What products need CE marking

A product needs CE marking when an EU law written for its type provides for it: toys, electrical and radio equipment, machinery, protective equipment, medical devices, batteries and the other groups in the table below, each with its law. Choose a product type to see the laws that may apply to it. A product that no such law covers must not carry the CE marking (Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, Art. 30(2)).

Law data checked

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For example: led lamp, phone charger, drone, bicycle helmet. A name you type is used instead of the product type above.

Laws that may apply

Light bulb, LED lamp, light fitting or string lights. These laws may apply. Each is listed because its scope covers products of this type in general; the scope article of each law decides for your exact product, and what the law leaves out is shown with it.

A low-voltage LED strip rated below 50 V AC or 75 V DC is outside the Low Voltage Directive (Directive 2014/35/EU, Art. 1); the mains power supply that feeds it is a product of its own. A smart bulb or any other lamp with a radio falls under the Radio Equipment Directive, which brings the electrical-safety objectives of the Low Voltage Directive with it, and not under the Low Voltage and EMC Directives as separate laws (Directive 2014/53/EU Art. 1(4); Directive 2014/30/EU Art. 2(2)(a)).

  • Low-voltage electrical equipment. Directive 2014/35/EU. May apply if it is rated 50 to 1,000 V AC or 75 to 1,500 V DC, which includes mains equipment, and has no radio: with a radio, the Radio Equipment Directive covers its electrical safety instead (Directive 2014/53/EU Art. 1(4)). Covers: Electrical equipment designed for use with a voltage rating of between 50 and 1,000 V for alternating current and between 75 and 1,500 V for direct current (Art. 1). CE marking: required (Art. 17). What it asks of you: Low Voltage Directive. Outside its scope:
    • The equipment and phenomena in Annex II, among them equipment for explosive atmospheres, radiology and medical equipment, electrical parts for lifts, electricity meters, plugs and sockets for domestic use, and electric fence controllers (Art. 1).
    • Radio equipment within the Radio Equipment Directive: it is not subject to this Directive, except for the safety objectives that Directive points back to (Directive 2014/53/EU Art. 1(4)).
  • Electromagnetic compatibility. Directive 2014/30/EU. May apply if it has electrical or electronic parts but no radio. Covers: Equipment, meaning any apparatus or fixed installation; an apparatus is a finished appliance made available as a single functional unit for the end-user that is liable to cause electromagnetic disturbance or whose performance such disturbance can affect (Art. 2(1), Art. 3(1)). CE marking: required (Art. 17). What it asks of you: EMC Directive. Outside its scope:
    • Radio equipment, which the Radio Equipment Directive covers (Art. 2(2)(a); Directive 2014/53/EU Art. 50), aviation products covered by Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, radio amateur equipment not made available on the market, and custom-built evaluation kits for professionals (Art. 2(2)).
    • Equipment that by its nature cannot cause disturbance above the permitted level and works without unacceptable degradation in the disturbance to be expected (Art. 2(2)(d)).
  • Radio equipment. Directive 2014/53/EU. May apply if it has a radio: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, GPS or a radio remote. Covers: Electrical or electronic products that intentionally emit or receive radio waves for radio communication or radiodetermination, or that must be completed with an accessory such as an antenna to do so (Art. 1(1), Art. 2(1)). CE marking: required (Art. 20). What it asks of you: Radio Equipment Directive. Outside its scope:
    • The equipment in Annex I: radio amateur equipment not made available on the market, marine equipment under Directive 96/98/EC, aviation products covered by Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, and custom-built evaluation kits for professionals (Art. 1(2)).
    • Radio equipment used exclusively for public security, defence, State security and criminal law (Art. 1(3)).
  • Restricted substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS). Directive 2011/65/EU. Covers: Electrical and electronic equipment: equipment that depends on electric currents or electromagnetic fields to work properly, designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1,000 V for alternating current and 1,500 V for direct current (Art. 2(1), Art. 3(1)). CE marking: required (Art. 15). What it asks of you: RoHS compliance. Outside its scope:
    • Equipment necessary to protect the essential security interests of EU countries, including arms, munitions and war material intended for specifically military purposes, and equipment designed to be sent into space (Art. 2(4)(a), (b)).
    • Large-scale stationary industrial tools and large-scale fixed installations (Art. 2(4)(d), (e)).
    • Means of transport for persons or goods, except electric two-wheel vehicles that are not type-approved (Art. 2(4)(f)).
    • Non-road mobile machinery made available only for professional use, active implantable medical devices, photovoltaic panels in a professionally installed system, and equipment for research and development sold only between businesses (Art. 2(4)(g) to (j)).
  • Ecodesign requirements. Directive 2009/125/EC and its implementing regulations (for the product types a regulation covers, such as Regulation (EU) 2019/2020 for light sources and Regulation (EU) 2019/1782 for external power supplies), Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (for the product groups a delegated act covers). May apply if it is a light source or separate control gear, which Regulation (EU) 2019/2020 covers. Covers: Energy-related products, meaning goods that have an impact on energy consumption during use, once an implementing regulation covers the product type; under the ESPR, products that a delegated act covers (Directive 2009/125/EC, Art. 1(2), Art. 2(1); Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, Art. 4(1)). CE marking: Before a product covered by an implementing measure is placed on the market, a CE marking is affixed and an EC declaration of conformity issued; Art. 79(1)(b) of the ESPR keeps that Article in force for such products until the measures are repealed or declared obsolete. A product covered by an ESPR delegated act carries the CE marking under Arts. 45 and 46, unless the delegated act sets alternative marking rules (Art. 4(6)(d)) (Directive 2009/125/EC, Art. 5(1); Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, Art. 45, Art. 46, Art. 79(1)(b)). What it asks of you: Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. Outside its scope:
    • Means of transport for persons or goods (Directive 2009/125/EC Art. 1(3)).
    • A product type that no implementing regulation and no delegated act covers has no ecodesign requirement and no CE duty from this law.
  • Batteries. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. May apply if a battery is built in or comes with it. Covers: All categories of batteries, whatever their shape, volume, weight, design, material composition, chemistry, use or purpose, including batteries incorporated into or added to products or specifically designed to be (Art. 1(3)). CE marking: required (Art. 38(3)). It applies from 18 August 2024 (Art. 96(2)). What it asks of you: EU Battery Regulation. Outside its scope:
    • Batteries incorporated into or designed for equipment connected with the protection of EU countries' essential security interests, arms, munitions and war material, and equipment designed to be sent into space (Art. 1(5)).
  • Connected products (cybersecurity). Regulation (EU) 2024/2847. May apply if it can connect to a device or network (CE marking from 11 December 2027). Covers: Products with digital elements made available on the market whose intended purpose or reasonably foreseeable use includes a direct or indirect logical or physical data connection to a device or network (Art. 2(1)). CE marking: required (Art. 29). The CE marking applies from 11 December 2027 (Art. 71(2)); the reporting duty in Art. 14 has applied since 11 September 2026. What it asks of you: Cyber Resilience Act. Outside its scope:
    • Products covered by the Medical Devices Regulation, the In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation or Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 on motor vehicles (Art. 2(2)).
    • Products certified under Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 on civil aviation, and equipment within Directive 2014/90/EU on marine equipment (Art. 2(3), (4)).

