Hello,
On June 23, 2016, the EU referendum took place and the people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. The government respected the result and triggered Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union on March 29, 2017, to begin the process of exit.
Though that exit strategy is still ongoing, on January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom left the European Union per an agreement to withdraw. Fast-forward to January 1, 2021, when the United Kingdom Conformity Assessed (UKCA) mark will be mandatory on products entering the UK market under UK law in place of EU guidelines. Until exit negotiations are concluded, however, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force.
Products still carrying the “CE” mark that comply with EU directives will be permitted to enter the UK until December 31, 2021. The UKCA label is associated with the UK declaration of conformity, with UK laws applying instead of EU guidelines. This consists of an exact transfer of EU regulations.
For example, if Interpower’s UK cord set currently requires a CE mark, then that UK cord set will require a UKCA mark. Likewise, if it does not currently require a CE mark, it will not need a UKCA mark.
There will also be a UKCA declaration of conformity for the British market, which will reference British law instead of EU regulations using British Standards (BS) as normative verification. The norm reference BS indicates that this is approved by the British Standards Institution, the UK’s national standards organization.
The CE mark—the EU declaration of conformity and the EU type approval test—are considered equal alternatives to the corresponding UK elements until the end of 2021 at the latest. There is, then, a one-year transition period from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021. Afterwards, the UKCA mark must be used and related requirements implemented.
If any changes to EU or UK law occur from January 1, 2021, the UKCA label will immediately be mandatory for affected products from December 31, 2021. The same also applies to interim changes to UK law. The transition period also applies to products that require a confirmation from a notary.
These General Applications Apply to the UKCA Mark
Up to the end of 2022, manufacturers are allowed to “provisionally” use the UKCA label on their products. This can be implemented by adding the relevant mark to the operating manual, an additional label or similar. From January 1, 2023, the UKCA label must be firmly applied to the product itself under a similar regulation to which the CE mark is subject.
- No other marks or symbols may be applied to the product that would impact or interfere with the meaning UKCA mark that would impact the readability or the meaning of the UKCA mark.
- It may only be applied to the product by the manufacturer or an authorized representative, insofar as this is permissible within the relevant legal guidelines.
- Manufacturers must also label their products with their name, registered trade name or registered trade mark and address; the type batch or serial number (or other identification) and ensure that they are accompanied by instructions easily understood by the end user. If the end user is in the UK, the language must be English.
- The documentation must be stored for 10 years, just as CE mark documentation.
For more information, and updates on Brexit, please visit their Web site at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-the-ukca-mark-from-1-january-2021#when-to-use-the-ukca-marking
