Unfortunately, the process of determining whether the CE marking applies to a product is rather complex. The European legislator does not provide product lists or nomenclatures which indicate the appropriate CE marking directives.
The CE marking applies to products placed in the market or put into service in the European Economic Area, and only for certain product groups or product aspects. Thus in order to answer the question whether a product needs to be CE certified, one has to determine first in which countries the products are going to be placed in the market or used. Secondly, for each single directive it must be determined whether the products, or some of its aspects, falls within its scope.
Step 1.The CE Marking Is Required Only in the Countries of the European Economic Area (EEA):
The European Economic Area (EEA) is formed by the twenty-seven Member States of the European Union (EU)…:
- Austria (became member in 1995)
- Belgium (Founder Member in 1957)
- Bulgaria (2007)
- Czech Republic (2004)
- Cyprus (2004)
- Denmark (1973)
- Estonia (2004)
- Finland (1995)
- France (FM 1957)
- Germany (FM 1957)
- Greece (1981)
- Hungary (2004)
- Ireland (1973)
- Italy, (FM 1957)
- Latvia (2004)
- Lithuania (2004)
- Luxembourg (FM 1957)
- Malta (2004)
- The Netherlands (FM 1957)
- Poland (2004)
- Portugal (1986)
- Romania (2007)
- Slovakia (2004)
- Slovenia (2004)
- Spain (1986)
- Sweden (1995)
- United Kingdom (Great Britain) (1973)
…as well as three members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA):
* Iceland
* Norway
* Liechtenstein
Although Switzerland is member of the EFTA, it does not take part in the EEA.
PLEASE NOTE: Turkey is neither member of the EU, nor is considered a part of the EEA. However, Turkey has fully implemented many of the European CE marking directives. This means that for many products they also require CE Marking.
If the product is to be placed or put into service in the aforementioned markets, the CE mark may apply if the product is covered by one or more of the European CE marking directives.
2.The CE Marking Is Required Only for the Following Types of Products:
- Toys
- Machinery
- Electrical equipment
- Electronic equipment
- Personal protective equipment
- Pressure equipment
- Medical devices
- Active implantable medical devices
- In vitro diagnostica
- Radio and Telecommunications terminal equipment
- Simple pressure vessels
- Gas appliances
- Lifts
- Recreational craft
- Equipment and protective systems for use in explosive atmospheres
- Non-automatic weighing instruments
- Cableways
- Construction products
- Explosives for civil use
- New hot water boilers
- Measuring Equipment
The CE marking is NOT required for the following products:
- Chemicals
- Pharmaceuticals
- Cosmetics
- Foodstuffs
Products that are not covered by the European CE marking directives may fall within the scope of other European or national legislation. If there is no specific legislation, the General Product Safety Directive (2001/95/EC) may apply. This European Directives requires that products are safe, but is does not require any marking.
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Hi Han,
Please can you tell me if liquid energy cells for use in handheld hairstyling products – curling tongs and straigherners will need a CE.
(they contain pressurised liquid butane)
Thanks
Asher
It depends what is the rated voltage and/or whether they contain electronics, like a chip. If the rated voltage is between 50 – 1000 VAC or 75 – 1500 VDC, the Low Voltage Directive applies. If they contain a chip, the EMC directive may apply.
Hello,
Does exhausts require CE marking?
I need a fast reply.
Please give me a reference to prove this.
Thanks.
Exhausts of cars? No they don’t. Simply because these are not covered by any CE marking directive. Unfortunately, I can’t give you a list of products that are NOT covered. Actually, there is not even a list of products that are covered. Whether a product needs CE is determined by the fact if it is in the scope of a European CE directive or CE regulation. In most cases, these CE directives and CE regulations define the scope not by product lists, but by definitions of products that would fall within the scope (and hence require CE).
Han,
I am importing a tablet pc from China which is CE certified and also an external battery which is CE certified. I am planning to put both of these (unmodified) in a case/enclosure. Is this classed as a new product and do I need to get it certified?
Thanks
James
I was looking for the piece, I hope you publish more.
Dear Han,
Thank you for your website and all the precious information!
I have a question that may be quite common but I don’t find info on this.
We would like to buy a small motorized XY table (produced in the USA) for a microscope. This item is custom made (only very small production) and it has no CE certification. The goal is also not to resell it but just to use it for our personal use.