If no CE law covers it, it carries no CE marking and must not carry one (Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, Art. 30(2)). If it is a consumer product, its safety is then covered by Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR, Art. 2(1)), unless another EU law with the same objective regulates it. What it asks of you: GPSR and whether GPSR applies to you.

Not CE marking, but part of the same job:

  • Energy label (Regulation (EU) 2017/1369). The energy label, the scale A to G, for the product groups that have a delegated regulation, with the model entered in EPREL. It is a label, not a CE marking. EU energy label.
  • Chemicals in products (REACH) (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006). Limits on substances in products, such as nickel in jewellery and phthalates in plastics (Annex XVII), and a duty to pass on the name of a Candidate List substance above 0.1% by weight (Art. 33). It asks for no CE marking and no declaration of conformity. REACH compliance.

Law data checked 5 October 2026, from the Commission's CE marking and new legislative framework pages and the text of each law. The table of every product group that needs CE marking is further down this page.

The answer lists the laws that may apply. A law is on the list because its scope covers products of that type in general; the scope article of each law decides for your exact product, and what the law leaves out is shown with it. A name that is not one of the product names the list holds gets no answer, and the whole list, in place of a guess.

Every product group that needs CE marking

Each row is a group of products, the EU law that provides for its CE marking, and what that law covers. A product can fall under several of them at once. A single EU declaration of conformity then covers all the laws that apply (Directive 2014/35/EU, Art. 15(3)). A few rows are conditional or optional, as the CE marking column says: the CE marking goes only on the products that condition names, and on a fertilising product it is a choice.

