CE Marking Certification

The letters ‘CE’ appear on many products that are traded on the single market in the European Economic Area (EEA), consisting of the 27 member states of the EU and European Free Trade Association countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The CE marking is required for many products and attests the verification by a manufacturer that these products meet EU safety, health or environmental requirements.
This guide provides an introduction to CE marking and the various situations in which it applies. You can also find information about what products CE marking applies to, how to use it successfully and how to ensure that you comply with all relevant regulations.
As a manufacturer, this will lead you through the process of affixing the CE marking to your specific product, by clearly illustrating the key steps to undertake from the beginning to the trading of the product. If you are a distributor or importer you will have to know the requirements that the products you are importing or distributing must meet to be traded freely within the EEA.

A product’s compliance with EU legislation

CE marking is a key indicator of a product’s compliance with EU legislation and enables the free movement of products within the European market. By affixing the CE marking on a product, a manufacturer is declaring, on his sole responsibility, conformity with all of the legal requirements to achieve CE marking and therefore ensuring validity for that product to be sold throughout the EEA, the 27 member states of the EU and European Free Trade Association countries - Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Turkey. This also applies to products made in third countries which are sold in the EEA and Turkey. However, not all products must bear the CE marking. Only those product categories subject to specific directives that provide for the CE marking are required to be CE marked.
CE marking does not indicate that a product was made in the EEA, but merely states that the product is assessed before being placed on the market and thus satisfies the legislative requirements, eg a harmonised level of safety, to be sold there. It means that the manufacturer has verified that the product complies with all relevant essential requirements, eg health and safety requirements, of the applicable directive(s) or, if stipulated in the directive(s), had it examined by a notified conformity assessment body.
It is the manufacturer’s responsibility to:

• Carry out the conformity assessment
• Set up the technical file
• Issue the EC Declaration of Conformity (DoC)
• Affix CE marking on a product

Distributors must verify the presence of both the CE marking and the necessary supporting documentation. If the product is being imported from a third country, the importer has to verify that the manufacturer outside the EU has undertaken the necessary steps and that the documentation is available upon request.

Benefits of CE MARKING

The CE marking is a kind of trade passport for the European marketplace: it allows the manufacturer to freely circulate their product throughout the 30 countries of the European Economic Area (EEA).
The great benefit for manufacturers is that there is now only one set of requirements and procedures to comply with in designing and manufacturing a product for the entire EEA. The various and conflicting national regulations are eliminated. As a result, the product no longer needs to be adapted to the specific requirements of the different member states of the EEA.
In addition, it may be considered a benefit that by implementing the requirements, the product will be safer for the user and this may also reduce damage and liability claims.

• Indicates that the product can be legally sold within the European Union (EU) and the European Free Trade Area (EFTA).
• Ensures the product can move freely throughout the European single market.
• Indicates to customers that the product meets minimum safety standards and therefore has a minimum level of quality.