The second generation of the structural Eurocodes is the first complete overhaul of the suite since it was introduced, and the transition is already underway. The definitive texts were distributed to national standards bodies on 30 March 2026, National Annexes follow by 30 September 2027, and the first generation is withdrawn on 30 March 2028. This is a plain-English guide to the timeline, what it means in practice, and the part most coverage skips: you will be designing to two documents, not one.
What is the second generation of Eurocodes?
It is a restructured and extended version of the EN 1990 to EN 1999 series, running to roughly a hundred parts. Alongside updated reliability concepts, revised load combinations, and reorganised material codes for concrete, steel, composite, timber, masonry, geotechnics, and seismic design, the suite widens in scope. Structural glass comes in as a new material area, and the assessment of existing structures is brought formally into scope for the first time, which matters for a European building stock where renovation and reuse now dominate the pipeline.
The reference source is the Joint Research Centre's Eurocodes pages. Confirm the exact part numbering and titles there or with your national standards body before citing a specific part, since the restructuring moved a lot of material around.
The transition timeline: DAV, DoP, and DoW
Three milestones govern the changeover, and they are usually referred to by their abbreviations.
| Date | Milestone | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| 30 March 2026 | DAV, Date of Availability | The definitive texts were distributed to national standards bodies. The standards exist; most National Annexes do not yet. |
| To 30 Sept 2027 | National implementation | National standards bodies publish the standards nationally and prepare their National Annexes. |
| 30 September 2027 | DoP, Date of Publication | The latest date for national implementation. National Annexes are to be published by this point. |
| Sept 2027 to Mar 2028 | Coexistence period | Both generations may be used. This is the window in which most firms will actually switch. |
| 30 March 2028 | DoW, Date of Withdrawal | The first-generation Eurocodes are withdrawn. |
National implementation can vary, and some countries run their own strategies and communications on top of the CEN timeline, so confirm the position for each country you work in with its national standards body.
Can I still design to the first generation?
Yes, for now. Until the withdrawal date of 30 March 2028, and particularly during the coexistence period from September 2027, both generations may be used. In practice the decision is rarely purely technical: it depends on when your National Annex is available, when your analysis software supports the new suite, what your client and checker expect, and how long the project runs. A building designed today may well still be on site when the first generation is withdrawn, which is worth thinking about at the outset rather than at handover.
The part that gets skipped: your National Annex is a second document
A Eurocode on its own does not tell you what to design to. It leaves nationally determined parameters, and those are set in your country's National Annex. The second generation reduces the number of these parameters in principle, but National Annexes remain essential to national implementation. So compliance means satisfying two documents at once: the Eurocode part, and your National Annex, published by your national standards body, in your national language.
That is the real shape of this transition for a working practice. It is not only that the engineering changes. It is that every office suddenly has a large, restructured, unfamiliar standards corpus, plus a country-specific companion document, and every design has to be verified against both. For a practice working in several countries, it is a different companion document per market.
How do you check a design against the new suite and your National Annex?
Analysis software will calculate to the new rules once it is updated. What it does not do is tell you whether the drawings and the model, as documented, satisfy the clauses in both documents. That is a document-comprehension problem rather than a calculation problem.
UptoCode is built for it. Upload the relevant Eurocode parts and your National Annex alongside your drawings and IFC model, ask questions in plain language, or run a full check, and every finding is cited to the clause and the sheet or element it came from. Because you supply the documents, you can check against the second generation and the National Annex on one project and the first generation on another still running under the old suite, without waiting for a vendor to hard-code either. National Annexes in national languages are handled the same way.
See how UptoCode reads a set on the BIM and IFC compliance page, or read the guide to AI compliance checking. Create a free account and run a cited check with 65 free credits, no card required.
Last reviewed 27 July 2026 against JRC Eurocodes and national standards body sources. This article is general information, not engineering or compliance advice. Confirm the transition dates, part numbering, and National Annex status for your jurisdiction with your national standards body before relying on them.