Product groupEU lawWhat the law coversCE marking
Toys
Dolls, board games, building sets, plush toys
Directive 2009/48/EC (until 31 July 2030), Regulation (EU) 2025/2509 (from 1 August 2030)Products designed or intended, whether or not exclusively, for use in play by children under 14 years of age (Directive 2009/48/EC, Art. 2(1))
What the law leaves out
  • The products in Annex I, among them decorative objects for festivities, collectors' items marked for ages 14 and over, and bicycles with a saddle height over 435 mm (Art. 2(1)).
  • Playground equipment for public use, automatic playing machines for public use, toy vehicles with combustion engines, toy steam engines, and slings and catapults (Art. 2(2)).
Required (Directive 2009/48/EC, Art. 16(1)).
Low-voltage electrical equipment
Mains-powered appliances, chargers, lamps
Directive 2014/35/EU
What it asks of you: Low Voltage Directive
Electrical equipment designed for use with a voltage rating of between 50 and 1,000 V for alternating current and between 75 and 1,500 V for direct current (Art. 1)
What the law leaves out
  • The equipment and phenomena in Annex II, among them equipment for explosive atmospheres, radiology and medical equipment, electrical parts for lifts, electricity meters, plugs and sockets for domestic use, and electric fence controllers (Art. 1).
  • Radio equipment within the Radio Equipment Directive: it is not subject to this Directive, except for the safety objectives that Directive points back to (Directive 2014/53/EU Art. 1(4)).
Required (Art. 17).
Electromagnetic compatibility
Finished electrical and electronic appliances without a radio
Directive 2014/30/EU
What it asks of you: EMC Directive
Equipment, meaning any apparatus or fixed installation; an apparatus is a finished appliance made available as a single functional unit for the end-user that is liable to cause electromagnetic disturbance or whose performance such disturbance can affect (Art. 2(1), Art. 3(1))
What the law leaves out
  • Radio equipment, which the Radio Equipment Directive covers (Art. 2(2)(a); Directive 2014/53/EU Art. 50), aviation products covered by Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, radio amateur equipment not made available on the market, and custom-built evaluation kits for professionals (Art. 2(2)).
  • Equipment that by its nature cannot cause disturbance above the permitted level and works without unacceptable degradation in the disturbance to be expected (Art. 2(2)(d)).
Required (Art. 17).
Radio equipment
Phones, Bluetooth speakers, Wi-Fi devices, GPS trackers, radio remotes
Directive 2014/53/EU
What it asks of you: Radio Equipment Directive
Electrical or electronic products that intentionally emit or receive radio waves for radio communication or radiodetermination, or that must be completed with an accessory such as an antenna to do so (Art. 1(1), Art. 2(1))
What the law leaves out
  • The equipment in Annex I: radio amateur equipment not made available on the market, marine equipment under Directive 96/98/EC, aviation products covered by Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, and custom-built evaluation kits for professionals (Art. 1(2)).
  • Radio equipment used exclusively for public security, defence, State security and criminal law (Art. 1(3)).
Required (Art. 20).
Restricted substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS)
Any electrical or electronic equipment: appliances, lamps, tools, toys with electronics, consumer electronics
Directive 2011/65/EU
What it asks of you: RoHS compliance
Electrical and electronic equipment: equipment that depends on electric currents or electromagnetic fields to work properly, designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1,000 V for alternating current and 1,500 V for direct current (Art. 2(1), Art. 3(1))
What the law leaves out
  • Equipment necessary to protect the essential security interests of EU countries, including arms, munitions and war material intended for specifically military purposes, and equipment designed to be sent into space (Art. 2(4)(a), (b)).
  • Large-scale stationary industrial tools and large-scale fixed installations (Art. 2(4)(d), (e)).
  • Means of transport for persons or goods, except electric two-wheel vehicles that are not type-approved (Art. 2(4)(f)).
  • Non-road mobile machinery made available only for professional use, active implantable medical devices, photovoltaic panels in a professionally installed system, and equipment for research and development sold only between businesses (Art. 2(4)(g) to (j)).
Required (Art. 15).
Machinery
Power tools, lawnmowers, garden machines, safety components
Directive 2006/42/EC (before 20 January 2027), Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 (from 20 January 2027)
What it asks of you: Machinery Directive and Machinery Regulation
Machinery: an assembly fitted with a drive system other than directly applied human or animal effort, made of linked parts or components of which at least one moves, joined for a specific application; also interchangeable equipment, safety components, lifting accessories, chains, ropes and webbing, removable transmission devices, and partly completed machinery (Directive 2006/42/EC, Art. 1(1), Art. 2(a); Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, Art. 2(1), Art. 3(1))
What the law leaves out
  • Household appliances for domestic use, audio and video equipment, information technology equipment, ordinary office machinery, low-voltage switchgear and electric motors, where the Low Voltage Directive or the Radio Equipment Directive covers them (Directive Art. 1(2)(k); Regulation Art. 2(2)(p)). The Regulation takes electrically operated furniture and additive printing machinery for three-dimensional products back in.
  • Vehicles under type-approval rules, means of transport by air, on water and on rail, seagoing vessels, weapons, military and police machinery, and equipment for fairgrounds and amusement parks (Directive Art. 1(2); Regulation Art. 2(2)).
The CE marking goes on machinery and on the related products the law lists; partly completed machinery is outside the CE marking article of the Regulation (Directive 2006/42/EC, Art. 16; Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, Art. 24).
Noise of outdoor equipment
Lawnmowers, brush cutters, hedge trimmers, chain saws, leaf blowers, power generators
Directive 2000/14/ECEquipment for use outdoors that the Directive lists in Articles 12 and 13 and defines in Annex I (Art. 2(1), Art. 12, Art. 13)
What the law leaves out
  • Non-powered attachments sold separately, except hand-held concrete-breakers and picks and hydraulic hammers (Art. 2(1)).
  • Equipment primarily for transporting goods or persons by road, rail, air or waterway, and equipment specially made for military and police purposes and for emergency services (Art. 2(2)).
Required (Art. 4(1), with the indication of the guaranteed sound power level).
Personal protective equipment
Helmets, safety glasses, protective gloves, high-visibility clothing, safety footwear
Regulation (EU) 2016/425
What it asks of you: PPE Regulation
Equipment designed and manufactured to be worn or held by a person for protection against risks to that person's health or safety, interchangeable components essential to its protective function, and certain connexion systems (Art. 2(1), Art. 3(1))
What the law leaves out
  • PPE for the armed forces or law and order, for self-defence other than sport, and for exclusive use on seagoing vessels or aircraft under the international treaties (Art. 2(2)(a), (b), (d)).
  • PPE for private use against atmospheric conditions that are not extreme and against damp and water during dishwashing (Art. 2(2)(c)).
