repairers it authorises.
Short answer
- Technical rule: IEC 60079-19 (edition 5.0, 2025) sets the requirements for service facilities that overhaul, repair or reclaim Ex equipment. It does not require third-party certification of the facility, and it does not cover manufacturers repairing equipment they made themselves.
- People: every facility site needs a named responsible person. Operatives work under that person's control. Annex B of the standard sets out the knowledge, skills and competence both roles need.
- Documents: if the manufacturer's Schedule Drawings or related drawings are available, the repair must follow them. Repair "to the standard" is only the fallback when they are not.
- Manufacturer restrictions: the European Commission's ATEX Guidelines allow a manufacturer to state in its instructions that specific repairs may only be done by the manufacturer or by a repairer it has qualified or authorised.
- Outside the repair standard: IEC 60079-19:2025 does not cover the repair or overhaul of encapsulated "m" equipment or of Ex components. In practice they are replaced or returned to their manufacturer.
- The employer decides: workplace law (for example Directive 2009/104/EC, Articles 6 and 9) requires the employer to give repair and maintenance of hazardous work equipment only to specifically designated workers with adequate specific training.
What IEC 60079-19 requires of a repair facility
The standard does not care whether the facility belongs to a contractor or to the plant. It cares whether the facility can keep the type of protection intact. The 2025 edition puts the main requirements together in its clause on service facility requirements:
| Requirement | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Responsible person at each site | Has defined duties and takes the decisions that affect the type of protection; a flow chart in the 2025 edition shows where the responsible person must be involved. The edition also covers delegation and cover during holidays or sickness |
| Competent operatives | Assessed against Annex B; reclamation techniques such as welding or metal spraying need qualified operatives |
| Quality management system | Requirements moved to the new Annex D in 2025: document control, calibrated and traceable instruments, records |
| Documentation | The certificate, the instructions, the specific conditions of use (X conditions), the Schedule Drawings where available and the repair history |
| Records and user report | Condition as received and as returned, work done, parts fitted (now including software and firmware), so the next inspector can follow the job |
| Repair marking | A marking, defined in Annex A, that shows how the item was repaired, for example to the manufacturer's drawings or to the standard |
The IECEx scheme confirms the practical consequence. Asked whether any IECEx certified service facility may repair equipment from any manufacturer, the scheme's FAQ answers yes, provided the facility has access to the necessary documentation, such as the Schedule Drawings and records of earlier repairs. So access to the manufacturer's documents counts for more than the brand on the workshop door.
Certified facilities and certified people
Certification is a way to show competence. The standard itself does not require it.
- IECEx Certified Service Facilities Scheme. An IECEx certification body audits the facility against IEC 60079-19, or IEC 60079-14 and IEC 60079-17 for other services, and repeats the audit periodically. The certificate and its facility assessment report (FAR) are published in the IECEx online system, where users can search for facilities. IECEx states that this certificate covers the facility's ability. It does not certify any repaired item.
- IECEx CoPC unit Ex 005, "Overhaul and repair of explosion-protected equipment", certifies individuals. The scheme has twelve units, Ex 000 to Ex 011.
- National schemes. Some countries and some large operators require a certified or accredited repairer in their own rules or contracts. Check the national regulations and the site's own standards.
For a buyer of repair services, a facility certificate whose scope covers the right types of protection is the quickest evidence. A workshop without one can still be acceptable if it shows the same things: a responsible person, competence records, a quality system and access to the manufacturer's data.
When repair turns into modification
Who may do the work also depends on what the work is. A repair restores the equipment to its certified design. A change to material, fit, form or function that the certificate does not cover is a modification. Typical examples are an extra entry drilled in a flameproof enclosure, a rewind for a different voltage, or a non-specified component in an intrinsically safe circuit.
A repair shop cannot approve a modification on its own authority. It goes back to the manufacturer or a certification body. The ATEX Guidelines (6th edition, January 2026) add the legal side. A repaired product is not placed on the market again, so Directive 2014/34/EU does not apply to it. A substantially modified product, one where the change affects safety characteristics or the integrity of a type of protection, falls under the directive again.
Example: An Ex db motor needs new bearings and has a scored shaft flamepath. A local motor shop with no Ex procedures offers a fast job. The plant asks for the responsible person's name and competence evidence, then checks whether the shop holds the motor's Schedule Drawing and can measure flamepath gaps with calibrated instruments. It also checks the manufacturer's instructions for repairs reserved to the manufacturer. The shop cannot meet these points, so the motor goes to a facility that can. That facility returns it with a repair label and a user report for the verification dossier.
Common mistakes
- Assuming only the manufacturer may repair. The standard allows any competent facility. The manufacturer's instructions, and some national or site rules, can restrict particular repairs.
- Assuming any electrical workshop may repair. Without IEC 60079-19 procedures and a responsible person, the item cannot be released as Ex equipment.
- Treating a facility certificate as approval of the repaired item. The responsibility for each job stays with the facility and the user.
- Sending encapsulated "m" equipment or Ex components for repair. The 2025 edition gives no repair route for them. Replace them.
Related on excodex
- Repair, overhaul and modification of Ex equipment (IEC 60079-19)
- Competence of people working in hazardous areas: IECEx CoPC and other schemes
- Does modifying certified Ex equipment void its certificate?
- What does the R marking on repaired Ex equipment mean?
- Standards space: IEC 60079-19
Standards and further reading
- IEC 60079-19:2025, explosive atmospheres: equipment repair, overhaul and reclamation (edition 5.0, replaces the 2019 edition): IEC webstore
- IEC 60079-17, inspection and maintenance of electrical installations, and IEC 60079-14, design, selection and installation (verification dossier).
- IECEx Certified Service Facilities Scheme, overview and scope: iecex.com
- IECEx FAQ on the service facility scheme (repair of any manufacturer's equipment, repair symbols): iecex.com
- IECEx Certification of Personnel Competencies Scheme, units Ex 000 to Ex 011: iecex.com
- European Commission, ATEX 2014/34/EU Guidelines, 6th edition (January 2026), sections 33 (repaired and modified products) and 151 (instructions): Guidelines PDF
- Directive 2009/104/EC on the use of work equipment, Article 6 (work equipment involving specific risks) and Article 9 (training): EUR-Lex
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 7 (Great Britain): legislation.gov.uk
This article is general technical information prepared by the excodex editorial team. It does not replace the applicable standards, the equipment certificates and instructions, national regulations or the assessment of a competent person.