Abstract: An apparatus for automatically equipping printed circuit boards with components includes at least two equipping heads arranged stationarily at a distance from one another. A printed circuit board displacement apparatus moves corresponding printed circuit boards simultaneously into corresponding equipping positions relative to the equipping heads. Each equipping head is actuated when the printed circuit board allocated to that equipping head is moved into the corresponding equipping position. After the equipping program has been executed, the printed circuit boards are clocked for work by one equipping head division so that an unequipped printed circuit board is supplied to the first equipping head in the conveying direction and a completely equipped printed circuit board is discharged from the last equipping head. This spatially separate, serial equipping of the printed circuit boards enables the equipping heads to be reloaded when they are not actively engaged in executing an equipping event.