What is a ce mark? and what should you look out for?

What is a CE mark?

CE marking is a Europe-wide agreement regarding the safety of products in the European Union. There are many rules surrounding a CE mark. CE marking is mandatory on some product groups within the European Economic Area (EEA). The EEA consists of all countries within the European Union, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland. If your product falls within one of these product groups, you are required to place a CE mark. It is not the intention to place a CE mark on a product that does not fall within one of the product groups, in fact this is forbidden to do.

What does the abbreviation stand for?

CE stands for Conformité Européenne. Simply put, it means that a product complies with European regulations. Those regulations cover various topics. Think about health requirements, safety requirements, performance requirements and environmental requirements. A product must meet all these regulations before it is entitled to a CE mark. If a product does not comply with one of these regulations, you will have to modify the product, otherwise consumers will not be allowed to buy or use it.

What is the purpose of a CE mark?

There are two reasons why the CE mark is used in Europe. Firstly, free trade, because of the mark, products can easily be sold throughout Europe. Countries do not have to worry about a product not meeting certain requirements as it is approved according to European regulations. Products with a CE logo cannot be rejected by any of the member states. A country within the EEA must simply allow a product with a CE mark into their domestic market.

The second reason CE marking is used is for consumer safety. When a consumer finds a CE mark on a product, they can assume that the product is good. It meets health, safety, performance and environmental requirements. This offers protection to consumers because they can assume they know the product is good and works properly.

Who is responsible for the CE mark?

When a product is produced in one of the EEA countries, the producer is responsible for placing the CE mark. The producer is also responsible for checking whether his or her product meets all European requirements. A producer assesses his or her own product but must have a record of it. If a producer does not feel able to check his or her product itself or if there are strict safety requirements, there is also an option to outsource it. A third independent party then checks whether the product complies with all regulations.

When production takes place outside one of the EEA countries, the importer of the product is responsible. As with a manufacturer, the importer should check that his or her product complies with European regulations. An importer can also choose to outsource the verification. Ultimately, the importer is liable when something is wrong.

For which product groups is CE marking mandatory?

As highlighted earlier, a CE mark is not mandatory on every product. There are several product groups within the EEA on which a CE mark is mandatory. These are the following groups:

So when a product falls into one of the above product groups, it must have a quality mark. Therefore, when a product does not fall within one of these product groups, it does not need to have a CE mark. It is therefore not the case that the product does not have to meet any requirements. There are still rules and laws on safety that your product has to comply with.

Having a CE mark, but not compulsory...

You might think it's smart to just put a CE mark on a product just to be sure but that's not the case. If a product does not fall within one of the product groups, it is simply not allowed to have a CE mark. It is illegal in Europe to place the mark on a product that does not fall into one of the product groups, even if it complies with European regulations. So it is very important to know whether your product falls into one of the product groups.

Consequences for misplacing CE marking

When a CE mark is wrongly displayed on a product, there are of course consequences. There are three possible consequences of wrongly placing the mark. The first option may be that the manufacturer has to modify the product. Of course, the aim then is to modify the product so that it does comply with the regulations. Because the product does comply with the regulations after the adjustments, it is then entitled to a CE mark.

The second option has bigger implications. Namely, the product may also have to be taken off the market. The product may then no longer be sold. For the very serious cases, there is also a third option. In these cases, the producer or importer is prosecuted.

Two different CE logos

In addition to the CE mark, there is also a logo that is very similar to this. This logo comes and China and is practically identical to the European CE mark. In China, the letters CE stand for 'Chinese Export', so this is not an official European quality mark. It is purely meant to indicate that a product comes from China. Of course, they knew in China that the logo looks strikingly similar to the European CE mark. Some people call it clever of the Chinese as it inspires confidence, but of course this is hugely dangerous for European consumers. When a consumer has a product in his or her hands with the letters CE on it, he or she expects the product to comply with all regulations while it may also be that the product does not meet these safety requirements. With increasing trade and inputs from China, this is an increasing threat to you as a consumer.

How can you tell the difference between Chinese Export and Conformité Européenne?

You may find it very difficult to tell the difference between a CE mark and Chinese Export. The only difference is that the letters in the Chinese Export logo are closer together. The C and the E are written right next to each other. In the European label, there is more space between the two letters. In the European quality mark, the C can be completed as a circle, so to speak; in the Chinese variant, this is not possible as the letters there are too close together.

There is also a difference in the letter E. Namely, there is a difference in the middle dash of the E. In the European quality mark, the middle dash is shorter than in the Chinese Export logo. There, the middle stripe comes as far as the upper and lower stripes. In short, pay close attention when you have the letters CE on a product. If the letters are spaced apart you can assume that the product complies with all the rules, if the letters are close together you have no warranty that the product has been properly tested.

Roadmap

After you have carefully read the above text, you will know who is responsible for placing the mark and when it should be placed. To make this clear step by step once more, we both have a handy step-by-step plan. Here you can follow step by step what you need to do to have your product comply with the requirements.

First step

First of all, you need to look up which product group your product belongs to. This is the first step to know whether your product should be labelled. This is because each product group has different rules and requirements when it comes to CE marking so it is important to know which group your product falls into.

Second step

Once you know which product group your product falls into, it is important to know what requirements apply within that product group. As mentioned earlier, each product group has its own rules. So you need to know which rules apply.

Third step

Find out whether you are allowed and able to check your product for regulations yourself or whether you need an independent party to do so. The manufacturer or importer can check whether a product meets the requirements themselves but in some cases it is mandatory to have a third independent party look at this. We also call this party a notified body. This mainly happens with products where the safety requirements are very strict. If you have a product that has a low safety risk, you can assess it yourself.

Fourth step

The fourth step is to carry out the inspection. If it came out in step three that you can check your product yourself, you can do it yourself in this step. If a notified body has to perform the inspection, it will have to perform the inspection in step four.

Fifth step

The fifth step is to set up technical documentation. This is a document showing that your product does indeed comply with European regulations. This document is important as market regulators can request it at any time for verification. The document includes drawings of the product, specifications, inspection certificates and instructions for use. Using this document, it must be demonstrated that the product meets the requirements to have a CE logo. There are also a number of rules attached to this document, such as what it must contain. It is also important that the document is written in the language of the EEA country where the product is sold or used.

Sixth and final step

Once the previous five steps have been followed, it is time for the final step. This is the actual application of the CE logo on the product. The CE mark must be affixed to the product in a clearly visible, legible and indelible manner. If this is not possible, it may also be on a data plate. If this is not possible either, you are left with only one other option, which is to put it on the packaging or on the instructions for use.

There is still a distinction between whether you have checked the product yourself or had it checked by a notified body. If the product has been checked by a notified body, the four-digit identification number of the notified body must appear on the product in addition to the CE logo.

CE marking at TRALERT®

With TRALERT® LED lighting, you don’t need to worry about whether the CE logo stands for ‘Conformité Européenne’ or ‘Chinese Export’. All LED vehicle lighting in our range bears the official CE mark, not the Chinese variant. Our lighting is 100% tested and complies with all European directives. With our products, you don’t need to check how far apart the C and the E are, or whether the middle stroke of the E is long or short. With TRALERT® products, the CE logo isn’t simply stuck onto the lighting. On our LED vehicle lighting, the mark is neatly engraved into the product, as required by European legislation. The mark is clearly visible, easily legible and indelible.

If you still have questions about our product range, for example, you can always contact us. We are also happy to help you with legal and regulatory advice.