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The constructional details of CE mark

The CE mark (officially m initially used was "EC Mark" and it was officially replaced by "CE Marking" in the Directive 93/68/EEC in 1993. "EC mark" is still in use, but it is not the official term.

By affixing the CE marking, the manufacturer, its authorized representative, or person placing the product on the market or putting it into service asserts that the item meets all the essential requirements of all applicablve been applied. Examples of European Directives requiring CE marking include toy safety, machinery, low-voltage equipment, R&TTE, and EM compatibility. There are about 25 Directives requiring CE marking. ^[1].

Officially, CE has no meaning as an abbreviation, but may have originally stood for Communauté Européenne or Conformité Européenne, French for European Conformity.

The CE marking is a mandatory European marking for certain product groups to indicate conformity with the essential health and safety requirements set out in European Directives. To permit the use of a CE mark on a product, proof that the item meets the relevant requirements must be documented. Sometimes this is achieved using an external test house which evaluates the product and its documentation. Often it is achieved by a company-internal self-certification process. In any case the responsible organization (manufacturer, representative, importer) has to issue a EC-Declaration of Conformity (EC-DoC) indicating his identity (location, etc.), the list of European Directives he declares compliance with, a list of standards the product complies with, and a legally binding signature on behalf of the organization. The EC-DoC underlines the sole responsibility of the manufacturer. Parts of the certification process for the CE marking could be performed by 3rd party test houses or certification bodies; in case that this is mandatory the CE symbol also includes a number that identifies the so called Notified Body.

To be strictly accurate, there are two forms of Declaration, either a "Declaration of Conformity" or a "Declaration of Incorporation". Generally speaking this is only the case under the Machinery Directive, for example, a stand alone machine, which requires only a power source to operate would be issued with a Declaration of Conformity. Whereas, a machine which requires additonal systems, attachments, feed conveyors etc, before it can provide it's intended function, must be issued with a Declaration of Incorporation. In this latter case it is illegal to CE Mark such a machine. This can only be achieved once the machine has been finally installed and all other elements incorporated into the system, then a final Risk Assessment is performed to verify compliance of the system and a final Declaration of Conformity is then issued.

Further more, these directives are based upon what the European Commission calls a New Approach, wherby if any of the Article 100A Directives apply to your product, then you must apply them. Further assistance about these and other directives can be found at [1] or [2]--Cemark (talk) 22:35, 16 December 2007 (UTC)

Directives providing the requirements for the CE marking are created by the European Union (EU), but the markings are required throughout the European Economic Area (EEA). According to information provided by the Swiss Government for Swiss Exporters the CE Mark is not compulsory in Switzerland except for products for export to the European Union.)

The mark was designed by Arthur Eisenmenger according to an article in The Guardian 2001-12-23. The various components of the CE marking must have substantially the same vertical dimension, which may not be less than 5mm.^[2]

The similar "e mark", rather than the CE logo, is used on motor vehicles and components for motor vehicles [3] [4] [5]. (The "e mark" for motor vehicles is not to be confused with the estimated sign on food labels [6]).

• CEMarking.Net - Take the free CE Marking Mini Course
• Conformance - European Product Safety and Environmental Directives
• The United Kingdom official CE site
• Ablewisp - listen to "CE Marking in 17 minutes"
• CE marking Nordic AB - Information about CE marking for Northern Europe
• [7] CE Mark Consultancy information and directive guides