DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY

DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY

The CE marking directives impose an obligation for the manufacturer, or his authorized representative established in Europe, to draw up a Declaration of Conformity (or ‘EU Declaration of Conformity’) as a part of the conformity assessment procedure. The Declaration must be issued before the product is placed on the market in Europe. (In the Construction Products Regulation this document is called the ‘Declaration of Performance’. The Machinery Directive requires a Declaration of Incorporation for uncompleted machinery.)

The EU Declaration of Conformity is the document in which the manufacturer states that the product satisfies the essential requirements of the applicable legislation.
By drawing up and signing the EU Declaration of Conformity, the manufacturer assumes responsibility for the compliance of the product.

The Declaration of Conformity must contain all relevant information to identify the EU legislation according to which it is issued. The documents also must contain the contact details of the manufacturer, the authorised representative, and the notified body if applicable, as well as the product details, and where appropriate a reference to harmonised standards or other technical specifications.

When a product is covered by several CE directives requiring an EU Declaration of Conformity, only a single one needs to be drawn up.

The Declaration of Conformity must be kept for ten years from the date of placing the product on the market, unless the applicable CE directives provides for any other duration. This is the responsibility of the manufacturer or the authorised representative. For imported products, the importer must take on this responsibility for the Declaration of Conformity.

The Declaration of Conformity must be made available to the market surveillance authority immediately upon their request. And the directives relating to machinery, potentially explosive atmospheres, radio and terminal telecommunication equipment, measuring instruments,recreational craft, lifts, high-speed and conventional rail systems and constituents of the European Air Traffic Management network require that each product is accompanied by the Declaration of Conformity. That means that for these products you need to send the Declaration together with the product.