FAQs

CE Marking is a certification mark that shows compliance with the relevant health, safety and environmental regulations for products sold or used in the European Union.

CE Marking is a certification mark that shows compliance with the relevant health, safety and environmental regulations for products sold or used in the European Union.

Except for a few high-risk industries, most products can be CE marked by the manufacturer. Although you may be able to legally ‘self-declare’ and CE mark your product, the process can seem somewhat convoluted and confusing if you are unfamiliar with the process. Physically attaching a CE label may appear to be very simple, but the CE mark is the culmination of a process of assessment and validation.

CE Marking is a certification mark that shows compliance with the relevant health, safety and environmental regulations for products sold or used in the European Union.

To ‘show’ you have complied with a directive you should apply the CE mark in accordance with the guidance in the directive. Some directives require the issue of a support document (Declaration of Conformity, as an example) and these should be considered a legal statement made by the manufacturer prior to placement on the market. There are additional considerations for Importers and specialist product labelling, but as a ‘general rule of thumb’ the minimum they all require CE marking.

CE Marking is a certification mark that shows compliance with the relevant health, safety and environmental regulations for products sold or used in the European Union.

A Directive is an EU legislative act that sets out a goal that all EU member states must achieve. (It is up to the individual countries to devise their own laws on how to reach these goals). The EU has issued Directives covering hundreds of subjects, most of which do not require the use of the CE Mark. Those Directives that do require the use of the CE Mark are commonly described as New Legislative Framework or NLF Directives.

An organisation designated by an EU country to assess the conformity of certain products before being placed on the market. These bodies carry out tasks related to conformity assessment procedures set out in the applicable legislation, when a third party is required. The term ‘Notified’ comes from the fact that EU Member States mustnotify the European Commission when they accredit an organisation to undertake conformity assessments.

The UKCA Mark (UK Conformity Assessment Mark), is used to demonstrate that a product conforms to applicable regulations on the GB Market (England, Scotland and Wales). It was not intended for the Northern Ireland market place.

It should be emphasised that some market sectors have their own particular requirements when it comes to the use of the UKCA mark. Please ensure that you review the industry sector list on the UK Government website.

An Approved Body is an organisation designated to assess the conformity of products before they are placed on the market in the UK. Some regulations require substantial involvement from Approved Bodies for most products, whilst for other regulations the use of anApproved Body remains entirely voluntary.

This will depend on the Directive/Regulation(s) that is/are applicable to a Product.

Some Directives, such as the Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU, never require the use of a Notified Body, whilst others, such as the Machinery Directive, only mandate the involvement of an Notified Body in limited and very specific circumstances. However, when applying some Directives, such as the ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU, the involvement of a Notified Body will be required in the majority of circumstances.

For a definitive list of applicable products for the European market you would need to check the Europa website foundhere.