Top 12 Facts about CE Marking of Electrical and Electronic Equipment.

Placed on many categories of products, CE Marking is mandatory for machinery, electrical and electronic equipment, medical devices, hazardous location equipment, and other products. So if you are looking to sell an electronics product in the EU, you will need to apply a CE mark.

Here’s a Top 12 list of interesting facts about CE marking:

1. The CE mark, or formerly EC mark, is a mandatory conformity marking for certain products sold within the European Economic Area (EEA) since 1985
2. CE stands for Conformité Européenne (French), which means European conformity
3. CE marking is a self-declaration where a manufacturer proves compliance with EU health, safety and environmental protection legislation and confirms a product’s compliance with relevant requirements
4. With a CE mark, your product can be sold in the EU and in Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway
5. There are six steps to CE marking: 1. Identify the relevant directives and standards, 2. Verify the product’s specific requirements, 3. Identify whether an independent conformity assessment (Notified Body) is necessary, 4. Test product, 5. Create technical documentation, and 6. Add CE mark to the product
6. CE marking is not evidence of compliance – your technical documentation/technical file is
7. The manufacturer or authorized representative must keep technical documentation for a number of years (the number is dependent on the product type) after the last product has been placed on the market
8. Each EU country is responsible to enforce CE marking, by banning products and levying fines for non-compliance
9. Unsafe products are shared in the EU via RAPEX – a rapid alert system on measures taken to prevent or restrict the marketing or use of products posing a serious risk to the health and safety of consumers
10. There is a very similar logo where the CE stands for Chinese Export or China Export – this has nothing to do with European conformity
11. The size of the CE mark must be at least 5 mm high.  If the appearance or size of a product do not allow for the CE marking to be affixed on the product itself, the marking has to be affixed to its packaging or accompanying documents
12. Pre-testing early in the product development process can reduce cost and time to market

MET Labs has tested thousands of products to support CE Marking Declarations of Conformity (DoC) for product safety, electromagnetic compatibility, and energy efficiency.  Contact us today to tap the experience and skill of the MET engineering team.