Businesses have 2 more years to move from CE marking to UKCA

My next blog post was going to be about the burden being put upon UK businesses of having to transfer from using CE marking to using the UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking before the deadline of 31st December 2022. 

 

So it was with some interest that I read Business Secretary Grant Shapps’ announcement yesterday that businesses are to be given a further 2 years where they are allowed to use the CE marking. The deadline has now been moved to December 2024 

 

Mr Shapps said: “The government is determined to remove barriers to businesses so they can get on with their top priorities, like providing quality customer service, enabling growth and supporting their staff.” 

 

For some businesses, this will come as a relief. In the middle of an economy that is struggling more than has been seen in recent history, the UKCA deadline extension will allow for a little more breathing space, and a lot more planning. 

 

If you already have UKCA marking on your products, you can still use them, but products carrying just the CE marking are allowed until 31st December 2024. 

 

In addition any testing a company undertakes for CE marking up until December 2024 can then be used as the basis for UKCA marking until 31st December 2027. 

 

The information on the government website also states that businesses will be allowed to affix UKCA marking and include importer information for products from EEA countries on an accompanying document or label until 31st December 2027. This seems to be an attempt to reduce the cost of labelling, and possibly to allow for more time to perfect the e-labelling that has been spoken about in the past. 

 

While businesses selling products in England, Scotland and Wales will need to use UKCA marking by December 2024, Northern Ireland will continue to recognise the CE marking for goods placed on the market in Northern Ireland. They will need to use the UKNI marking if they use a UK Conformity Assessment Body to test their products. 

 

You can find more information on gov.uk