CE or UKCA? Post-BREXIT product marking in the UK

The United Kingdom has published various guidelines on the future UKCA marking of products, which will replace the existing CE marking after Brexit has been legally completed. Companies should carefully check which transitional periods apply to the products concerned for the new UKCA marking:

Products entering the United Kingdom by 31 December 2020

Products bearing the CE marking which enter the United Kingdom by 31 December 2020 can be sold there without a time limit with the existing marking. The product marking does not need to be changed.

UKCA marking in principal mandatory from 1 January 2021

For products placed on the market in the United Kingdom in future, the existing CE marking (‘Conformité Européenne’) will be replaced by the ‘UKCA marking’ (‘United Kingdom Conformity Assessed’). From 1 January 2021 onwards, products must in principle bear the UKCA marking if all of the following requirements have been met: affixing the UKCA marking is required by law, a conformity assessment has to be carried out by a third party and the conformity assessment has been carried out by a notified body in the United Kingdom and the relevant confirmation assessment documents have not been transferred to a notified body in the European Union by 1 January 2021.

N.B.: Transitional period for products with the existing CE marking until 31 December 2021

The United Kingdom has set a transitional period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 for most products. Companies can rely on this transitional period if either the classical CE marking is currently affixed to the products on the basis of a declaration of conformity, a conformity assessment required by law has been carried out by a notified body in the EU or a declaration of conformity has been transferred from a notified body in the United Kingdom to a notified body in the EU. However, this applies only to the extent that the relevant European product legislation remains the same as the corresponding UK regulations for the relevant products. The UK has affirmed that it does not intend to amend UK product legislation during the transitional period. It should therefore be closely monitored whether the UK or European requirements change.

Marking mandatory on products from 1 January 2023

Until 31 December 2022, the UKCA marking can be affixed to the product itself or a label affixed to it or in the accompanying documents. However, companies should quickly prepare their supply chains for the fact that from 1 January 2023 onwards the UKCA marking can only be affixed to the product itself. Nevertheless, it is not detrimental if the CE marking appears on products in addition to the UKCA marking.

Future placing of products on the market in Northern Ireland

The existing CE markings will continue to be sufficient for products marketed in Northern Ireland. However, under certain conditions, a ‘UK(NI) marking (‘United Kingdom (Northern Ireland’) will have to be affixed to products in addition to the CE marking, e.g. such as the mandatory or voluntary conformity assessment by a third party. However, the UKCA marking alone is not sufficient for placing products on the market in Northern Ireland.

Furthermore, due to the Northern Ireland Protocol to the United Kingdom’s Withdrawal Agreement, there will be unhindered access for Northern Ireland companies to the UK market, regardless of whether they apply the corresponding European or UK product regulations to their products. However, this special regime applies only to Northern Ireland companies themselves and to companies whose head office is located in Great Britain but which are also active in Northern Ireland.