UKCA Marking: What It Means and How to Get It

UKCA marking (UK Conformity Assessed) is the conformity mark for products placed on the market in Great Britain. It is the manufacturer’s claim that the product meets its sector’s rules. It is needed only where a sector regulation requires a conformity mark, and Great Britain continues to recognise CE marking for many of those products, with no end date stated.

This guide is for brands and Amazon sellers outside the UK who want to know whether their product needs a mark, which route to use, and what has to be in place before stock reaches Great Britain. If you sell UKCA or CE goods into GB from abroad, you will also need a UK-established importer or authorised representative: our UK Responsible Person service covers that part.

What does UKCA marking mean?

UKCA stands for UK Conformity Assessed. Like CE (Conformité Européenne), it is the manufacturer’s statement that the product meets the product requirements that apply to it.

It applies in Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales. It does not apply in the Crown dependencies, and Northern Ireland has its own arrangements (see below).

What products need UKCA marking?

A conformity mark is only needed when a sector-specific regulation asks for one. Products with no such regulation sit under the UK General Product Safety Regulations 2005 in Great Britain instead.

The UKCA and CE regimes together cover more than 20 product types, mostly the goods that needed CE marking under EU “new approach” laws, plus some other sectors such as aerosols. Common ones for online sellers include toys, electrical equipment, radio equipment, products covered by RoHS, machinery, personal protective equipment and pressure equipment. A product often falls under more than one regulation, and it must meet all of them before it carries the mark.

Some sectors have their own rules. Medical devices have separate guidance, and construction products are the main exception to the general approach, because designated standards are mandatory there. Check the sector guidance before you assume the general route applies.

Is UKCA marking scrapped? CE recognition explained

No. UKCA marking still exists and is still valid in Great Britain. What changed is the deadline for switching from CE. Government guidance once set 31 December 2024 as the end of CE recognition for many products; a May 2024 update removed that deadline, and the government’s position is that recognition of current EU requirements will apply indefinitely for a range of product regulations.

So for most products in scope you can sell in Great Britain with either the UKCA mark or the CE mark, or both. Medical devices, construction products and some other sectors are not part of that announcement and follow their own arrangements.

The Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 gives the government powers to update UK product rules, and a consultation on a new framework closed on 23 June 2026. Nothing about the outcome is settled, so plan around the rules as they stand today and check the guidance before each new product launch.

How do I get UKCA marking?

Getting UKCA marking means following the conformity assessment route each of the product’s regulations sets, either self-declaration or assessment by an approved body, and then affixing the mark yourself. In practice:

Identify every regulation that applies to the product (the government’s product marking table is the starting point).
Check whether you can self-declare or need a third-party body (see the table below).
Test and assess the product against each regulation’s requirements, using designated standards where they apply.
Build the technical file: test reports, design documents, risk assessments and anything else the sector rules require. It can usually be kept digitally.
Draw up and sign a UK Declaration of Conformity.
Affix the mark and the required name and address details.
Keep the documents for the period the legislation sets, typically 10 years after each product is placed on the GB market.

If your product already meets recognised EU requirements and has been through the EU conformity assessment process, the government’s Fast-Track UKCA route lets you put a UKCA mark on it on that basis.

Self-declare or approved body? The quick check

Where a third party is required, in Great Britain that is a UK Approved Body accredited by UKAS. Approved bodies certify for UKCA only; an EU notified body certifies against EU requirements, which you can then use in Great Britain through CE recognition. Government guidance lists these cases where the manufacturer can self-declare under UKCA:

UK regulation	Where self-declaration is allowed
Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016	All products
Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations 2016	All products
RoHS in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2012	All products
Aerosol Dispensers Regulations 2009	All products
Radio Equipment Regulations 2017	All products, unless designated standards for the essential requirements don’t exist or weren’t fully applied
Toy (Safety) Regulations 2011	All products, with the same exceptions as radio equipment, plus where a standard was published with a restriction
Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008	Most machinery, with conditions for machinery in Schedule 2, Part 4
Personal Protective Equipment Regulations	Category I PPE only
Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016	Category I pressure equipment only
Medical Devices Regulations 2002	Some Class I devices only
Construction Products Regulations	Products under System 4 assessment only

Anything outside these cases needs an approved body. That is the main thing that drives the cost of UKCA marking: self-declared products cost you the testing and paperwork, while third-party routes add the body’s assessment fees.

