Certifying Your Product with CE Marking
The CE marking (an acronym for the French “Conformite Europeenne”) certifies that a product has met EU health, safety, and environmental requirements, which ensure consumer safety. Manufacturers in the European Union (EU) and abroad must meet CE marking requirements where applicable in order to market their products in Europe.
Manufacturers in the European Union (EU) and abroad must meet CE marking requirements where applicable in order to market their products in Europe.
Countries That Require CE Marking
| Greece Norway Germany United Kingdom Netherlands France Turkey Malta Finland Switzerland Luxembourg Estonia Sweden Lithuania Denmark Spain Liechtenstein | Czech Republic Slovenia Latvia Cyprus Slovakia Italy Croatia Romania Ireland Bulgaria Portugal Iceland Belgium Poland Hungary Austria |
A manufacturer who has gone through the conformity assessment process may affix the CE marking to the product. With the CE marking, the product may be marketed throughout the EU. CE marking now provides product access to 32 countries with a population of nearly 500 million.
Testing/Certifying Labs
If you are not permitted to self-certify your product, you will need to employ the services of a testing laboratory that is affiliated with a “European Notified Body” to test and certify your product for the CE marking. There are labs in the U.S. that subcontract for European notified bodies and are qualified to do the testing and certifying. We have provided a list of labs, including labs affiliated with notified bodies as well as labs that are not authorized with a notified body, but which are independent labs and can test that a product covered by a non-regulated directive (such as the EMC or Low Voltage Directives), has met a European standard.
See the Testing/Certifying Labs.
Consultants/Ordering Standards
If you are permitted to self-certify your product, you may need to order the standards that apply to your product, particularly in the case of the Low Voltage and EMC Directives. We have provided sources for ordering standards and for locating CE Marking consultancy services:
See the Consultants/Ordering Standards.
For more information and FAQs on CE marking, visit the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
