Do I need CE, UKCA or UK(NI) mark to enter the UK market? One table summary guidelines

Date：2021/1/12　　Clicks：1233

The British government has issued guidelines for conformity marking labels. The following is a summary table of official information:

Put on the market

Type of goods

Accepted logo or logo combination

Place goods on the Northern Ireland market

The finished products placed on the Northern Ireland market use the EU conformity assessment agency

CE

The finished products placed on the Northern Ireland market use the British Conformity Assessment Agency

CE and UKNI

Place goods on the British market

Invest in manufacturing products in the British market until the end of 2021

UKCA or CE

Manufactured products to be expanded in the British market from January 1, 2022

UKCA

Place qualified Northern Ireland goods on the British market (unrestricted access)

Unrestricted entry and placement of qualified Northern Irish goods into the British market

CE or CE and UKNI

Place goods on the EU market

Manufactured products placed on the EU market

CE

UKCA logo

The UKCA mark is a product certification mark necessary for products to enter the UK market. It is suitable for most of the products that are currently CE certified. Since January 1, 2021, the technologies and standards that products need to meet and the certification process are basically the same as the current ones. In principle, the UKCA mark will be used from January 1, 2021, but to allow companies enough time to adapt to the new standard, in most cases, the CE mark can still be used before January 1, 2022.

After January 1, 2021, if all the following conditions are met, your product will need to use the new UKCA mark immediately.

1. Sold in the UK;

2. Laws and regulations requre UKCA logo;

3. Compulsory third-party conformity assessment is required;

4. The British conformity assessment agency has conducted conformity assessment, but the conformity assessment documents have not been transferred from the British conformity assessment agency to an institution recognized by the EU before January 1, 2021.

The above terms do not apply to existing inventory, for example if the product has been fully produced and is ready to be placed on the market before January 1, 2021. In this case, products with the CE mark can also be sold in the UK.

Lik  the CE mark, once the UK promulgates a law to implement the UKCA mark, it needs to abide by the relevant rules and add a conformity mark on the product label, package and in the instruction manual. The UKCA mark should be placed on the product, but in some cases, it can also be placed on the packaging, user manual or other related documents. The specific usage rules depend on the specific regulations applicable to the product.

UK (NI) mark

According to the "Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol" in the "Withdrawal Agreement", certain EU regulations on toys, personal protective equipment and consumer products such as RoHS will apply to Northern Ireland. Therefore, the conformity mark (ie CE mark) used in Northern Ireland will be different from the conformity mark (ie UKCA mark) used in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland).

According to the new regulations, for products placed on the Northern Ireland market, if the use of the CE mark is based on an assessment conducted by a British Notified Body or a certificate issued by a British Notified Body, the UK (NI) mark must also be used.

The UK (NI) mark is as shown below. Unless otherwise specified by other regulations, the height of the sign shall be at least 5 mm. This logo can be reduced or enlarged, but the ratio must remain unchanged.




In short, when placing products that require the use of a conformity mark as required by regulations on the Northern Ireland market,

(1) If the British conformity assessment agency is used, the CE mark and the UK (NI) mark must be used at the same time;

(2) If the EU conformity assessment agency is used, only the CE mark is required.

Only products classified as "Qualified Northern Irish Goods" and marked with the above-mentioned appropriate conformity marks can be placed on the British market.

Remarks:

"Qualified Northern Irish goods" means the following goods:

(1) It appears in Northern Ireland and is not under customs supervision, restriction or control, and these customs supervision, restriction or control are not caused by the removal of goods from Northern Ireland or the territory of the European Union; or

(2) Northern Ireland processed products.

For details, please refer to Regulation SI 2020 No. 1454 "Definition of Qualified Northern Irish Goods (Exited from the European Union) Regulation 2020".