CE testing and CE certification - your road to European expansion

Posted by juliabennet on March 7th, 2012

You must have seen the CE mark in multiple electronic products. CE marking stands for Conformité Européenne, French for European Conformity. For most products to be sold in the European Economic Area, this mark is absolutely essential. And a manufacturer can only put this mark when their products have undertaken due diligence, most commonly through CE testing and CE certification.

There is an EMC directive that the manufacturer determines when they want to sell their products in the EU. Some of the examples of the EMC directive include EN 55011, EN 55022, EN 60601, IEC 61000 and EN 61000. There are cases when a European company imports products and markets them under its own brand name. In such cases the importing company decides on the EMC directive. At the same time, the importing company is the one responsible for compliance with the CE conformity. The R&TTE directive, for example, is applicable to radio and telecommunications terminal equipment and applies to mobile phones, modems, radio car door openers and so on. Here also the CE testing and CE certification statutes heavily apply.

Then there is the declaration of conformity that manufacturers need to complete before they apply the CE mark to their products. This declaration can be done by the manufacturer if the product they are selling poses little or no risk. In order to undertake the due diligence required to ensure compliance of products like medical devices, for instance, an independent CE testing and CE certification is often required to be done by a third party agency. CE medical mark is mostly provided only after the independent agency decides that the product is safe to sell in the EU market.

Some of the most professional agencies involved in CE testing and CE certification ensure that everything is taken care of so that your product gets the CE mark. They, first of all, interpret the relevant standard for your product. They then help you with design issues through their expert consulting. They also do pre-compliance testing in their own lab so that no problems surface during the time of CE testing and CE certification. This helps you identify problems early so that your products can be exported to Europe soon. These agencies also conduct CE testing and grant you CE certification with the applicable standard. Their detailed report tells you exactly about the tests that have been conducted and help you issue the declaration of conformity.

Is CE testing and CE certification only applicable for the EU? Does it apply in the US as well? Although there is no need for the CE mark in the United States, it can be commonly seen across products. For the US, this mark acts more like a branding tool. When your customer buys your product and sees the CE marking on it, they are likely to trust your product and as a result, create a favorable impression in their mind about you as the manufacturer.

CE testing and CE certification can be done with the help of experts and create goodwill for your organization. This is one compliance area you simply cannot ignore.

For you to be able to sell your products in the European Economic Area, it is important for you to have the CE testing done for them. Specialized agencies help in CE certification and they ensure that your products don’t sit in the warehouses.