CE Self-Certification: CE Do-It-Yourself
The biggest myth about CE marking is costing many companies a lot of money:
Myth: "To get CE marking, products must be tested and certified by a third party certification body".
In almost 90% of the cases, products may be self-certified for CE marking. In other words, you can do the CE marking yourself. And in such a case, you are not required to have the product certified by a third party certification body. Obviously, your company can save a lot of money by doing CE marking self-certification.
What Is CE Marking Self-Certification?
CE self-certification is an unofficial term used to indicate one of the CE certification procedures existing in each CE marking directive, that allows the manufacturer to assess the conformity of a product himself.Is CE Marking Self-Certification Legal?
CE marking self-certification is not a trick or loophole in the law. It is 100% legal. In fact, the CE marking regulations (or "directives" as they are called) allow self-certification for most products. For obvious reasons, you will not hear about self-certification from CE certification bodies.
What Is Required for CE Marking Self-Certification?
CE marking self-certification does not mean that it is enough just to affix a CE sticker to the product. You have to be aware that by affixing the CE sticker, you indicate to the authorities and customers that your product complies with all applicable CE requirements and certification procedures, and that you have the documentation to prove compliance. Compliance checks are not just performed at the border controls. They may be checked at any time, even when the product is already in use for many years. When your product is found not to be in compliance, sales may be prohibited or it may be recalled from the market at your expense. Moreover, you may be fined or even get a prison sentence. Thus, it is important to do CE Marking right.This is what is needed for CE marking self-certification:
- determine which CE marking directives apply to your products;
- apply relevant requirements of the applicable CE marking directives to the product/production;
- determine the European harmonized standards that you may use for certifying your product and apply them;
- conduct and document the conformity assessment;
- prepare a Technical File that provides the evidence for all aspects of product compliance, and keep a full copy of the Technical File in Europe;
- issue a Declaration of Conformity; provide instructions or warnings on product label and users manuals in accordance with the requirements of the directives and European standards; and
- keep track of amendments and new regulatory developments, because they may affect (future) product compliance.
Most of these steps are ones you would also need to take when using a certification body!
"That Is All Great, But How Can We Do CE Marking Self-Certification?"
"With the right guidance, I am confident that you can do the CE marking yourself. Nobody knows more about your products than your company does. And with concise instructions from a CE expert, including personal consulting sessions and audio/video tutorials as well as checklists and templates, you can achieve instant results yourself. In fact, most of my clients do it. And if I tell you that you can have immediate results and save 50% or more of the normal CE marking costs, just because you can compile the necessary files yourself and because you will be better prepared for compliance testing and assessments? Are you willing to give it a try? I will give you a road map with the shortcuts and the pitfalls.
Read more about the 'CE Marking Navigation System'".
Han Zuyderwijk
Founder CEMarking.Net
Discover How Our CE Marking Navigation System Helps You to Complete CE Self Certification
Read more about our on-line CE Marking Navigation System, and find out how it helps you to successfully complete the CE self-certification:
| Steps in CE Self-Certification: | Covered by CE Marking Navigation System: |
| 1. determine which CE marking directives apply to your products; |  |
| 2. apply relevant requirements of the applicable CE marking directives to the product/production | |
| 3. determine the European harmonized standards that you may use for certifying your product and apply them | |
| 4. conduct and document the conformity assessment | |
| 5. prepare a Technical File that provides the evidence for all aspects of product compliance* | |
| 6. issue a Declaration of Conformity; provide instructions or warnings on product label and users manuals in accordance with the requirements of the directives and European standards | |
| 7. keep track of amendments and new regulatory developments, because they may affect (future) product compliance | |
