UK: CE – European Certificate to remain valid indefinitely in the UK

published on 12 September 2023 | reading time approx. 1 minute

There has been an effective U-turn on post-Brexit conformity marking policy by the UK Government, the latest in a string of updates for this policy. It is important for businesses to be prepared to comply in order to sell their products. This article looks at the latest update in conformity marking policy

With effect from 1 January 2021, the UK government introduced the UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking for products to be placed in the market in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). The UKCA mark served as an indication of a product’s conformity with the UK government’s requirements, as the CE did for the EU. The CE marking is a conformity marking that indicates that products follow healthy and safety requirements set by the European Union. It was the intention of the UK government that the UKCA mark would completely replace the CE marking for products sold in Great Britain. However, the date that the UKCA marking became compulsory has changed on several occasions.

The end of the transition period or the date when products had to carry the UKCA marking was originally January 2022 but has frequently been extended, the latest extension was until 31 December 2024.

However, on 1 August 2023, the UK government announced that, in an attempt to tackle “red tape, cutting burdens for business, and creating certainty for firms” it has extended the deadline for the transition period indefinitely. The practical effect of this is that the recognition of products containing the European CE marking will continue for goods on the market in Great Britain beyond December 2024 and for an indefinite period of time afterwards. Therefore, there is no need to have any UKCA marking in order to sell products in the UK if they carry the CE marking. This has had a wide reaching effect on production of products for the UK market both within the UK and imports/exports. Compliance with this law on product conformity has adapted to this change.

The only exception to this is construction products, that will need to be UKCA marked by July 2025.