What is the Declaration of Conformity in the CE Marking System?

If a manufacturer wants to get his product CE marked, then he first has to establish that his product comes under the directives laid down by the European Commission. The two main directives are the older one which is the “Global Approach Directive” and the newer one called the “New Approach Directive”.   Only those products that fall under any of these two directives, needs to have the CE marking.  Both the directives have different criteria for testing a certain product for conformity. In this article we will discus about the New Approach method of CE certification.

The “new Approach Directive” Brings a New feature called the CE Self Declaration. In this the manufacturer of a product can simply declare his product to conform to the norms of this directive by signing an agreement called the “Declaration of Conformity” or the DOC. After this he can use the CE label on his product. This requires few simple steps. In the directive there are various modules to assess the product for conformity. Though the Products can be self declared as CE marked, depending on the complexity of the product and the risk it may pose to consumer’s life, some conformity assessment modules have been given.

There are modules from A to H. module A is applied to the products that are covered by the Low Voltage and EMC directives. Products to which Module B to module H are applicable need mandatory assessment by the European Lab. While in Module A the product can be tested by a third party and getting the product assessed by the European Lab is not necessary. If the product complies with the tests conducted, the manufacturer maintains some technical documentation as a proof. In case of European Lab, the lab issues a Type Examination Certificate as a proof of the assessment. After compiling the technical documents, the manufacturer signs the European Commission’s DOC.

A DOC is a testimonial by the manufacturer that claims that his product conforms to all the relevant NADs and the manufacturer is solely responsible for any damage caused by his product. The DOC has all the essential information about the manufacturer and the product. It has the manufacturer’s personal details like his address, contact number, email ID, etc. it also enlists the important features of the product. If the manufacturer has any performance data or European standards related to the product, then this is also given in the DOC.