UKCA technical file and Declaration of Conformity

The technical file is the evidence behind the mark, so keep it complete, up to date and easy to retrieve.

The Declaration of Conformity is a formal statement that the product complies with the applicable legislation. The manufacturer, or an authorised representative, signs it once compliance is confirmed. It typically names:

the manufacturer and their address
identification of the product
the UK legislation the product complies with
the standards used
the name and signature of the person signing, and the date of issue

Our guide to the EU Declaration of Conformity for consumer electronics walks through a filled-in example; the UK version follows the same structure but lists UK regulations.

UKCA marking size and label requirements

At least 5mm high, unless the sector law sets a different minimum.
Easily visible, legible and indelible, in its standard form; if you resize it, keep the proportions.
On the product or its data plate. Where that isn’t possible, packaging or accompanying documents, as the legislation allows.
The manufacturer’s and importer’s name (or registered trade name or trademark) and postal address, normally on the product or its packaging. There are some temporary easements for goods imported from the EEA, so check the current guidance for your product.

Who is responsible when you sell from outside the UK?

For UKCA or CE goods sold in Great Britain, importers and authorised representatives must be established in the UK. The importer is the UK business bringing the product in from outside the UK, and its name and address normally appear on the product or packaging. An authorised representative is a UK business the manufacturer appoints to carry out agreed tasks on its behalf.

An EU authorised representative or EU responsible person does not cover Great Britain for these goods. Our article on UK Responsible Person requirements by product type sets out who needs what for cosmetics, medical devices and UKCA or CE goods.

UKCA marking and Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland follows different rules. Government guidance for the Northern Ireland market covers CE marking, or CE together with the UKNI mark; UKCA on its own is not one of the markings it lists there. The UKNI mark is used where a UK-based notified body carried out the third-party assessment, and it is never used alone.

The EU General Product Safety Regulation also applies in Northern Ireland but not in Great Britain, and the responsible economic operator for covered products must be established in Northern Ireland or the EU. Our guide to GPSR for Northern Ireland and EU sales explains how that works for GB businesses.

Which mark where

Market	Marks covered by the guidance	Operator for non-UK manufacturers
Great Britain	UKCA, CE, or both (sector exceptions apply)	UK-established importer or authorised representative
Northern Ireland	CE, or CE with UKNI	For GPSR products, a responsible operator in Northern Ireland or the EU
EU	CE	An economic operator established in the EU

Worked example: an overseas brand launching on amazon.co.uk

A fictional manufacturer outside the UK makes a mains-powered desk lamp that it already sells in the EU with CE marking, and wants to sell it on amazon.co.uk. Suppose the lamp falls under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, the EMC Regulations 2016 and the RoHS Regulations 2012.

Mark: all three allow self-declaration, and CE is recognised in Great Britain for these regulations, so the existing CE mark can stay. The brand could also add UKCA through the Fast-Track route.
Paperwork: the technical file it built for the EU is the evidence base; it keeps it available for GB authorities.
The gap: it has no UK presence. It needs a UK-established importer or authorised representative, and the importer’s name and address on the product or packaging. Its EU representative doesn’t fill this role.

In this example the mark is already sorted; the missing piece is the UK operator.

Your next step

If your products carry UKCA or CE marking and you sell into Great Britain from outside the UK, EU Brand Support can act as your UK authorised representative through our UK Responsible Person service, giving you a UK name and address for your labels and listings. We review your Declaration of Conformity, test reports and marking before taking a product on, and hold your technical file for authority requests. For the documents themselves, our compliance template packs include Declaration of Conformity, risk assessment and technical file templates by product category.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the government guidance for your specific product.

Frequently asked questions

Is UKCA marking mandatory?

Only for products whose sector regulation requires a conformity mark, and even then CE marking is still recognised in Great Britain for many product types. Products with no sector regulation need no conformity mark.

Is UKCA valid in the EU?

The EU market uses CE marking. If you sell in both, CE is the mark that works in the EU and is also recognised in Great Britain for many products.

Do I need a UK approved body for UKCA?

Only if your product’s regulation requires third-party assessment. Products under the electrical safety, EMC and RoHS regulations can all be self-declared, and radio equipment and toys usually can where designated standards were applied in full.

How long must I keep the UKCA technical file?

For the period the legislation sets, typically 10 years after each product is placed on the GB market.

UKCA marking: what it means, which products need it and how to get it