The UK government announced that CE marking will continue to be accepted until January 1, 2023. The new UKCA marking will not become mandatory until January 1, 2023.
In the press release by the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy dated August 24, 2021, not only is the transition period of the CE mark extended by one year, but also the deadline for the aerosol packaging conformity mark ("reversed epsilon").
The introduction of a new marking involves a lot of work, for which companies need a longer transition period due to the pandemic: After the new certification and assessment process, the physical marking must also still be applied to the products.
The UKCA marking was introduced on January 1, 2021 and may be used voluntarily since then. The original plan was to accept the CE marking and the "reversed epsilon" only until January 1, 2022. With the extension of the transition period by one year, companies have more time to adapt to the new rules.
Special rules will apply to medical and chemical products, veterinary products, motor vehicles, and the aerospace industry. Companies affected are advised to find out about these special rules.Note: The transition period applies to all goods for which the UK and EU rules are identical. Declarations of Conformity issued by bodies located in the EU also remain valid during this period.
While in Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales) the UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking will completely replace the CE marking, the CE marking is still be used on the Northern Ireland market.
For products placed on the market in Northern Ireland for which mandatory assessment by a UK Conformity Assessment Body is required, a separate UKNI marking has been introduced which differs from the UKCA logo only by the letters NI. The UKNI marking will be applied in addition to the CE marking.
Note: Goods bearing both the CE and UKNI markings may only be placed on the market within the UK but not within the EU.
