On September 1, 2020, the official website of the UK proclaimed that the UKCA logo would be implemented from January 1, 2021. The CE logo on most products put on the UK market (the Great Britain) could continue to be recognized by the UK government market regulator until January 1, 2022. It has also issued UKCA logo guidelines for entering the UK market and corresponding UK legislations. The relevant main information is sorted out as follows:
From January 1, 2021, the vast majority of products requiring CE logo in the EU market would be able to start the implementation of UKCA logo and Manufacturer's Declaration of Conformity when entering the UK market from this date. Exceptions for special products, such as medical devices, construction products, and a few other product categories, are subject to separate UK guidelines.
The requirements and rules for the UKCA logo entering the UK market are the same as those for the CE logo entering the EU market, i.e., complete technical documents for conformity assessment and the Declaration of Conformity (DoC) are required. The requirements of the DoC for UKCA are also equivalent to that of the EU CE logo, but the corresponding UK BS standards must be used on the DoC and the declaration of compliance with UK legislations shall be made.
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UKCA DoC for the UK market is actually very similar to the requirements of CE DoC, which shall contain at least the following contents:
The product model, serial number or series;
The company name and address of the manufacturer or UK authorized representative;
The declaration of compliance that the product is complies with the relevant UK regulatory requirements and UK regulatory names applicable to the product;
The declaration of full responsibility for the conformity of the product;
Relevant UK BS standards
The details of third-party conformity assessment bodies (where applicable);
The name, position and signature of the UKCA DoC signatory;
The signing date of the UKCA DoC.
After January 1, 2021, the UK importers are required to ensure that products entering the UK market have technical documents for conformity assessment and DoC; the products have the company name, address and contact information identifying the UK importers; and the importers are required to hold and keep the manufacturer DoC for 10 years.
As a transitional period, the CE logo is still recognized before January 1, 2022 for products with the same technical requirements and logo rules of UK and EU. However, if the CE logo rules for products change during this period, the CE logo based on the new EU rules would not be recognized by the UK market. Therefore, it is recommended to transit to the use of the UKCA logo as soon as possible.
For those products that are mandatory to be evaluated by a third-party notified body, if the UK notified body was originally used and the compliance assessment file has not been transferred to the EU notified body prior to the date of January 1, 2021, the UKCA logo shall be applied immediately from January 1, 2021 and the CE logo will no longer be recognized. Manufacturers and retailers do not need to make any changes to the inventory products that have been put on the UK market before this date.
Before January 1, 2023, except for products to which special rules apply, the UKCA logo and relevant information of the importers and manufacturers can be marked on the product body or on the documents attached to the product, while after January 1, 2023, it can only be marked on the product body.
The "UK" mentioned in the guidelines refers to the Great Britain, including England, Wales and Scotland. It is not applicable to the products entering the Northern Ireland. There is a temporary special treatment agreement for products entering Northern Ireland until 2024 and adjustments will be made after the Northern Ireland referendum. The CE logo remains in force and the UK (NI) logo is used. For products imported into the Northern Ireland from regions other than the UK, the EU CE logo rules are still in use.