  • Head, face or eye protection covered by UNECE Regulation No 22 for motorcycle and moped helmets (Art. 2(2)(e)).
Required (Art. 17).
Construction products
Insulation, windows, doors, roof tiles, cement, plasterboard, flooring
Regulation (EU) No 305/2011, Regulation (EU) 2024/3110 (replaces it product family by product family)Any product or kit produced and placed on the market for incorporation in a permanent manner in construction works or parts of them, whose performance affects the performance of the works (Regulation (EU) No 305/2011, Art. 2(1))
What the law leaves out
  • A product that no harmonised standard covers and no European Technical Assessment was issued for needs no declaration of performance and must not carry the CE marking (Art. 4(1), Art. 8(2)).
The CE marking goes on products for which the manufacturer has drawn up a declaration of performance, which is where a harmonised standard covers the product or a European Technical Assessment was issued; without one it must not be affixed (Regulation (EU) No 305/2011, Art. 8(2)).
Medical devices
Thermometers, blood pressure monitors, hearing aids, wound dressings, surgical masks, contact lenses
Regulation (EU) 2017/745
What it asks of you: EU MDR
Any instrument, apparatus, appliance, software, implant, reagent, material or other article that its manufacturer intends for human beings for a medical purpose, such as the diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, prediction, prognosis, treatment or alleviation of disease or injury (Art. 2(1))
What the law leaves out
  • In vitro diagnostic devices (Regulation (EU) 2017/746), medicinal products, advanced therapy medicinal products, human blood products, cosmetic products, and certain transplants, tissues and cells (Art. 1(6)).
Required (Art. 20).
In vitro diagnostic medical devices
Pregnancy tests, infection tests, blood glucose test systems
Regulation (EU) 2017/746
What it asks of you: IVDR
Reagents, calibrators, control materials, kits, instruments, software and systems that the manufacturer intends to be used in vitro to examine specimens from the human body, including blood and tissue donations, solely or principally to give information on a physiological or pathological process or state, a congenital impairment and the other matters its definition lists (Art. 2(2))
What the law leaves out
  • Products for general laboratory use and research-use-only products, unless the manufacturer specifically intends them for in vitro diagnostic examination (Art. 1(3)(a)).
Required (Art. 18).
Batteries
Batteries of every kind, power banks, batteries built into products
Regulation (EU) 2023/1542
What it asks of you: EU Battery Regulation
All categories of batteries, whatever their shape, volume, weight, design, material composition, chemistry, use or purpose, including batteries incorporated into or added to products or specifically designed to be (Art. 1(3))
What the law leaves out
  • Batteries incorporated into or designed for equipment connected with the protection of EU countries' essential security interests, arms, munitions and war material, and equipment designed to be sent into space (Art. 1(5)).
Required (Art. 38(3)). It applies from 18 August 2024 (Art. 96(2)).
Connected products (cybersecurity)
Smart devices, electronics that connect to an app, installed software
Regulation (EU) 2024/2847
What it asks of you: Cyber Resilience Act
Products with digital elements made available on the market whose intended purpose or reasonably foreseeable use includes a direct or indirect logical or physical data connection to a device or network (Art. 2(1))
What the law leaves out
  • Products covered by the Medical Devices Regulation, the In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation or Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 on motor vehicles (Art. 2(2)).
  • Products certified under Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 on civil aviation, and equipment within Directive 2014/90/EU on marine equipment (Art. 2(3), (4)).
Required (Art. 29). The CE marking applies from 11 December 2027 (Art. 71(2)); the reporting duty in Art. 14 has applied since 11 September 2026.
Ecodesign requirements
Light sources, external power supplies and the other product types an ecodesign regulation covers
Directive 2009/125/EC and its implementing regulations (for the product types a regulation covers, such as Regulation (EU) 2019/2020 for light sources and Regulation (EU) 2019/1782 for external power supplies), Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (for the product groups a delegated act covers)Energy-related products, meaning goods that have an impact on energy consumption during use, once an implementing regulation covers the product type; under the ESPR, products that a delegated act covers (Directive 2009/125/EC, Art. 1(2), Art. 2(1); Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, Art. 4(1))
What the law leaves out
  • Means of transport for persons or goods (Directive 2009/125/EC Art. 1(3)).
  • A product type that no implementing regulation and no delegated act covers has no ecodesign requirement and no CE duty from this law.
Before a product covered by an implementing measure is placed on the market, a CE marking is affixed and an EC declaration of conformity issued; Art. 79(1)(b) of the ESPR keeps that Article in force for such products until the measures are repealed or declared obsolete. A product covered by an ESPR delegated act carries the CE marking under Arts. 45 and 46, unless the delegated act sets alternative marking rules (Art. 4(6)(d)) (Directive 2009/125/EC, Art. 5(1); Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, Art. 45, Art. 46, Art. 79(1)(b)).
Drones
Camera drones and other unmanned aircraft for the open category, remote identification add-ons
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945Unmanned aircraft systems intended for the open category of operations that carry a class identification label, and remote identification add-ons (Art. 2(1))
What the law leaves out
  • Privately built unmanned aircraft systems (Art. 2(1)(a)).
  • Unmanned aircraft systems intended to be operated exclusively indoors (Art. 2(4)).
Required (Art. 16).
Pressure equipment
Pressure vessels, boilers, piping, safety accessories
Directive 2014/68/EUThe design, manufacture and conformity assessment of pressure equipment and assemblies with a maximum allowable pressure PS greater than 0.5 bar (Art. 1(1))
What the law leaves out
  • Pipelines, water supply networks, simple pressure vessels covered by Directive 2014/29/EU, aerosol dispensers, equipment for the functioning of vehicles, and the other equipment Art. 1(2) lists.
The CE marking goes on equipment above the limits in Art. 4(1) and (2); equipment at or below them is built to sound engineering practice and shall not bear it, without prejudice to other harmonisation law that provides for it (Art. 4(3), Art. 19).
Simple pressure vessels
Compressed-air receivers and similar welded air or nitrogen vessels
Directive 2014/29/EUSimple pressure vessels manufactured in series: welded vessels for an internal gauge pressure above 0.5 bar that contain air or nitrogen and are not intended to be fired, with a maximum working pressure of up to 30 bar and a product of pressure and capacity of up to 10,000 bar.L (Art. 1(1))
What the law leaves out
  • A vessel without all the characteristics Art. 1(1) lists, for example a vessel for another fluid or above those limits; the Pressure Equipment Directive may then apply.
The CE marking goes on vessels of which the product of PS x V exceeds 50 bar.L; smaller vessels follow sound engineering practice and bear the inscriptions only (Art. 6(2), Art. 16).
Gas appliances
