SP Certification

What is CE Certifications?

CE certification is a mandatory conformity mark for products sold in the European Economic Area (EEA). It indicates that the product meets EU safety, health, and environmental protection requirements. CE stands for Conformité Européenne, which translates to European Conformity.

To obtain CE certification, manufacturers must assess their products against relevant EU directives and standards, conduct testing if necessary, and prepare a Declaration of Conformity. CE certification allows products to be freely marketed and sold throughout the EEA without the need for additional national certifications. It signifies that the product meets high safety and quality standards, providing assurance to consumers and facilitating trade within the EU.


Purpose of CE Certification

The purpose of CE certification is to ensure that products sold in the European Economic Area (EEA) meet high safety, health, and environmental protection standards. The CE marking indicates that a product complies with EU legislation and can be legally placed on the market within the EEA.

CE certification serves several purposes:

1. Legal Requirement: CE certification is mandatory for many products sold in the EEA. It demonstrates that the product meets the essential requirements of relevant EU directives and can be freely marketed and sold within the EEA.
2. Consumer Safety: CE certification helps protect consumers by ensuring that products meet high safety standards. It indicates that the product has undergone testing and assessment to ensure that it is safe to use.
3. Market Access: CE certification allows products to be sold throughout the EEA without the need for additional national certifications. It facilitates trade by harmonizing standards across EU member states.
4. Quality Assurance: CE certification provides assurance to consumers and regulators that the product meets high quality and performance standards.
5. Environmental Protection: CE certification may also include requirements related to environmental protection, such as the use of hazardous substances.
Overall, CE certification helps ensure that products sold in the EEA are safe, high quality, and environmentally friendly, contributing to the health and safety of consumers and the environment.

CE certification allows products to be freely marketed and sold within the EEA without the need for additional national certifications. It signifies that the product meets high standards of health, safety, and environmental protection, as required by EU regulations.


CE Directives

CE directives, also known as CE marking directives, are a set of regulations and requirements established by the European Union (EU) that govern the use of the CE marking on products sold within the European Economic Area (EEA). The CE marking indicates that a product complies with all relevant EU directives and regulations related to health, safety, and environmental protection.

Some of the key directives that may require CE marking include:

Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC): Applies to machinery and safety components, specifying requirements for safety and health.

Low Voltage Directive (2014/35/EU): Applies to electrical equipment with a voltage between 50 and 1000 V for alternating current and between 75 and 1500 V for direct current, ensuring safety for users.

EMC Directive (2014/30/EU): Applies to electromagnetic compatibility, ensuring that electrical and electronic equipment does not generate electromagnetic disturbance that may interfere with other products.

Medical Devices Directive (93/42/EEC): Applies to medical devices, ensuring their safety and performance.

Personal Protective Equipment Directive (89/686/EEC): Applies to personal protective equipment (PPE), ensuring its safety and performance.

Toy Safety Directive (2009/48/EC): Applies to toys, ensuring their safety and compliance with specific requirements.

Construction Products Regulation (EU) 305/2011: Applies to construction products, ensuring their performance and safety.

Pressure Equipment Directive (2014/68/EU): Applies to pressure equipment, ensuring its safety.

Radio Equipment Directive (2014/53/EU): Applies to radio equipment, ensuring its safety and electromagnetic compatibility.

ATEX Directive (2014/34/EU): Applies to equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres, ensuring their safety.

Recreational Craft Directive (2013/53/EU): Applies to recreational craft, ensuring their safety and environmental performance.

Energy-related Products Directive (2009/125/EC): Applies to energy-related products, ensuring their environmental performance.

Lifts Directive (2014/33/EU): Applies to lifts and safety components for lifts, ensuring their safety and performance.

Gas Appliances Directive (2009/142/EC): Applies to gas appliances, ensuring their safety.

Simple Pressure Vessels Directive (2014/29/EU): Applies to simple pressure vessels, ensuring their safety.

Measuring Instruments Directive (2014/32/EU): Applies to measuring instruments, ensuring their accuracy and reliability.

Non-automatic Weighing Instruments Directive (2014/31/EU): Applies to non-automatic weighing instruments, ensuring their accuracy.

Noise Emission in the Environment by Equipment for Use Outdoors Directive (2000/14/EC): Applies to noise emission from outdoor equipment, ensuring environmental protection.

Marine Equipment Directive (2014/90/EU): Applies to marine equipment, ensuring its safety and performance.

In vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Directive (98/79/EC): Applies to in vitro diagnostic medical devices, ensuring their safety and performance.

Active Implantable Medical Devices Directive (90/385/EEC): Applies to active implantable medical devices, ensuring their safety and performance.

Radioactive Sources Directive (2013/59/EU): Applies to the safety of radioactive sources, ensuring their safe use and management.

Pyrotechnic Articles Directive (2013/29/EU): Applies to pyrotechnic articles, ensuring their safety and performance.

Explosives for Civil Uses Directive (2014/28/EU): Applies to explosives for civil uses, ensuring their safe manufacture, storage, and use.

Aerosol Dispensers Directive (75/324/EEC): Applies to aerosol dispensers, ensuring their safety.

RoHS Directive - (2011/65/EU): Restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment to reduce their environmental impact.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive (2012/19/EU): Aims to reduce the environmental impact of electrical and electronic equipment waste by promoting its reuse, recycling, and recovery.

Batteries and Accumulators and Waste Batteries and Accumulators Directive (2006/66/EC): Aims to minimize the impact of batteries and accumulators on the environment and promote the development of battery recycling.

End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV Directive - 2000/53/EC): Aims to reduce the environmental impact of end-of-life vehicles by promoting their reuse, recycling, and recovery.

Non-Automatic Weighing Instruments (NAWI Directive - 2014/31/EU): Ensures the accuracy of non-automatic weighing instruments, such as scales and balances.

