CE marking in the construction industry

CE stands for Communauté Européenne (although it is sometimes taken to stand for Conformité Européenne). CE marking signifies that a product complies with relevant safety, health or environmental regulations across the European Economic Area (EEA). The EEA consists of the member states of the EU and the European Free Trade Association countries; Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

CE marking of construction products was first introduced in the Construction Products Directive (CPD) in 1988. The Construction Products Regulations (CPR) made it mandatory for certain products in 2011 and 2013, and from 1 July 2014, made CE marking mandatory for structural steelwork and aluminium. There have been many changes to the requirements under CE markings which also vary depending on the types of products. As an example, initially if a product was fully manufactured, CE marked and ready to place on the market before 1st January 2021, it could still be sold in Great Britain with a CE marking even if covered by a certificate of conformity issued by a UK body before 1st January 2021. However, these goods needed to be placed on the market before 31st December 2022.

The legislation initially required that the UKCA marking was placed on a label affixed to the product or on a document accompanying the product until 31st December 2023. However, an extension was been defined with the new deadline being 31st December 2027 for certain products. Until that date, it will still be possible to attach a label to the product when required. This will apply for most goods requiring UKCA marking, even though there will be different rules for the various categories of products. In January 2023, limits to the cases where UKCA certification could be used were added, and in December 2023, a derogation on how to apply the UKCA marking, up to the 1st of January 2023 the need to use the new UKCA applied only in certain circumstances.

Finally in September 2024, a Building Safety Statement made by Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Building Safety and Homelessness on 2 September, 2024 included an update on the timeframe for recognition of the CE Mark. In summary, the statement confirmed that CE marking continues to be accepted past 30 June 2025 for construction products, though the Government committed to system wide construction product regulatory reform, UKCA marking will remain a valid and accepted regulatory mark. The Government will explore the long-term future of CE/UKCA marking as part of this regulatory reform and any subsequent changes to the recognition of CE marking would be subject to a minimum 2-year transitional period.

From the 1st January 2028, when possible (e.g. if the size of the product allows for it), the marking shall be placed directly on the product.

This is not the same as the Kitemark, which indicates that a product has been independently tested by BSI (the British Standards Institute) to confirm that it complies with the relevant British Standard, and have licensed the product manufacturer to use the Kitemark.

Note: The UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking is a UK product marking used for certain goods being placed on the market in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). It was introduced following Brexit to replace CE marking. An additional mark, UKNI, will be used in Northern Ireland. For more information see: BBA becomes an Approved Body for UKCA Marking.

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