Gas cookers, gas heaters, gas barbecues, camping stoves, gas boilers, safety and regulating devices
Regulation (EU) 2016/426Appliances burning gaseous fuels used for cooking, refrigeration, air-conditioning, space heating, hot water production, lighting or washing, forced draught burners and heating bodies to be equipped with them, and fittings: safety, controlling and regulating devices designed to be incorporated into an appliance (Art. 1(1), Art. 2(1), (2))
What the law leaves out
  • Appliances specifically designed for use in industrial processes on industrial premises, for use on aircraft and railways, or for temporary use in laboratories for research (Art. 1(3)).
Required (Art. 17).
Equipment for explosive atmospheres (ATEX)
Explosion-proof equipment, protective systems, components for them
Directive 2014/34/EUEquipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres, safety, controlling and regulating devices for use outside them that contribute to the safe functioning of such equipment, and components for such equipment (Art. 1(1))
What the law leaves out
  • Medical devices for a medical environment, equipment where the explosion hazard comes only from explosive or unstable chemical substances, equipment for domestic and non-commercial use where an explosive atmosphere arises rarely and only from accidental fuel gas leakage, personal protective equipment, seagoing vessels, and means of transport other than vehicles intended for use in a potentially explosive atmosphere (Art. 1(2)).
Required (Art. 16).
Lifts
Passenger and goods lifts in buildings, lift safety components
Directive 2014/33/EULifts permanently serving buildings and constructions and intended for the transport of persons, persons and goods, or goods alone if the carrier is accessible and fitted with controls inside or within reach; also the safety components for lifts listed in Annex III (Art. 1(1))
What the law leaves out
  • Among others: lifting appliances with a speed of 0.15 m/s or less, construction site hoists, cableways including funicular railways, and lifts specially built for military or police purposes (Art. 1(2)).
Required (Art. 19).
Recreational craft
Boats of 2.5 m to 24 m, jet skis, boat engines, listed components
Directive 2013/53/EURecreational craft (watercraft of hull length from 2.5 m to 24 m intended for sports and leisure), personal watercraft, listed components sold separately, propulsion engines installed or intended for installation on watercraft, and watercraft after a major engine modification or major conversion (Art. 2(1), Art. 3)
What the law leaves out
  • For the design and construction requirements: racing craft labelled as such, canoes and kayaks propelled solely by human power, gondolas, pedalos, surfboards, original historical craft designed before 1950, and craft built for own use and not placed on the market within five years (Art. 2(2)(a)).
Required (Art. 18).
Measuring instruments
Water, gas, electricity and heat meters, taximeters, exhaust gas analysers
Directive 2014/32/EUThe measuring instruments defined in its instrument-specific Annexes: water meters, gas meters and volume conversion devices, active electrical energy meters, thermal energy meters, measuring systems for liquids other than water, automatic weighing instruments, taximeters, material measures, dimensional measuring instruments and exhaust gas analysers (Art. 2(1))
What the law leaves out
  • Any measuring instrument that is not one of those ten kinds (Art. 2(1)).
The CE marking and the supplementary metrology marking go on instruments of those ten kinds; whether an instrument must be used for a measuring task is for each EU country to prescribe (Art. 3(1)) (Art. 22, with the supplementary metrology marking).
Non-automatic weighing instruments
Shop scales, market scales, postal scales, scales for weighing patients
Directive 2014/31/EUNon-automatic weighing instruments, meaning weighing instruments that need an operator to intervene during weighing. The essential requirements and the CE duty cover instruments intended for trade, tolls and tariffs, legal use, weighing patients, making up medicines on prescription and direct sales to the public (Art. 1(1), (2); Art. 2(2); Art. 4; Art. 6(2))
What the law leaves out
  • An instrument intended only for other uses, such as weighing for private use, falls in category (g) of Art. 1(2) and has no CE duty under this Directive (Art. 1(2)(g), Art. 4, Art. 6(2)).
The CE marking goes on instruments intended for the uses in Art. 1(2)(a) to (f) (Art. 6(2), with the supplementary metrology marking).
Cableway installations
Subsystems and safety components for ski lifts, cable cars and chairlifts
Regulation (EU) 2016/424New cableway installations designed to transport persons, modifications that need a new authorisation, and subsystems and safety components for cableway installations (Art. 2(1))
What the law leaves out
  • Lifts covered by Directive 2014/33/EU, historic installations in service before 1 January 1986, installations for agricultural or forestry purposes, and installations for mountain shelters that carry only goods and specified persons (Art. 2(2)).
The CE marking goes on each subsystem and safety component made available on the market (Art. 21).
Pyrotechnic articles
Fireworks, sparklers and other pyrotechnic articles
Directive 2013/29/EUPyrotechnic articles (Art. 2(1))
What the law leaves out
  • Articles for non-commercial use by the armed forces, the police or fire departments, marine equipment under Directive 96/98/EC, articles for the aerospace industry, percussion caps specifically for toys, and explosives under Directive 93/15/EEC (Art. 2(2)).
Required (Art. 20).
Explosives for civil uses
Blasting explosives and detonators
Directive 2014/28/EUExplosives for civil uses: the materials and articles that the United Nations recommendations on the transport of dangerous goods put in Class 1 (Art. 1(1), Art. 2(1))
What the law leaves out
  • Explosives and ammunition for the armed forces or the police, pyrotechnic articles under Directive 2013/29/EU, and ammunition apart from the provisions of Articles 12 to 14 (Art. 1(2)).
Required (Art. 23).
EU fertilising products
Fertilisers, soil improvers, growing media, plant biostimulants
Regulation (EU) 2019/1009EU fertilising products: fertilising products that are CE marked when made available on the market (Art. 1(1), Art. 2(2))
What the law leaves out
  • Animal by-products subject to Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 and plant protection products covered by Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 (Art. 1(1)).
CE marking is optional here. A fertilising product without it can still be sold under national law and then falls outside this Regulation (recital 5) (Art. 18).
High-risk AI systems
AI systems that are safety components of regulated products, and the systems listed in Annex III
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (changes its dates)AI systems classed as high-risk: an AI system that is a safety component of a product, or is itself a product, covered by the Annex I laws and needing third-party conformity assessment under them, and the AI systems listed in Annex III (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Art. 6(1), (2))
What the law leaves out
  • An Annex III system that does not pose a significant risk of harm to health, safety or fundamental rights, in the way Art. 6(3) describes, is not high-risk.
The CE marking is for high-risk AI systems; a system provided digitally carries a digital CE marking (Art. 48). Its high-risk requirements (Chapter III, Sections 1 to 3) apply from 2 December 2027 for Annex III systems and from 2 August 2028 for Annex I products (Art. 113, as replaced by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744).

