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).
CE Marking
Who is responsible for CE marking?
The CE marking requirements covers different aspects of a product’s design, production and distribution. Typically, various companies are involved in the design, manufacturing, distribution and placing on the market of products. The contributions of each single of these links in the production chain and distribution chain may affect the CE compliance of a product. For example, a product may be designed in accordance with the requirements, but may in the end not comply because during the production stage there was a deviation from the design. Or an electronic component may have been tested and approved for the requirements for electromagnetic interference, but can start to emit illegitimate disturbance when installed incorrectly. This raises the question of who is responsible for the CE marking.
Do your products need CE marking?
“Do my products need CE marking?” Not a single day passes by that we do not get this question. In this post, we will try to give you some guidance on how you can answer this question yourself. If after you have read the post you still have questions, or need assistance, we will be glad to assist you.
Unfortunately, it can be difficult to determine if a product needs CE marking. Unfortunately, there is no authority that provides a product lists or nomenclature that names the products that require CE. Instead you will need to investigate this yourself. We recommend the following steps.
What is the objective of CE marking?
The European CE certification procedure has been mainly set up to:
- Harmonize all varying national regulations for consumer and industrial products in European Member States, so that the Single Market is encouraged;
- Bring about cost savings for producers;
- Enhance the safety of products;
- Supply public bodies with a uniform procedure that can be checked.