Leveraging the EU CE Mark for independent 3rd party end-product certifications - Facts and Myths

Abstract

Many companies erroneously conflate the familiar European CE mark to be equivalent to North American safety certification recognized component approvals. For purposes of this publication, “North America” only includes the United States and Canada. Although a CE marked component or subassembly cannot solely be used to support such recognized component certifications, it can offer value to both product developers and independent certification laboratories to optimize component selection. A common situation occurs when a product developer desires end-product Listing certification based on a critical component/subassembly level CE mark for North American compliance. Even if the CE mark is provided against a harmonized standard, this may not be acceptable to 3rd party safety certification laboratories in absence of a more formal recognized component evaluation. This paper will provide an overview of the importance of CE mark product safety compliance claim and benefits of supplemental certification approvals.