CE marking: which products need it and who puts it on

CE marking is the manufacturer’s own statement that a product meets the EU law written for its product type. The rule that keeps it off every other product is in Regulation (EC) No 765/2008Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, accreditation and market surveillance (CE marking)The whole regulationClick opens the law on the EU Publications Office. (Art. 30(2)Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, accreditation and market surveillance (CE marking)Article 30, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

The Commission’s own list goes further: drones, pyrotechnic products, recreational craft, pressure equipment, gas appliances, batteries, measuring instruments and medical devices also carry CE marking under their own laws (Your Europe). The full set of laws built on the same model is on the Commission’s new legislative framework page.

Some product laws have no CE marking at all. Cosmetics carry none: Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Cosmetic Products RegulationThe whole regulationClick opens the law on the EU Publications Office., which governs them, has no CE marking and no declaration of conformity in its text, and neither has textile labelling, Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011, Textile Labelling RegulationThe whole regulationClick opens the law on the EU Publications Office.. What a cosmetic needs instead is in EU Cosmetics Regulation. Not every product has a declaration of conformity, and what answers the ask for one of those is in the GPSR certificate guide.

A product that no CE law covers still has a safety law: GPSR applies wherever no specific EU law with the same objective does (Art. 2(1)Regulation (EU) 2023/988, General Product Safety RegulationArticle 2, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). What that means for you is in the page on whether GPSR applies to you.

Putting a CE marking on such a product is not a harmless extra. The marking may be affixed only where a law provides for it (Art. 30(2)Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, accreditation and market surveillance (CE marking)Article 30, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.), and each EU country sets the penalties for improper use, which may include criminal sanctions for serious infringements (Art. 30(6)Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, accreditation and market surveillance (CE marking)Article 30, paragraph 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

The Toy Safety Regulation applies from 1 August 2030, and a toy placed on the market in conformity with Directive 2009/48/ECDirective 2009/48/EC, Toy Safety DirectiveThe whole regulationClick opens the law on the EU Publications Office. before that date may still be sold (Art. 59Regulation (EU) 2025/2509, Toy Safety RegulationArticle 59Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 57(1)Regulation (EU) 2025/2509, Toy Safety RegulationArticle 57, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Under it the manufacturer creates a digital product passport for each toy model before placing it on the market, stating that compliance has been demonstrated, and the passport takes the place of the EU declaration of conformity (Art. 7(2)Regulation (EU) 2025/2509, Toy Safety RegulationArticle 7, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 19Regulation (EU) 2025/2509, Toy Safety RegulationArticle 19Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Which other products need a passport, and from when, is on digital product passport. The Machinery Regulation applies from 20 January 2027 (Art. 54Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, Machinery Regulation (consolidated text of 27 July 2026)Article 54Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The Official Journal text of 29 June 2023 printed 14 January 2027; the corrigendum of 4 July 2023 corrected it. Machinery placed on the market in conformity with Directive 2006/42/ECDirective 2006/42/EC, Machinery Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)The whole regulationClick opens the law on the EU Publications Office. before 20 January 2027 may still be sold (Art. 52(1)Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, Machinery Regulation (consolidated text of 27 July 2026)Article 52, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

Radio equipment is taken out of the low-voltage Directive and covered by the radio Directive instead, its electrical safety included (Art. 1(4)Directive 2014/53/EU, Radio Equipment Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 1, paragraph 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). A mains appliance without a radio in it usually falls under both of the other two: the low-voltage Directive for electrical safety, the compatibility Directive for interference. An electrical or electronic product is usually also under the RoHS Directive, which limits the substances inside it (Art. 2(1)Directive 2011/65/EU, Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS)Article 2, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

Your own brand makes you the manufacturer. An importer or distributor who places a product on the market under its own name or trade mark, or modifies it in a way that can affect compliance, takes on every duty of the manufacturer (Art. 10Directive 2014/35/EU, Low Voltage Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 10Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). A white-label product bought from a factory and sold under your brand is yours to assess, document, declare and mark.

If you import, you check the manufacturer’s work. Before placing the product on the market you ensure the conformity assessment was carried out, the technical documentation exists, the product bears the CE marking and comes with the required documents, and it carries the manufacturer’s type or serial number and name and postal address (Art. 8(2)Directive 2014/35/EU, Low Voltage Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 8, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). You add your own name and postal address (Art. 8(3)Directive 2014/35/EU, Low Voltage Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 8, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.), make sure instructions and safety information are in a language consumers in that EU country easily understand (Art. 8(4)Directive 2014/35/EU, Low Voltage Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 8, paragraph 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.), and keep a copy of the declaration for 10 years (Art. 8(8)Directive 2014/35/EU, Low Voltage Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 8, paragraph 8Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Where you have reason to believe the product does not conform, you do not place it on the market until it does (Art. 8(2)Directive 2014/35/EU, Low Voltage Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 8, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., second subparagraph).

