CE marking

The government has laid legislation to continue recognition of current EU requirements, including the CE marking (Conformité Européene, or European Conformity marking). The legislation will apply indefinitely for a range of product regulations. This means businesses will have the flexibility to use either the UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) or CE marking to sell products in Great Britain (GB). Draft legislation can be found in The Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment) Regulations 2024.

Continued recognition of current EU requirements, including the CE and reversed epsilon markings, will apply to 21 product regulations. This will include the 18 product regulations owned by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), previously announced on 1 August 2023. Following feedback from industry, we are also continuing recognition for a further 3 regulations, covering ecodesign, civil explosives and, in most circumstances, restriction of hazardous substances (in electrical equipment).

This announcement does not apply to regulations for medical devices, construction products, marine equipment, rail products, cableways, transportable pressure equipment and unmanned aircraft systems regulations.There are specific arrangements in place for these sectors.

Separately, following feedback from businesses, the government also intends to bring forward an additional statutory instrument to legislate for further measures later in 2024.

This will provide permanent labelling flexibility, allowing:

• the UKCA marking to be placed on a sticky label or accompanying document
• importers of goods from any country outside the UK to provide their details either on the product itself, on an accompanying document, the packaging, or on an adhesive label; this means all businesses placing products on the GB market will benefit from this measure and have the option to provide their details either indelibly on the product itself, on an accompanying document, the packaging or on an adhesive label
• the voluntary option to use digital labelling; businesses will be able to apply the UKCA marking, manufacturer details and importer details digitally

Additional details for these measures will be provided in due course, including which regulations the measures will apply to.

The DBT regulations in scope of this announcement are:

• Equipment for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2016/1107
• Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations 2016/1091
• Lifts Regulations 2016/1093
• Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016/1101
• Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016/1105
• Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015/1553
• Recreational Craft Regulations 2017/737
• Radio Equipment Regulations 2017/1206
• Simple Pressure Vessels (Safety) Regulations 2016/1092
• Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011/1881
• Aerosol Dispensers Regulations 2009/2824
• Gas Appliances (EU Regulation) 2016/426
• Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008/1597
• Noise Emission in the Environment by Equipment for use Outdoors Regulations 2001/1701
• Personal Protective Equipment (EU Regulation) 2016/425
• Measuring Instruments Regulations 2016/1153
• Non-automatic Weighing Instruments Regulations 2016/1152
• Measuring Container Bottles (European Economic Community (EEC) Requirements) Regulations 1977

For the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra):

• Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2012 ('The RoHS Regulations')

For the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ):

• Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products Regulations 2010

For the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (Health and Safety Executive (HSE)):

• Explosives Regulations 2014

This guide will be updated to reflect these changes.