What are the costs of CE certification?
For the last 15 years, there has not been a single week in which I have not been asked the following:
“What are the costs of CE certification?”
It is a very understandable question. I am sure that it is on your mind as well. Before you start a new activity, it is good to have an overview of the costs involved. But most people do not realize how difficult it is to answer this question for CE marking.
Do products qualify for CE when they have UL or CSA certification?
Often we get a question similar to this:
“Our product already has a UL and/or CSA approval. Does that mean that we automatically qualify for the CE marking?”
Unfortunately, that is not the case.
In which countries is the CE marking required?
The CE marking is currently required in the following countries:
How do you benefit from CE marking?
The CE marking is a kind of trade passport for the European marketplace: it allows the manufacturer to freely circulate their product throughout the 30 countries of the European Economic Area (EEA).
Who is responsible for CE marking?
The CE marking requirements covers different aspects of a product’s design, production and distribution. Typically, various companies are involved in the design, manufacturing, distribution and placing on the market of products. The contributions of each single of these links in the production chain and distribution chain may affect the CE compliance of a product. For example, a product may be designed in accordance with the requirements, but may in the end not comply because during the production stage there was a deviation from the design. Or an electronic component may have been tested and approved for the requirements for electromagnetic interference, but can start to emit illegitimate disturbance when installed incorrectly. This raises the question of who is responsible for the CE marking.
Do your products need CE marking?
Unfortunately, the process of determining whether the CE marking applies to a product is rather complex. The European legislator does not provide product lists or nomenclatures which indicate the appropriate CE marking directives.
What is the objective of CE marking?
The European CE certification procedure has been mainly set up to:
- Harmonize all varying national regulations for consumer and industrial products in European Member States, so that the Single Market is encouraged;
- Bring about cost savings for producers;
- Enhance the safety of products;
- Supply public bodies with a uniform procedure that can be checked.
