The UKCA Mark - Product Conformity Marking for the GB Market

What is the UKCA Mark?

On the 1st of August, 2023, the UK government announced plans to extend recognition of CE marking ‘indefinitely’ beyond the upcoming December 2024 deadline previously announced.

“The government intends to extend recognition of the CE marking for placing most goods on the market in Great Britain indefinitely, beyond December 2024. These updates apply to the 18 regulations that fall under the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).”

Read our news post about this announcement.

The information below was provided prior to the 1st August 2023 and is provided for reference purposes only.

The UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) mark is the new UK product mark that will be required for certain products being placed on the market in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). It covers most products that previously required the CE mark.

The UKCA mark will not be recognised outside of Great Britain and products will still need to bear a CE mark to be sold in the EU.

The Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol means that products placed on the Northern Ireland market, will continue to meet relevant EU rules including CE marking.

On Monday 14th November, the UK Government announced a further extension to the period during which the CE mark will continue to be accepted in Great Britain.

In simple terms, the changes allow goods to be placed onto the GB market using the CE mark until the end of 2024, an extension of a further two years. There are some other changes that have been announced and these are detailed below.

What does a UKCA mark show?

By affixing a UKCA mark to a product and placing it onto the GB market, the manufacturer is stating that the product meets the UK Regulations as defined in the relevant Statutory Instruments (SIs).

When does the UKCA mark come into force?

The UKCA mark comes into force after 31st December 2020 which marks the end of the transition or implementation period. However, to allow manufacturers time to adjust, CE marking will continue to be accepted until 1st January 2025 in most cases, assuming that GB and EU rules remain the same.

Is Eurofins able to carry out the test/assessments for the UKCA Mark?

From 1st January 2021 the technical requirements, or the ‘essential requirements’, as well as the conformity assessment processes and standards that can be used to demonstrate conformity, will be largely the same as they are now.

Eurofins is able to test products as part of UKCA and CE marking regimes as well as being able to offer services that will allow global product compliance requirements to be met. For most customers, there will be no change to the process of testing needed to meet the requirements of both UKCA and CE marking.

The Headlines

• The UKCA mark comes into effect on 1st January 2021
• The principle of self-certification and third-party assessments established under EU legislation is unchanged
• CE marking will continue to be accepted on the GB market until 31st December 2024 for most products, assuming that GB and EU rules remain the same
• Products which are CE marked and which have been manufactured and imported into the UK before the end of 2024 can be placed onto the market without the need to meet UKCA requirements - after this date, any products imported must meet UKCA requirements and carry a UKCA mark
• The “Extending labelling measures” allows for the UKCA Mark to be displayed on the product, a label or an accompanying document until the end of 2027. After this, the UKCA mark must be permanently attached to the product. The rules surrounding the requirements for Importer labelling are unchanged
• The “Reducing re-testing costs” easement applies only to products which must undergo third-party conformity assessment and for which CE Conformity Assessment has been completed and the certificate issued before the end of 2024. If this is the case, the CE Conformity Assessment can be used as the basis for UKCA marking the product.
• Second-hand goods that are placed on the GB market for the first time after the 1st January 2025 must meet the UKCA requirements
• There is no mutual recognition of marks between the UK and EU
• From 1st January 2021, third-party assessments from EU appointed Notified Bodies located in the UK will no longer be accepted in the EU, and certificates issued by those bodies cease to be valid
• Existing UK based Notified Bodies will cease to operate and will automatically become UK Approved Bodies with the same scope. They will perform the same activities but under the UK Regulations
• CE marking continues to be the product marking scheme for Northern Ireland where the product is placed on the market using self-certification
• To place a product onto the Northern Ireland market that requires the use of third-party approval, either an EU-27 Notified Body can be used and the CE mark applied or both the CE and UK(NI) mark applied when a UK Approved Body is used

Placing products onto the GB Market

• The UKCA mark can be used to demonstrate conformity with UK Regulations for products placed on the GB market from 1st January 2021.
  To allow businesses time to adjust to the new requirements, CE marking can continue to be used until 1st January 2023 for most products assuming that GB and EU rules remain the same.
• From 1st January 2025, all products placed on the GB market are required to be UKCA marked unless special arrangements, such as those for medical devices, are in place.
• Products that have been CE marked using self-declaration, and which have been manufactured and imported into the UK before the end of 2024, can be placed on the market without having to meet the UKCA requirements. However, products imported after the end of 2024 must be UKCA marked and must comply with the UKCA requirements.

• From 1st January 2025, all products placed on the GB market are required to be UKCA marked unless special arrangements, such as those for medical devices, are in place
• CE marking for medical devices will continue to be recognised in Great Britain until 30 June 2024 assuming that GB and EU rules remain the same
• Any third-party conformity assessment activities undertaken by EU27 Notified Bodies before the end of 2024 can be considered as the basis for UKCA marking, provided that the Assessment has been completed and the certificate has been issued before the end of 2024.
• For businesses based in Northern Ireland, qualifying Northern Ireland goods can be placed on the GB market with an EU conformity assessment marking, such as the CE marking, after 31st December 2021

• New and existing products that are CE marked can be placed onto the NI market without any changes
• The UKCA mark is not recognised in Northern Ireland
• Products that require third-party assessment can be placed onto the Northern Ireland market using either an EU-27 Notified Body and affixed with the CE mark or a UK Approved Body and affixed with both the CE and UK(NI) marks
• Existing third-party assessment from an EU-27 Notified Body continues to be accepted for the Northern Ireland market

Placing products onto the EU Market

• For products using self-certification, no action is required
• For products having third-party assessment by an EU-27 Notified Body, no action is required
• Where a product has third-party assessment from an EU appointed Notified Body located in the UK, the files will need to have been transferred to an EU-27 Notified Body before 1st January 2021 or a new assessment completed by an EU-27 Notified Body

Find out more about the UKCA Mark

To find out how Eurofins E&E can help you with meeting the technical and administrative requirements of the UKCA mark, contact your local Eurofins E&E laboratory or email UKCA@eurofins.com