Laws that sit beside CE marking but are not CE marking

These laws apply to products too, and none of them is a CE marking. Some have a mark of their own; most ask for no mark at all. A product that no CE law covers is under its own law from this list, or under the General Product Safety Regulation.

SubjectEU lawWhat it asks
General product safetyRegulation (EU) 2023/988The safety law for consumer products where no more specific EU law regulates their safety. Where one does, it applies only to the aspects and risks that law does not cover (Art. 2(1)). Its text has no CE marking.
Chemicals in products (REACH)Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006Limits on substances in products, such as nickel in jewellery and phthalates in plastics (Annex XVII), and a duty to pass on the name of a Candidate List substance above 0.1% by weight (Art. 33). It asks for no CE marking and no declaration of conformity.
Energy labelRegulation (EU) 2017/1369The energy label, the scale A to G, for the product groups that have a delegated regulation, with the model entered in EPREL. It is a label, not a CE marking.
PackagingRegulation (EU) 2025/40Manufacturers draw up an EU declaration of conformity for packaging. A CE marking on packaging does not show that the packaging meets this Regulation (recital 109).
Cosmetic productsRegulation (EC) No 1223/2009Cosmetics have their own law: a safety assessment, a responsible person and a product information file. Its text has no CE marking and no declaration of conformity.
Textile labellingRegulation (EU) No 1007/2011Fibre names and fibre-composition labelling for textile products. Its text has no CE marking and no declaration of conformity.
Materials that touch foodRegulation (EC) No 1935/2004Safety rules for materials and articles meant to touch food, such as plates, mugs, bottles and containers. Its text has no CE marking.
Detergents and surfactantsRegulation (EC) No 648/2004 (in force today), Regulation (EU) 2026/405 (repeals it and applies from 23 September 2029, apart from Art. 4(3) and (4))Rules for the free movement of detergents and surfactants (Regulation (EU) 2026/405, Art. 1(1), Art. 37). The text of Regulation (EU) 2026/405 has no CE marking.
Transportable pressure equipmentDirective 2010/35/EUPressure receptacles and tanks used to transport Class 2 gases carry the Pi marking, not the CE marking (Art. 2(1), Art. 4(2)).
Marine equipmentDirective 2014/90/EUMarine equipment for EU ships carries the wheel mark, not the CE marking (Art. 9).

