As part of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, the United Kingdom has introduced the UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) mark. UKCA marking is a new conformity marking requirement that will be used for goods being placed on the market in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). The scope of equipment requiring UKCA marking is tightly aligned to those requiring CE marking.
The UKCA marking comes into force from 1st January 2021, with technical requirements, conformity assessment procedures and standards mostly equivalent to the current requirements.
You will need to use the new UKCA marking immediately after 1 January 2021 if all of the following apply. Your product:
- is for the market in Great Britain
- is covered by legislation which requires the UKCA marking
- requires mandatory third-party conformity assessment
- conformity assessment has been carried out by a UK conformity assessment body and you haven’t transferred your conformity assessment files from your UK body to an EU recognised body before 1 January 2021
This does not apply to existing stock, for example if your good was fully manufactured and ready to place on the market before 1 January 2021.
For other cases, businesses are encouraged to be ready for full implementation of the new UK regime as soon as possible after 1 January 2021. However, to allow businesses time to adjust, CE marked goods in scope of this guidance
(https://www.gov.uk/guidance/placing-manufactured-goods-on-the-market-in-great-britain-from-1-january-2021) that meet EU requirements can continue to be placed on the GB market until 1 January 2022 where EU and UK requirements remain the same (this will be the case on 1 January 2021 and there are no UK plans to diverge at this time). This includes goods which have been assessed by an EU recognised notified body. There are some exceptions to this guidance, for goods regulated under “old approach” legislation (e.g. chemicals, medicines, vehicles and aerospace), goods covered by national rules (non-harmonised) and certain other goods, such as medical devices and civil explosives.
The UKCA marking will not be recognised on the EU or Northern Ireland markets. Products currently requiring a CE marking for sale in the EU (and Northern Ireland) will continue to need a CE mark (plus the UK(NI) mark where relevant, for example where a UK notified body has been used). Any conformity mark held by a Northern Ireland business which validates the goods for sale on the Northern Ireland market will be valid for the whole of the UK market.
Goods can carry both the CE and UKCA markings so long as they are fully compliant with both UK and EU regulations.
Authorised representatives and responsible persons based in the EU will no longer be recognised in Great Britain from 1 January 2021. If you need to (or choose to) use an authorised representative or responsible person, they will need to be based in the UK for products being placed on the GB market from 1 January 2021.
A UK Declaration of Conformity must be drawn up for products bearing the UKCA mark. This must be signed by the manufacturer or authorised representative. Details of a UK Declaration of Conformity will be largely aligned with current EU requirements, with UK national standards (UK version of existing European standards) listed where applicable.
UKCA marking
The UKCA mark must be a minimum of 5mm in height and proportional to the vector diagram if increased or reduced in size. The mark will need to be permanently affixed to equipment from 1 January 2023. In the meantime it is possible to affix the label on the product documentations included with the product (e.g. user manual etc).
Further details can be found at the following links:
Please get in touch for a full breakdown of your requirements.
