The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has confirmed it will continue to accept CE product markings for manufactured goods placed on the market in Great Britain until 1st January 2023.
A CE marking is a manufacturer’s claim that its product meets all the specified essential safety requirements set out in certain EU directives. Relevant categories of product must bear the CE marking if they are put on the market in the EU (or EEA). From 1st January 2021, the UKCA, and not the CE marking, is the conformity assessment marking for goods placed on the market in Great Britain that were previously subject to the CE marking. BEIS has published a list of the relevant EU and UK legislation requiring the CE and UKCA markings.
To give manufacturers time to adjust, the government initially stated that manufacturers could continue to use the CE marking until 1st January 2022. However, in the light of concerns that businesses would not be ready to move to UKCA markings by the end of 2021, the government has announced that the CE marking will now be accepted for a further year, until 1st January 2023. The CE marking may only continue to be used during this period if any of the following apply:
- The CE marking is currently applied to the goods in question on the basis of self-declaration.
- Any mandatory third-party conformity assessment was carried out by an EU-recognised notified body.
- The certificate of conformity previously held by a UK approved body has been transferred to an EU-recognised notified body prior to 1st January 2021.
The CE marking can also only be used during this time if the relevant UK and EU regulations do not diverge, but BEIS have stated there are no current UK plans to diverge during this time.
The UKCA marking will need to be used when placing goods on the UK market from 1st January 2023, unless there is a further extension. Special arrangements apply for trade with Northern Ireland.