A worked example

You sell a mains-powered LED lamp. Type led lamp, or choose the lighting type, and on 5 October 2026 this is the answer:

Laws that may apply

Matched led lamp to Light bulb, LED lamp, light fitting or string lights. These laws may apply. Each is listed because its scope covers products of this type in general; the scope article of each law decides for your exact product, and what the law leaves out is shown with it.

A low-voltage LED strip rated below 50 V AC or 75 V DC is outside the Low Voltage Directive (Directive 2014/35/EU, Art. 1); the mains power supply that feeds it is a product of its own. A smart bulb or any other lamp with a radio falls under the Radio Equipment Directive, which brings the electrical-safety objectives of the Low Voltage Directive with it, and not under the Low Voltage and EMC Directives as separate laws (Directive 2014/53/EU Art. 1(4); Directive 2014/30/EU Art. 2(2)(a)).

  • Low-voltage electrical equipment. Directive 2014/35/EU. May apply if it is rated 50 to 1,000 V AC or 75 to 1,500 V DC, which includes mains equipment, and has no radio: with a radio, the Radio Equipment Directive covers its electrical safety instead (Directive 2014/53/EU Art. 1(4)). Covers: Electrical equipment designed for use with a voltage rating of between 50 and 1,000 V for alternating current and between 75 and 1,500 V for direct current (Art. 1). CE marking: required (Art. 17). What it asks of you: Low Voltage Directive. Outside its scope:
    • The equipment and phenomena in Annex II, among them equipment for explosive atmospheres, radiology and medical equipment, electrical parts for lifts, electricity meters, plugs and sockets for domestic use, and electric fence controllers (Art. 1).
    • Radio equipment within the Radio Equipment Directive: it is not subject to this Directive, except for the safety objectives that Directive points back to (Directive 2014/53/EU Art. 1(4)).
  • Electromagnetic compatibility. Directive 2014/30/EU. May apply if it has electrical or electronic parts but no radio. Covers: Equipment, meaning any apparatus or fixed installation; an apparatus is a finished appliance made available as a single functional unit for the end-user that is liable to cause electromagnetic disturbance or whose performance such disturbance can affect (Art. 2(1), Art. 3(1)). CE marking: required (Art. 17). What it asks of you: EMC Directive. Outside its scope:
    • Radio equipment, which the Radio Equipment Directive covers (Art. 2(2)(a); Directive 2014/53/EU Art. 50), aviation products covered by Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, radio amateur equipment not made available on the market, and custom-built evaluation kits for professionals (Art. 2(2)).
    • Equipment that by its nature cannot cause disturbance above the permitted level and works without unacceptable degradation in the disturbance to be expected (Art. 2(2)(d)).
  • Radio equipment. Directive 2014/53/EU. May apply if it has a radio: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, GPS or a radio remote. Covers: Electrical or electronic products that intentionally emit or receive radio waves for radio communication or radiodetermination, or that must be completed with an accessory such as an antenna to do so (Art. 1(1), Art. 2(1)). CE marking: required (Art. 20). What it asks of you: Radio Equipment Directive. Outside its scope:
    • The equipment in Annex I: radio amateur equipment not made available on the market, marine equipment under Directive 96/98/EC, aviation products covered by Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, and custom-built evaluation kits for professionals (Art. 1(2)).
    • Radio equipment used exclusively for public security, defence, State security and criminal law (Art. 1(3)).
  • Restricted substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS). Directive 2011/65/EU. Covers: Electrical and electronic equipment: equipment that depends on electric currents or electromagnetic fields to work properly, designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1,000 V for alternating current and 1,500 V for direct current (Art. 2(1), Art. 3(1)). CE marking: required (Art. 15). What it asks of you: RoHS compliance. Outside its scope:
    • Equipment necessary to protect the essential security interests of EU countries, including arms, munitions and war material intended for specifically military purposes, and equipment designed to be sent into space (Art. 2(4)(a), (b)).
    • Large-scale stationary industrial tools and large-scale fixed installations (Art. 2(4)(d), (e)).
    • Means of transport for persons or goods, except electric two-wheel vehicles that are not type-approved (Art. 2(4)(f)).
    • Non-road mobile machinery made available only for professional use, active implantable medical devices, photovoltaic panels in a professionally installed system, and equipment for research and development sold only between businesses (Art. 2(4)(g) to (j)).
  • Ecodesign requirements. Directive 2009/125/EC and its implementing regulations (for the product types a regulation covers, such as Regulation (EU) 2019/2020 for light sources and Regulation (EU) 2019/1782 for external power supplies), Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (for the product groups a delegated act covers). May apply if it is a light source or separate control gear, which Regulation (EU) 2019/2020 covers. Covers: Energy-related products, meaning goods that have an impact on energy consumption during use, once an implementing regulation covers the product type; under the ESPR, products that a delegated act covers (Directive 2009/125/EC, Art. 1(2), Art. 2(1); Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, Art. 4(1)). CE marking: Before a product covered by an implementing measure is placed on the market, a CE marking is affixed and an EC declaration of conformity issued; Art. 79(1)(b) of the ESPR keeps that Article in force for such products until the measures are repealed or declared obsolete. A product covered by an ESPR delegated act carries the CE marking under Arts. 45 and 46, unless the delegated act sets alternative marking rules (Art. 4(6)(d)) (Directive 2009/125/EC, Art. 5(1); Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, Art. 45, Art. 46, Art. 79(1)(b)). What it asks of you: Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. Outside its scope:
    • Means of transport for persons or goods (Directive 2009/125/EC Art. 1(3)).
    • A product type that no implementing regulation and no delegated act covers has no ecodesign requirement and no CE duty from this law.
  • Batteries. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. May apply if a battery is built in or comes with it. Covers: All categories of batteries, whatever their shape, volume, weight, design, material composition, chemistry, use or purpose, including batteries incorporated into or added to products or specifically designed to be (Art. 1(3)). CE marking: required (Art. 38(3)). It applies from 18 August 2024 (Art. 96(2)). What it asks of you: EU Battery Regulation. Outside its scope:
    • Batteries incorporated into or designed for equipment connected with the protection of EU countries' essential security interests, arms, munitions and war material, and equipment designed to be sent into space (Art. 1(5)).
  • Connected products (cybersecurity). Regulation (EU) 2024/2847. May apply if it can connect to a device or network (CE marking from 11 December 2027). Covers: Products with digital elements made available on the market whose intended purpose or reasonably foreseeable use includes a direct or indirect logical or physical data connection to a device or network (Art. 2(1)). CE marking: required (Art. 29). The CE marking applies from 11 December 2027 (Art. 71(2)); the reporting duty in Art. 14 has applied since 11 September 2026. What it asks of you: Cyber Resilience Act. Outside its scope:
    • Products covered by the Medical Devices Regulation, the In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation or Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 on motor vehicles (Art. 2(2)).
    • Products certified under Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 on civil aviation, and equipment within Directive 2014/90/EU on marine equipment (Art. 2(3), (4)).

