More time for UK conformity assessed marking

On 24 August 2021, The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announced that most businesses will have an extra year to apply UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking to goods placed on the market in Great Britain (the GB market). The deadline will now be 1 January 2023, rather than 1 January 2022.

This reflects lobbying from businesses affected by the significant disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, businesses are nevertheless encouraged to switch to the new regime.

What’s required?

UKCA marking is replacing ‘CE’ marking as the standard mark of conformity for goods subject to ‘New Approach’ legislation which are to be placed on the GB market. Additionally, UKCA marking will apply to aerosol products placed on the GB market, which previously were subject to a ‘reverse epsilon’ marking.

For the time being, the substantive requirements of the ‘New Approach’ legislation will remain the same for the GB market, as the relevant EU legislation has been transposed into UK law for the purpose of continuing in effect after the end of the ‘Transition Period’ on 31 December 2020.

Furthermore, legislation will be introduced so that after 1 January 2023 the UKCA marking can be placed on a label affixed to the product, or on a document accompanying the product, until 31 December 2023. That is the arrangement which was to have applied from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022.

Exclusions to the extension

The extended transition arrangements do not apply to medical devices, which will not require UKCA marking until 1 July 2023. However, the arrangements will also not apply to certain goods which have required third party conformity assessment, in cases where this assessment has been provided by a UK Notified Body. In such cases those products already require UKCA marking if placed on the GB market.

UKCA marking does not apply to goods subject to the ‘Old Approach’ legislation, such as medicines and veterinary medicines, to products subject to non-harmonised national rules, and to certain products other than aerosols which were subject to special marking under the EU regime. There are also a number of categories of product which are subject to special rules in addition to UKCA marking.

UKCA marking also does not apply at all in Northern Ireland. Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, the EU single market rules remain in force in the Province, so CE marking, where relevant, will continue to apply. However, there is provision for goods placed on the market in Northern Ireland to utilise a UK Notified Body, where this is required under the relevant legislation, and for this purpose the relevant products will bear an additional UKNI marking. Furthermore, goods placed on the market in Northern Ireland which have been CE marked, or where relevant CE and UKNI marked, will continue to be accepted on the market in Great Britain.