Brexit: UKCA marking postponed to 1 January 2023
The UK Government has extended the deadline for the mandatory use of the UKCA marking from 1 January 2022 to 1 January 2023.
As is known, the transition period envisaged after the signing of the withdrawal agreement ended on 31/12/2020. Since 1 January 2021, the United Kingdom has therefore sought to encourage manufacturers of goods subject to marking to organise themselves to implement the use of the UKCA marking, although the obligation to apply the new marking should have been implemented from 1 January 2022 (see Guidance - using the UKCA marking, published on www.gov.uk). Now the deadline has been postponed by one year due to the impact of COVID on business organisations, as announced by the Government.
In short, companies were, and are, free to start using the UKCA marking from the beginning of this year, but until the end of 2022 they can continue to place CE marked goods on the UK market provided one of the following conditions is met:
- the technical requirements of EU and UK legislation remain identical
- the CE marking is based on a self-declaration, or
- the NB certificate has been issued by an EU Notified Body, or
- the technical documentation for the certificate of conformity issued by a UK Notified Body has been transferred to an EU body.
From 1 January 2023 the UKCA marking will however become mandatory.
The UK government will no longer accept CE marking for access to the UK market. Products bearing both CE and UKCA markings will be accepted provided they comply with both UK and European CE marking standards.
An exception is made for medical devices for which UKCA marking is planned to be mandatory from 1/7/2023.
Please note that the UKCA marking is required for the same goods for which the CE marking is mandatory in order to be marketed within the European Economic Area.
With regard to technical requirements, the standards and processes for issuing certification are generally the same as for CE marking, in particular for 'new approach' goods, for which there is little regulatory deviation. Special rules apply to so-called "old approach" goods such as chemicals, medicinal products, certain automotive components and medical devices. Detailed information on the requirements for the various types of products can be found in the guide Product safety for businesses: A to Z of industry, published by the Office for Product Safety and Standards.
It should also be noted that in order to obtain the UKCA marking, it is necessary to apply to UK notified bodies authorised to issue the UKCA marking that are accredited by the UKAS system; organisations will be able to identify the most suitable notified body for their needs in the UK Market Conformity Assessment Bodies database made available by the Government.