Is it true that when the customer agrees not to have a CE certification, it’s not needed? If a customer signs an agreement saying he takes responsability in case of damage, can he buy and import a non CE certified good?
Thank you very much in advance for your reply.
Best regards,
Emilien
If exercise equipment does not require a CE marker,
what approvals are required in order to be sold in EU?
Hi Hans,
Can you please confirm does PPE designed and manufactured for use with the armed forces or police require CE marking?
Thanks
Carolyn
Hi Han,
We manufacture a flexible stainless steel chimney flue liner, we would like to sell this in Ireland. Do we need the CE marking on our product?
Thomas
You should look at the Construction Products Directive. If there is a “European Technical Specification” for your products this directive will apply. A European Technical Specifiation is a European harmonized standard or a European Technical Approval.
Hi Han,
I intend to
Import footwear and apparels from china. Do any of this products need to be certify ?
Chrissy
Footwear only needs CE marking when it has the intended purpose to protect the wearer against any hazard. If this is not the case with your footwear, you can disregard the CE marking. However, I do want to note that there are some European rules on footwear. I am not an expert in this type of legislation, but when you will go on Google, you should be able to find it.
I hope this is helpful.
Hans-
We manufacture exercise equipment – does this require the CE mark and can we self certify – and how long does the process take?
Exercise equipment generally does not fall under any CE marking directive. Only when it his powered by electricity it may fall under the Machinery Directive and when it has electrical and electronic parts it may fall under the EMC Directive and Low Voltage Directive.
Hans, are there any tick lists you know of for recreational craft to help with CE self certification.
thanks
tom
Hi Tom, our CE Self-Certification Course is what you are looking for. This includes also the templates and checklists that you need to do the conformity assessment and to document it. If you need more information about how you can use the course to do self-certification of recreational craft, let me know.
Well done on your excellent site Han! It is the only place I have found with clear information on CE certification.
I have just completed part one of the course and am eagerly awaiting to see the next part.
I am not certain if our products need a CE mark. We produce engine jumpstarters which are only 12 or 24 volts. I was told we don’t need certification because our equipment has lower voltage than 75V DC. Can this be correct? We do supply a 220V charger separately that is used to re-charge the jumpstarters.
How can I find out if there are other directives we need to comply with?
Many thanks,
Joris
The lesson one video was quie comprehensive that it is a Confirmity Marking .
Patient monitors would aply to Electronic equipment directives, medical devices directives, or both?
Hi Francisco. Thank you for your question.
The answer: They would apply to both.
We Manufacture Waste Containers in India of capacities 120 & 240 litres with Wheels.
How do we get these CE-Certified?
Are you sure waste containers require CE marking? Which CE directive(s) would apply?
These are Waste Conatiners with wheels under EN-840-1,5,6 Standards.
No CE is required for those. Compliance with the standards EN 840-1, EN 840-5 and EN 840-6 will definitely help you to sell them in Europe, as these are the European product specific standards.
Thank you Han! It is impossible to describe how helpful was your information about CE-Marking.
But unfortunately I still can not determine if our product needs CE-marking.
We produce cubes made from mineral wool. By itself, mineral wool is a building material and needs to be CE-marked, but our product is not used for construction, but for agricultural industries to grow plants (hydroponics).
We are making our first steps into European Market and CE-marking may be the main first goal.
I would be very grateful if you could help me with the solution.
Thank you anyway, there is really a lot of very usseful information to know.
You are right, mineral wool could be construction products and they may be considered to be in the scope of the Construction Products Directive. However, since the intended purpose for your products application is not to be fixed into buildings (an in general it has nothing to do with construction), the CPD does not apply. And I cannot think of another CE directive that would apply. And that would mean that the CE marking is not required for your product.
Thank you Altaf. Let me know when you need my help.
Han – really nice work. It helps alot. I have gone through all those 10 clues, but my problem is poor internet connectivity. I will see those tutorial videos at the earliest possible time…
Will contact you soon
Altaf
The 10 clues given are really helpful. They have provided some more information to the knowledge which I have. Thankyou.
Thank you Kranthi! I am glad you like the ebook. Keep an eye on your email box: we have some great things coming.
We manufacture Passive RFID tags and wanted to check if our products need to have CE marking – is it compulsory?
Thank you for your website. I am the single IP lawyer in my island and I feel really alone when seeking information to assist local farmers and their associations when it comes to expanding into the EU market since we now have the EPA Agreement.