If you export to the EU, you've probably heard "you need CE marking" a hundred times. But what does that actually mean?
What CE Marking Requires
1. Declaration of Conformity: A signed document stating your product meets EU safety standards. You create this yourself - no one issues it.
2. Technical File: Product specifications, risk assessments, and test reports. This stays with you, not with the shipment. Customs can ask for it anytime.
3. Testing: Some products you can self-certify (you do the tests, you sign off). Others legally require a Notified Body - an accredited EU lab that tests and certifies for you.
How do you know which one applies to your product?
It depends on the EU directive. There are 20+ directives (Machinery, Low Voltage, EMC, Medical Devices, etc.). Your product falls under 1-3 of them.
Exporters Don’t Do This
You can have CE marking completed, but if the documentation doesn't travel with the shipment or isn't available when customs requests it, your container will be rejected.
The mark itself is easy. The paperwork trail is where exporters get stuck.
We Built a Guide That Walks Through This
It covers:
Which directive applies to your product category
Self-certification vs. Notified Body testing (with examples)
Document templates and checklists
What customs actually checks for