If no CE law covers it, it carries no CE marking and must not carry one (Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, Art. 30(2)). If it is a consumer product, its safety is then covered by Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR, Art. 2(1)), unless another EU law with the same objective regulates it. What it asks of you: GPSR and whether GPSR applies to you.

Not CE marking, but part of the same job:

  • Energy label (Regulation (EU) 2017/1369). The energy label, the scale A to G, for the product groups that have a delegated regulation, with the model entered in EPREL. It is a label, not a CE marking. EU energy label.
  • Chemicals in products (REACH) (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006). Limits on substances in products, such as nickel in jewellery and phthalates in plastics (Annex XVII), and a duty to pass on the name of a Candidate List substance above 0.1% by weight (Art. 33). It asks for no CE marking and no declaration of conformity. REACH compliance.

Law data checked 5 October 2026, from the Commission's CE marking and new legislative framework pages and the text of each law. The table of every product group that needs CE marking is further down this page.

A mains lamp is rated for the mains voltage, which is inside the 50 to 1,000 V AC range of the Low Voltage Directive (Art. 1). A lamp without a radio takes the EMC Directive, not the Radio Equipment Directive; a smart bulb with Bluetooth takes the Radio Equipment Directive in their place. RoHS covers the lamp as electrical equipment. Light sources also have an ecodesign regulation, which is why that line is there. The energy labelfor light sources is on the second list: it is not a CE marking.

Run the lookup for a lamp to see the answer on the page.

What an answer says

  • May apply. A law is listed when its scope covers products of that type in general. Whether your exact product is inside depends on the scope article and the exclusions, which every answer shows.
  • A condition belongs to its law. "May apply if it has a radio" means the law applies when that is true and not otherwise.
  • No law applies. The product carries no CE marking and must not carry one (Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, Art. 30(2)). Each EU country sets the penalties for improper use, which may include criminal sanctions for serious infringements (Art. 30(6)). Its safety is then covered by its own law or by the General Product Safety Regulation: GPSR.
  • Who affixes it. The manufacturer does, after the conformity assessment: CE marking. A business that sells a product under its own name or brand is the manufacturer, and the steps are its own: the technical file, the declaration of conformity, and a notified body where the law requires one. For the laws that Art. 4(5) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 lists, a manufacturer outside the EU needs an operator established in the EU, and its name and contact details go on the product, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document (Art. 4(4)).

Where the list comes from

The groups and their laws are those on the Commission's pages Your Europe: CE marking and New legislative framework: the list of aligned product laws, read 5 October 2026, with two additions the Commission's CE page does not name, the outdoor-equipment noise Directive and the Ecodesign Directive, each read in its own text. Every law is checked against its text. Where an act on the Commission's list carries no CE marking, it is on the second list instead. Each scope sentence is the law's own wording or a short paraphrase of its scope article, and the article is named. The product types and the names the lookup knows are a fixed, curated set; laws and their dates change, and the date above is the day this list was checked.