Government to allow businesses to continue to use European CE certification for another year

The UK government is to grant a major concession to British business by prolonging the deadline for companies to adopt a new “UKCA” safety and quality mark for their goods after Brexit.

The one-year extension for UK products to continue using the EU’s “CE” safety mark came after businesses warned that they would not be ready for the planned post-Brexit shift away from EU certification at the end of 2021.

This will give vital breathing space for UK manufacturers, which had warned about risks to the British supply chain if they could no longer use products made overseas.

Under the UK plans, companies will now be given until January 2023 to apply for the new “UK Conformity Assessed” marks.  The government said the coronavirus pandemic had made it more difficult for businesses to prepare for the change, which requires manufactured products to be tested and carry UKCA certification to replace the EU’s CE mark.

To win UKCA status, products need to be approved by British-based authorising bodies, which has caused a backlog of applications for key components.

For further information:

iscve.org.uk/ukca-mark/

www.gov.uk/guidance/using-the-ukca-marking

Important addendum
courtesy of John Woodgate HonFInstSCVE

www.gov.uk/guidance/placing-manufactured-goods-on-the-market-in-great-britain

The key point, however, is this extract from the above link page.

Using the UKCA marking

You only need to use the new UKCA marking before 1 January 2023 if all of the following apply. Your product:

•     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

Note the second bullet point. Most ISCVE members’ products do not require third-party conformity assessment, so do not need the UKCA mark. They need the CE mark if they are exported to the EU or Northern Ireland.