What is CE Certification?
Sep 09, 2022
CE certification simply means that a product has been ‘CE Marked’. CE Marking is a certification mark that indicates conformity with health, safety, and environmental protection standards for products sold within the European Economic Area (EEA)
The European Commission has referred to CE marking as a “European Passport” for products.
The letters “CE” are the abbreviation of French phrase “Conformité Européene” which translates to “European Conformity”. CE Marking replaced the initial term ‘EC Mark’ under the Directive 93/68/EEC in 1993.
The CE mark is a key indicator that a product has been assessed and meets EU Safety, health and environmental protection requirements and the manufacturer has checked that the product complies with all the essential requirements. However, it does not necessarily mean that the product was manufactured in the EEA. It means that the product has been correctly assessed before being placed on the single market to trade.
By placing a CE mark on a product, a manufacturer is declaring sole responsibility and conformity with all of the legal requirements to achieve CE marking.
Do all products need CE Mark?
No, not all products will need to be CE Marked. Only those product categories subject to specific directives that provide for the CE marking are required to be CE marked. When a product does not fall within a CE Marking Directive, then it will fall within the scope of one of the other product directives, such as the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD). The GPSD ensures that all products intended for or likely to be used by consumers are safe.
If you are a manufacturer of a product which needs to be CE Marked, you will need to do the following;
- Conduct a conformity assessment
- Create the Technical File
- Issue the Declaration of Conformity (DoC)
- Issue the CE marking on a product If you are a supplier or distributor of product which requires a CE Mark it is your responsibility to ensure the product has been CE Marked and that all correct CE documentation (including the Declaration of Conformity) is available.
If you are importing a product that is from a third country you have to check that the manufacturer outside the EU has undertaken the necessary steps. You must check that the documentation is available.
### What is the CE Mark used for? CE marking applies to products that fall within the scope of least one of the CE Marking Directives. These products include;
If you are a manufacturer of a product which needs to be CE Marked, you will need to do the following;
- appliances burning gaseous fuels
- cableway installations designed to carry persons
- eco-design of energy related products
- electromagnetic compatibility
- equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres
- explosives for civil uses
- hot-water boilers
- household refrigerators and freezers
- in vitro diagnostic medical devices
- lifts
- low voltage
- machinery
- measuring instruments
- medical devices
- noise emission in the environment
- non-automatic weighing instruments
- personal protective equipment
- pressure equipment
- pyrotechnics
- radio and telecommunications terminal equipment
- recreational craft
- safety of toys
- simple pressure vessels The countries that require CE marking are the 31 countries the EEA;
European Economic Area;
- Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
- Three members of the European Free Trade Association: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
- Switzerland is neither an EU nor EEA member but is part of the single market – this means Swiss nationals have the same rights to live and work in the UK as other EEA nationals.
Learn more About CE Certification
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