If you resell, you check what is on the box. A distributorArt. 3(11)any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes a product available on the marketClick the term for the full definition verifies that the product bears the CE marking, comes with the required documents and with instructions and safety information in the buyer’s language, and carries the manufacturer’s and importer’s details (Art. 9(2)Directive 2014/35/EU, Low Voltage Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 9, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). You are not the one who assesses conformity, and you are not expected to hold the technical documentation.

The Blue Guide on distributors: “Market surveillance authorities have the possibility to address their request for the technical documentation directly to the distributor. The latter is however not expected to be in possession of the relevant documentation.” On importers: the checks “Neither do they imply the need for importers to systematically resort to additional control procedures or (third- party) testing, nor do they preclude them from doing so.”

The articles cited for each role above are the low-voltage Directive’s. Every law in the table carries the same set of duties under its own numbers, taken from the model in Decision No 768/2008/EC (Art. R2 manufacturer, R4 importer, R5 distributor, R6 own brand):

Importers keep the declaration for 10 years under each of them: low voltage Art. 8(8)Directive 2014/35/EU, Low Voltage Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 8, paragraph 8Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., compatibility Art. 9(7)Directive 2014/30/EU, Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 9, paragraph 7Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., radio Art. 12(8)Directive 2014/53/EU, Radio Equipment Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 12, paragraph 8Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., restricted substances Art. 9(g)Directive 2011/65/EU, Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS)Article 9, point (g)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., toys Art. 6(8)Directive 2009/48/EC, Toy Safety DirectiveArticle 6, paragraph 8Click opens the article on EUR-Lex. and protective equipment Art. 10(8)Regulation (EU) 2016/425, Personal Protective Equipment RegulationArticle 10, paragraph 8Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.. The Machinery Directive predates that model: it puts the duties on the manufacturer or its authorised representative only (Art. 5(1)Directive 2006/42/EC, Machinery Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 5, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The Machinery Regulation adds importer and distributor duties from 20 January 2027 (Art. 13Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, Machinery Regulation (consolidated text of 27 July 2026)Article 13Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 15Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, Machinery Regulation (consolidated text of 27 July 2026)Article 15Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

The technical file and the declaration of conformity

Three things stand behind the marking, all of them the manufacturer’s work and all done before the product is placed on the market.

The technical documentation. It shows how the product meets the requirements. For electrical equipment it holds at least a general description, design and manufacturing drawings, the explanations needed to read them, the harmonised standards applied or the other solutions adopted, design calculations and examinations, and test reports, with an analysis and assessment of the risks (Annex III, Module A, point 2, of Directive 2014/35/EU). The manufacturer keeps it for 10 years after the product is placed on the market (Art. 6(3)Directive 2014/35/EU, Low Voltage Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 6, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). For a product under one of these laws this is the file that counts: GPSR’s own documentation duty does not apply to it (GPSR Art. 2(1)(b)Regulation (EU) 2023/988, General Product Safety RegulationArticle 2, paragraph 1, point (b)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). What each law asks the file to hold, and who keeps it, is in CE technical file. GPSR technical documentation is the file for products that no EU product-specific law (Union harmonisation legislation) covers; a cosmetic, for one, has its own product information file under the Cosmetics Regulation (Art. 11Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Cosmetic Products RegulationArticle 11Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

The conformity assessment. For most consumer electrical goods the manufacturer does it alone, by internal production control, and declares conformity on its sole responsibility (Art. 6(2)Directive 2014/35/EU, Low Voltage Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 6, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.; Annex III, Module A). Some laws bring in a notified body, an independent body a national authority has appointed. A toy made without harmonised standards that cover all its safety requirements goes to a notified body for EC-type examination (Art. 19Directive 2009/48/EC, Toy Safety DirectiveArticle 19Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Where a notified body is involved in the production control phase, its four-digit number follows the CE marking (Decision No 768/2008/EC, Art. R12(3)).

The EU declaration of conformity. A signed statement that the product meets the laws named in it. The manufacturer draws it up, keeps it up to date, and has it translated into the language or languages the EU country where the product is sold requires; one declaration covers every law that applies (Art. 15Directive 2014/35/EU, Low Voltage Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 15Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). By drawing it up the manufacturer assumes responsibility for compliance (Art. 15(4)Directive 2014/35/EU, Low Voltage Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 15, paragraph 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). What goes into a declaration of conformity, who signs it and a template to fill in are on its own page.