The General Product Safety Directive (2001/95/EC): GPSD is a key piece of legislation in the European Union (EU) that aims to ensure that only safe consumer products are placed on the market. Unlike the CE marking directives we've discussed, the GPSD is not specific to any particular category of products but applies to all consumer products.

These directives set out the essential requirements that products must meet to be placed on the market within the EEA. Manufacturers must ensure that their products comply with these requirements and undergo the necessary conformity assessment procedures before affixing the CE marking.


Rules underlying CE Marking

CE marking is based on several key principles and rules that govern its use. These include:

1. Self-Declaration of Conformity: Manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that their products comply with all relevant EU requirements and for affixing the CE marking to their products. This is known as the principle of self-declaration of conformity.

2. Applicable Directives: Products must comply with the essential requirements of the relevant EU directives and regulations. The specific directives applicable to a product depend on its type and intended use.

3. Conformity Assessment: Depending on the product type and applicable directives, manufacturers may need to carry out a conformity assessment to demonstrate compliance. This assessment may involve testing, documentation review, and quality management system audits.

4. Technical Documentation: Manufacturers must maintain technical documentation that demonstrates the conformity of their products with the applicable requirements. This documentation must be made available to authorities upon request.

5. CE Marking Affixing: The CE marking must be affixed to the product or its packaging before it is placed on the market. The marking must be visible, legible, and indelible.

6. Authorized Representative: Manufacturers located outside the EU must appoint an authorized representative within the EU to act on their behalf in relation to the conformity of their products.

7. Market Surveillance: EU member states are responsible for market surveillance to ensure that products comply with EU requirements. They may take action against non-compliant products, including imposing fines and withdrawing products from the market.

8. Traceability: Manufacturers must ensure that their products can be traced back to them, including information on the manufacturer's identity, the product's serial or batch number, and the date of manufacture.

By following these principles and rules, manufacturers can ensure that their products comply with EU requirements and can be legally placed on the market in the European Economic Area (EEA) with the CE marking.


CE Modules

CE marking involves different conformity assessment procedures, known as "modules," which are outlined in the New Approach Directives. These modules specify the steps that manufacturers must follow to demonstrate conformity with the applicable EU requirements. The choice of module depends on the product type and its associated risks. Some common modules include:

1. Module A (Internal Production Control): This module involves the manufacturer undertaking internal production control measures to ensure that the product conforms to the requirements of the relevant directive.

2. Module B (EC Type Examination): In this module, a notified body examines the product design and verifies that it meets the requirements of the directive. The manufacturer then uses this examination to ensure conformity during production.

3. Module C (Conformity to Type): This module involves the manufacturer issuing an EC Declaration of Conformity based on the product's conformity to an approved type.

4. Module D (Production Quality Assurance): This module requires the manufacturer to implement a quality assurance system for production and carry out internal control checks.

5. Module E (Product Quality Assurance): In this module, the manufacturer implements a product quality assurance system and verifies the conformity of each product.

6. Module F (Product Verification): This module involves the manufacturer verifying the product's conformity to the requirements of the directive through sample testing.

7. Module G (Unit Verification): This module requires the manufacturer to verify the conformity of each product unit through individual testing.

8. Module H (Full Quality Assurance): This module involves a comprehensive quality assurance system covering design, production, and final product inspection.

The choice of module depends on factors such as the nature of the product, its associated risks, and the requirements of the relevant directive. Manufacturers must carefully select the appropriate module and follow the corresponding conformity assessment procedures to ensure that their products comply with EU requirements and can be legally placed on the market with the CE marking.


10 Steps to CE Marking (General)

Step 1
Identify the Directive/s that is/are applicable to your product. You can download these directives free of charge from the EU website. If your product does not fall under any of these Directives, 'CE' marking is not possible at present. However, all products must comply with the provisions of the General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC.
You may wish to demonstrate that your manufacturing and/or sales and distribution activities comply with best practice, therefore you may consider Certification by SPC to ISO 9001:2015.

Step 2
Identify the conformity assessment procedure that must be taken. This could be self-declaration, involve testing, inspection or quality system assessment from a Certification Body or a combination of these. The conformity assessment procedure will differ depending on your product and the Directive in respect of which you will be CE Marking.

Step 3
Determine the date by which you must take action. This will be the date that the Directive comes into force. The majority of Directives are already in force. In these cases, it is an offense to place a product on the market without CE Marking because it indicates a presumption of conformity with all relevant legislation.

Step 4
Identify if there are any Harmonized European Standards applicable to your product. These are not always mandatory for manufacturers although there is a presumption that conformity to these standards will give conformity to the relevant part of the Directive. Whenever possible or appropriate, manufacturers should follow harmonized standards.

Step 5
Ensure the product complies with all the essential requirements of the Directive(s). Take appropriate measures to comply or identify existing data and test reports.

Step 6
Identify whether independent assessment of your conformity to the Directive, or some aspects of it, is required from a Certification Body. This will be stated in the Directive and is dependent upon the product you are CE Marking. You must not affix CE Marking to your product until all necessary certifications have been obtained from the Certification Body.

Step 7
Maintain technical documentation required by the Directive(s). Your technical documentation should support your compliance with the requirements of the Directive. It is essential to retain this documentation.

Step 8
Prepare the Declaration of Conformity and the required supporting evidence. The Declaration of Conformity along with the Technical Documentation should be available to Competent Authorities (EU Members) upon request.

Step 9
Check that no other purely national requirements exist in the countries where the product will be sold. These may include national standards, labeling or packaging requirements.

Step 10
Affix CE Marking on your product and/or its packaging and accompanying literature as stated in the Directive.

To get CE Marking Certification please contact: info@spcertification.net


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