The Importance of UKCA marking
Working in manufacturing, supply or retail, you’ll be familiar with the need for CE Marking on commercial products to confirm the conformity to European Health, Safety and Environmental standards. However, in January 2021, the UK Government introduce UKCA marking to replace it. Although it came into effect in January 2021, to allow the market to adjust to the change, businesses are still able to use CE Marking until January 2023.
So, if you’re working with goods previously (or currently) subject to CE Marking, they will from now on require UKCA Marking for the UK market (as well as a continuation of CE marking for the European market). However, in addition to this, aerosol products are also included in the UKCA requirements too (those that previously needed reverse epsilon marking).
Areas covered include:
Toy safety
Pyrotechnics
Recreational craft and personal watercraft
Simple pressure vessels
Electromagnetic compatibility
Non-automatic weighing instruments
Measuring instruments
Lifts
ATEX
Radio equipment
Pressure equipment
Personal protective equipment
Gas appliances
Machinery
Equipment for use outdoors
Ecodesign
Aerosols
Low voltage electrical equipment
Restriction of hazardous substances
Medical devices
Rail interoperability
Construction products
Civil explosives
As a whole, the requirements that need to be met technically for the assessment are the same as they were for CE Marking. This means demonstrating conformity won’t really change and the process should be fairly simple if your brand already does this. You can also continue to self-declare conformity with UKCA if you previously did so for CE.
So, although you don’t need to worry too much about the process changes for your business, the main concern here is making sure you work to the new UKCA rules and begin implementing that now, because as of January 2023 the CE marking won’t be accepted for UK products and that really isn’t too far away!
Here’s a quickfire roundup of what you need to know for UKCA Marking (most of which already applied to CE Marking anyway).
- The UKCA Marking must be applied to the product, packaging or, in some cases, the supporting literature.
- The UKCA Marking must be clearly visible
- The UKCA Marking is only to demonstrate conformity to UK legislation
- You take full responsibility for the conformity
- The UKCA Marking must only be placed by you or your manufacturer
- No other marking may be placed on the product to misconstrue the meaning of the UKCA Marking
- Never use the marking unless there is a legislative requirement to do so
- The letters forming the marking must always remain in proportion and the marking must be at least 5mm in height
- It must always be visible and legible
- You must also draw up the UK Declaration of Conformity document
The importance of the UKCA Marking shouldn’t be underestimated, and if businesses want to continue to operate within the UK market from January 2023, they need to ensure they’re working with the new system, or at least moving towards it right now. Don’t forget, these rules only apply for the UK market, and if you’re looking to place goods in Northern Ireland, different rules apply.
To find out more about UKCA Marking, read more information here.