For most products the declaration stays on file and goes to the authority on request. For some it travels with the product: each item of radio equipment comes with a copy of the declaration or a simplified one giving the web address of the full text (Art. 10(9)Directive 2014/53/EU, Radio Equipment Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 10, paragraph 9Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.), machinery comes with the declaration too (Art. 5(1)Directive 2006/42/EC, Machinery Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 5, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., point (e)), and a construction product comes with its declaration of performance (Art. 7(1)Regulation (EU) No 305/2011, Construction Products Regulation (the 2011 Regulation)Article 7, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The new Construction Products Regulation is on its own page.

The Blue Guide lists the laws that make the declaration travel with the product: “machinery, equipment in potentially explosive atmospheres, radio equipment, measuring instruments, recreational craft, lifts, high-speed and conventional rail systems and constituents of the European Air Traffic Management network”. It also says the declaration “may take the form of a document, a label or equivalent”.

Your Europe: “The CE marking refers to the compliance of the product at the moment it was placed on the EU market.” A change in the law, the product or the contact details means the declaration “must be reviewed and updated accordingly”.

The EU contact on the product

Every law in the table except the Cyber Resilience Act is on the list in Art. 4(5)Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Market Surveillance RegulationArticle 4, paragraph 5Click opens the article on EUR-Lex. of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Market Surveillance RegulationThe whole regulationClick opens the law on the EU Publications Office.. So a product under any of the others may be placed on the market only if an economic operatorArt. 3(13)the manufacturer, the authorised representative, the importer, the distributor, the fulfilment service provider or any other natural or legal person who is subject to obligations in relation to the manufacture of products or making them available on the market ...Click the term for the full definition based in the EU answers for it (Art. 4(1)Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Market Surveillance RegulationArticle 4, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.): the EU manufacturer; the importer, where the manufacturer is outside the EU; an authorised representative with a written mandate; or, only where none of those exists, an EU fulfilment service provider for the products it handles (Art. 4(2)Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Market Surveillance RegulationArticle 4, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). That operator verifies that the declaration and the technical documentation have been drawn up, keeps the declaration available to the authorities, and makes sure the documentation can be produced on request (Art. 4(3)Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Market Surveillance RegulationArticle 4, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., point (a)). Its name and contact details, postal address included, go on the product, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document (Art. 4(4)Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Market Surveillance RegulationArticle 4, paragraph 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

Selling from outside the EU does not take you out of this. An offer online is making the product available in the EU when it is targeted at end users there (Art. 6Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Market Surveillance RegulationArticle 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Who may hold the role, and what it costs, is the EU Responsible Person; how it differs from an authorised representative is EU authorised representative.

eBay’s own list of what a business listing for the EU and Northern Ireland must carry ends with “The CE marking when required by the related regulations applicable to your product”, and its description of the EU-based responsible person’s tasks begins with “Checking that the EU declaration of conformity, CE marking, and other technical documentations are in order” (eBay Seller Center). That wording was read on 5 October 2026. It is marketplace policy, not law, and it changes without notice.

From the UK government’s guidance, updated 21 August 2026:

• “the UK continues to recognise the CE marking, alongside or in place of the UKCA marking, for the Great Britain market”.
• Northern Ireland takes “CE, or CE and United Kingdom Northern Ireland (UKNI) marked products”.
• “The UKCA marking does not apply in the Crown dependencies (Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man).”
• The UKCA marking may go “on a label affixed to the product, or on a document accompanying the product, until 11pm on 31 December 2027”.

If the marking or the paperwork is missing

The authority’s first step is an order to put it right. Where it finds the CE marking missing or wrongly affixed, the declaration missing or wrong, the technical documentation unavailable or incomplete, or the manufacturer’s or importer’s details absent, false or incomplete, it requires the operator concerned to end the non-compliance. If that persists, it restricts or prohibits the product, or has it recalled or withdrawn (low voltage Art. 22Directive 2014/35/EU, Low Voltage Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 22Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.; the same rule is compatibility Art. 40Directive 2014/30/EU, Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 40Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., radio Art. 43Directive 2014/53/EU, Radio Equipment Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 43Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., toys Art. 45Directive 2009/48/EC, Toy Safety DirectiveArticle 45Click opens the article on EUR-Lex. and protective equipment Art. 41Regulation (EU) 2016/425, Personal Protective Equipment RegulationArticle 41Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

Penalties are set by each EU country, which must make them effective, proportionate and dissuasive (low voltage Art. 24Directive 2014/35/EU, Low Voltage Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 24Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.; the same rule is compatibility Art. 42Directive 2014/30/EU, Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive (consolidated text of 30 May 2026)Article 42Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). For improper use of the CE marking they may include criminal sanctions for serious infringements (Art. 30(6)Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, accreditation and market surveillance (CE marking)Article 30, paragraph 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 41Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, accreditation and market surveillance (CE marking)Article 41Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

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