UKCA Marking Services for Machinery and Industrial Products

What Is UKCA Marking?

UKCA means UK Conformity Assessed. It is a conformity marking for specified products supplied in Great Britain. It must be supported by the assessment, technical documentation and declaration required for the chosen legal route.

It is not a quality award, government product approval or proof that a product was made in the UK. Using an assessor does not transfer the manufacturer’s responsibility for conformity.

Read the government’s UKCA and CE market guidance.

Do You Need a UKCA Certificate?

There is no universal “UKCA certificate” that every manufacturer must purchase. First establish the applicable regulations and conformity assessment procedure.

• UK Declaration of Conformity: the manufacturer’s formal declaration supporting the UKCA route.
• Test or inspection report: evidence of the specified checks, product configuration and results.
• Voluntary attestation: a statement within an agreed scope. It does not replace the legal declaration or mandatory third-party assessment.
• Statutory certificate: required only where the legislation and assessment route call for a suitably approved or recognised conformity assessment body.

Partly completed machinery needs the applicable Declaration of Incorporation, technical documentation and assembly instructions. It must not carry UKCA marking under machinery legislation alone. The final machinery or assembly needs its own assessment.

Can You Use Existing CE Evidence for UKCA?

Fast-Track UKCA is an optional route where GB law recognises the relevant EU requirements. It can allow compliant EU assessment evidence to support UKCA marking, including required EU third-party assessment.

For products covered by several regulations, the route can combine UK requirements with recognised EU requirements, provided each applicable regulation is satisfied. The supporting declaration must accurately identify the requirements and procedures used.

We review existing reports, certificates and declarations against the actual product and chosen route. An existing CE logo or a voluntary certificate alone does not establish eligibility. Read the Fast-Track UKCA guidance.

Which UK Regulations Apply?

UKCA is a marking system, not a single regulation. Our scope review considers the requirements relevant to your product:

• Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008: machinery and related products within scope.
• Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations 2016: relevant apparatus and electromagnetic disturbance or immunity requirements.
• Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016: electrical equipment within the regulated scope.
• Noise Emission in the Environment by Equipment for use Outdoors Regulations 2001: listed outdoor equipment, with category-specific noise and assessment duties.
• Additional regimes: radio equipment, pressure equipment, explosive atmospheres or RoHS may need a separate scope check.

For machinery covered by the machinery regulations, electrical safety objectives are addressed through that framework. Do not automatically add a separate Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations declaration obligation merely because a machine is electrically powered. See HSE’s explanation of overlapping product rules.

Designated standards and recognised EU standards

Check the current designated standards notices, including editions, restrictions and withdrawal dates. Standards do not replace essential requirements. Presumption of conformity extends only to the requirements covered by the relevant designation.

EU harmonisation and GB designation are distinct. Differences, restrictions or missing GB designation can require additional evidence and, for some products, a stricter procedure under a recognised CE route. Read the government guidance on standards differences.

Technical Documentation You May Need

• Product description, models, variants and intended use.
• Drawings, schematics and design calculations.
• Risk assessment, protective measures and residual risks.
• Applicable requirements and standards matrix.
• Safety-function and software evidence where relevant.
• Test reports, inspection records and component documents.
• English instructions, maintenance information and labels.
• Declarations and any required statutory certificates.

Check the retention trigger, not just “ten years”. Under the domestic machinery framework, Schedule 2 Part 7 requires the technical file for at least ten years after manufacture, or manufacture of the last unit in a series. Part 2 requires the original conformity declaration for at least ten years after the last manufacture date. Other regulations and recognition routes may use market placement as the trigger. Read Schedule 2.

UK Declaration of Conformity and product marking

Match the declaration to the actual product and route. Include the required manufacturer and product identification, legislation, standards, relevant body or certificate details, and authorised signature, place and date. A generic template must be adapted to the product legislation.

UKCA marking must use the correct proportions and be legible and visible. The usual minimum height is 5 mm, subject to sector rules. For eligible sectors, the label or accompanying-document flexibility runs until 11pm on 31 December 2027. This is a labelling measure, not an expiry date for CE recognition. Check product-specific rules and do not assume the same flexibility applies to CE marking.

When Is an Approved Body Required?

The answer depends on the legislation, product category and chosen assessment route. A test laboratory report and a statutory conformity assessment certificate serve different purposes.

Under the domestic GB machinery route, machinery outside the listed Annex IV categories generally follows internal checks. Listed machinery can also follow internal checks when the applicable designated standards cover all relevant essential requirements. Otherwise the prescribed type-examination or full-quality-assurance procedure is needed.

When a domestic UKCA procedure requires a third party, check the UK Approved Body’s exact scope. Recognised EU and Fast-Track routes can use EU conformity assessment evidence where the law permits. ConformTest’s technical support does not itself replace a required statutory body assessment.

Check the GB machinery assessment guidance.

UKCA Marking Costs and Timescales

Cost and duration depend on product complexity, variants, document readiness, necessary tests, site access, corrective work and any external assessment. A document review and a production-line assessment need different resources.

Send the available evidence and your target supply date. We use these to define deliverables, dependencies and the proposed timetable before the work starts.

Frequently Asked Questions