UKAS-accredited testing laboratory
UKAS-accredited testing laboratory
UKCA marking (UK Conformity Assessed marking) is the UK product marking requirement that will be needed for products being placed on the market in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), substituting the EU requirements for CE Marking (CE marking will continue to be accepted in Northern Ireland).
UKCA marking will indicate that a product placed on the Great Britain market meets the UKCA Marking requirements. UKCA marking was specified in the original ‘EU Exit’ UK Statutory Instruments, and for most products this is defined in UK Statutory Instrument 2019 No. 696 and amendments (exceptions being Automotive, Marine and Medical devices for example).
‘EU exit’ UK Statutory Instruments and amendments require UKCA marking for products that can be self-declared or currently need a notified body assessment. Initially the UKCA marking requirements will align with CE marking requirements that they replace, but overtime divergence is possible. Note – Additional requirements may need to be considered for products being placed on the UK Northern Ireland market due to separate Northern Ireland Protocol requirements.
UKCA will be used to replace the CE Marking requirements for products being placed on the GB market from January 1, 2021.
For most products there is a transitional arrangement for acceptance of CE marking until December 31, 2024 following the announcement of an extension (the exception being marine equipment and medical devices for example which already had longer transition periods which remain unchanged).
Today, the vast majority of law in the UK is made through Statutory Instruments. Now that the United Kingdom has left the European Union, the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 allow Statutory Instruments to be made which rescind and amend legislation which originally emanated from Europe. These Statutory Instruments can be referred to as the ‘EU Exit’ Statutory Instruments.
TÜV SÜD can help organizations to satisfy CE and UKCA requirements. TÜV SÜD also has EU and UK based Notified Bodies, and TÜV SÜD BABT has become a UK Conformity Assessment Body (UK Approved Body 0168).
TÜV SÜD UK is still UKAS ISO 17025 accredited and an ILAC member; this will remain acceptable for all test and certification requirements, including Mutual Recognition Agreements, U.S. for FCC testing, and TCB work.
We provide UKCA certification services for the following products:
TÜV SÜD can also offer immediate UKAS accredited UKCA certification work for the following, with an increasing scope:
UK MCAB Listing UKAS Accreditation
With our network of EU Notified Bodies and TÜV SÜD BABT, we can offer a truly one stop CE Marking and UKCA testing and certification service.
The UKCA (United Kingdom Conformity Assessed) mark is UK legislation which will replace the CE mark for placing products on the market in Great Britain (CE marking is still required in Northern Ireland). The UKCA mark will apply to most products, exceptions are for example Marine equipment where there is a proposed Marine UK mark replacement for the current Marine Wheel mark. Products being placed on the EU market will still require CE marking so that dual CE/UKCA marking may be required. UKCA marking applies to products that require mandatory third-party conformity assessment via a UK Approved Body (using for example conformity route Module B UK Type Examination) and products which can be self-declared (using for example conformity route Module A Internal Production Control).
Current UK guidance allows a period of acceptance of CE (and Wheel) marking in Great Britain until January 1, 2023 for most products and for Medical products until June 30, 2023. These extensions for acceptance of CE marking will require updated UK legislation before they are legally accepted and are subject to the UK and EU legislation requirements still aligning during these periods. UKCA marking can be applied from January 1, 2021 and manufacturers are being encouraged to consider these requirements as soon as possible and engage with a UK Approved Body if applicable.
Whilst initially UKCA marking requirements will follow EU requirements with respect to EU harmonized standards for example there is a possibility that this will diversify in the future. The main principles behind Brexit, the Withdrawal agreement and current trade deal discussions is allowing the UK to create their own legislation and laws with respect to product safety for example. Manufacturers will need to apply the UKCA mark to most products being placed on the market in England, Scotland and Wales which will demonstrate conformity to UK legislation (UK Statutory Instruments) and the associated essential requirements in this UK legislation. Manufacturers will additionally require a UK Declaration of Conformity which will need to list UK legislation (UK Statutory Instruments) and UK designated standards for compliance. For products and UK legislation that require a certification body, a UK Approved Body such as TÜV SÜD BABT will be required.
A new UK framework will mean that on January 1, 2021 UK based EU notified bodies will automatically become UK Approved Bodies for their current scope of accreditation allowing UKCA certification work to commence. UK based notified bodies have been contacted about these appointments and will retain their current 4 digit notified body number. Without an EU/UK Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA), UK based approved bodies will no longer be recognized in Europe for CE marking and EU based notified bodies will not be recognized as UKCA approved bodies after January 1, 2021.
In all probability a UK based Notified Body EU type examination certificate will no longer be acceptable in the EU after January 1, 2021. Whilst a full MRA between the UK and EU is still possible for certification bodies, this is looking very unlikely, so you would be advised to transfer your existing UK notified body type examination certification to an EU based notified body. TÜV SÜD can help with this process with multiple EU based Notified Bodies.
With respect to existing products, the rules for the EU and UK are the same, that is that legislation applies at the point when the individual product is placed on the market. UKCA marking would not be required for products already placed on the market (already imported and with a distributor for example) prior to January 1, 2021 or longer depending on the acceptance period of the CE marking.
TÜV SÜD BABT will be appointed as a UK approved body shortly and can support your requirements. The TÜV SÜD BABT scope of accreditation is also currently being extended for additional product types news of this will be published shortly.
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