What the guidance is, and how far it carries
On 27 July 2026, the Commission adopted guidance on the CRA under reference C(2026) 5252. The document contains 67 numbered worked examples and five remote data processing use cases.
The guidance is non-binding. Only the Court of Justice of the European Union provides authoritative interpretations of EU law. However, the examples represent the official reading by the Commission.
Two core placing-on-the-market rules apply throughout the text. First, every copy of a version is placed on the market on the date that version is first supplied. Second, standard software updates that are not substantial modifications do not create a fresh placing on the market.
Which software is a product with digital elements
The core test checks whether software is supplied to a user and executes on the user's device. Downloadable mobile applications and local desktop software fall squarely in scope.
Pure web applications accessed solely through a browser are not products with digital elements. Standard informational websites are also outside scope.
When a local client requires backend processing to function, that remote processing enters scope alongside the client. Licensing source code commercially also counts as placing on the market.
Supplied to the user and executing on the user's device is the line. A browser-only web app falls outside, a locally installed client falls inside and pulls its remote data processing with it.
Open source, stewards, and remote data processing
Free and open-source software falls outside scope when it is not monetized. Charging for support, gating security updates behind fees, or adding commercial tiers brings the project into scope.
Voluntary donations and open community development remain exempt. Individual pull request contributors do not take on manufacturer liabilities.
Open-source stewards maintaining unmonetized components operate under Article 24 obligations. Manufacturers integrating open-source software always retain full due diligence duties under Article 13(5).