Which products require CE marking? The full list of EU legislation
Every EU act that requires CE marking, in one table: act number, product scope, whether a notified body is involved and where a Digital Product Passport is already attached. Plus what is not CE marked, and what the European Product Act will change.
Which products require CE marking? The full list of EU legislation
There is no register of “CE products” to look yourself up in. CE marking works the other way round: roughly thirty separate legal acts each define a product scope, and if your product falls inside one of those scopes, the marking is mandatory — while if it falls inside none of them, affixing it is an infringement. Most compliance mistakes in this area are not failed tests. They are a wrong answer to the prior question of which act applies at all.
This article gives the complete list, grouped and with the official act numbers, so you can work through it product by product. It also covers the three things a plain list leaves out: which everyday product groups are deliberately not CE marked, what happens when several acts apply to the same item, and where a Digital Product Passport is already written into CE legislation — because in four of these acts it now is.
Key takeaways
- CE marking is mandatory only where a specific legal act provides for it. There is no general duty to CE mark, and no general exemption either — the answer is always per act, per product.
- Affixing the marking without a legal basis is prohibited under Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008. “We added CE to look compliant” is itself a breach.
- Around 30 acts currently require CE marking. The most common are the Low Voltage, EMC and Radio Equipment acts for anything electrical, and machinery, toys, PPE and medical devices for their sectors.
- One product routinely falls under several acts at once. A connected power tool can be in scope of machinery, LVD, EMC, RED, RoHS and the Cyber Resilience Act simultaneously. You satisfy all of them, and issue one declaration of conformity listing them all.
- Large everyday categories are not CE marked at all: furniture, textiles, cosmetics, food and food contact materials, packaging, tools without a power drive. A CE mark on these is a red flag, not a selling point.
- Some regulated products carry a different mark: marine equipment uses the wheel mark, vehicles use type-approval, rail subsystems use EC verification. Regulated does not mean CE.
- Four CE acts already carry a product passport: the Batteries Regulation (from 18 February 2027), the Toy Safety Regulation (2030), the Construction Products Regulation, and the ESPR via its delegated acts.
- The newest members of the CE family are software-shaped: the AI Act and the Cyber Resilience Act both use the marking for products that have no physical safety risk in the traditional sense.
- The European Product Act, expected from the Commission in Q3 2026, is set to revise this whole framework — with digital-by-default documentation and the DPP integrated into it.
The rule that decides everything: scope, not product type
CE marking is not a quality label, not a certificate, and not a statement of European origin. It is the manufacturer’s own declaration that a product meets every applicable requirement of EU harmonisation legislation, and that the required conformity assessment procedure has been carried out. The general rules sit in Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008; the assessment procedures come from Decision No 768/2008/EC and are explained in our guide to conformity assessment modules.
Two consequences follow, and both are counter-intuitive.
First, the duty is created by the act, not by the risk. A hand saw is more dangerous than a bedside lamp, and the lamp is CE marked while the saw is not — because the Low Voltage Directive covers the lamp and no CE act covers unpowered hand tools. Intuition about danger is a poor guide here; scope definitions are the only guide.
Second, the marking is prohibited where no act applies. Article 30(2) of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 bars affixing CE to products not covered by legislation providing for it. Manufacturers who add the mark “for reassurance” on textiles or furniture are not over-complying — they are making a misleading claim, and market surveillance authorities treat it as one.
So the question is never “is my product dangerous enough to need CE?” It is “does my product fall within the defined scope of any of the following acts?”
The complete list of CE marking legislation
Electrical, electronic and radio equipment
The broadest group — and the reason most manufacturers first meet CE at all. Note that these stack: a Bluetooth speaker is in scope of all four.
| Act | Product scope |
|---|---|
| Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU | Electrical equipment rated 50–1 000 V AC or 75–1 500 V DC |
| EMC Directive 2014/30/EU | Equipment that can cause or be affected by electromagnetic disturbance |
| Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU | Anything that intentionally transmits or receives radio waves — Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, RFID |
| RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU | Restriction of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment |
| Cyber Resilience Act (EU) 2024/2847 | Products with digital elements — reporting duties from 11 September 2026, full application 11 December 2027 |
Below 50 V AC and outside radio: a USB-powered device may fall only under EMC and RoHS. That is still CE marking — the list of applicable acts is shorter, not empty.
Machinery, pressure and equipment for hazardous environments
| Act | Product scope |
|---|---|
| Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC → Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 | Machinery, safety components, lifting accessories, chains, ropes. The Regulation applies from 20 January 2027 |
| Lifts Directive 2014/33/EU | Lifts permanently serving buildings, and their safety components |
| Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU | Pressure equipment and assemblies above 0,5 bar |
| Simple Pressure Vessels Directive 2014/29/EU | Welded vessels above 0,5 bar containing air or nitrogen |
| ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU | Equipment and protective systems for potentially explosive atmospheres |
| Cableway Installations Regulation (EU) 2016/424 | Subsystems and safety components for passenger cableways — the installation itself is not CE marked |
| Outdoor Noise Directive 2000/14/EC | Equipment used outdoors, with a guaranteed sound power level marking alongside CE |
Safety, health and measurement
| Act | Product scope |
|---|---|
| PPE Regulation (EU) 2016/425 | Personal protective equipment, categories I to III |
| Medical Devices Regulation (EU) 2017/745 | Medical devices and accessories, classes I to III |
| IVD Regulation (EU) 2017/746 | In vitro diagnostic medical devices, classes A to D |
| Toy Safety Directive 2009/48/EC → Toy Safety Regulation (EU) 2025/2509 | Products designed for play by children under 14. The Regulation applies from 1 August 2030 |
| Measuring Instruments Directive 2014/32/EU | Heat, gas, water and electricity meters, taximeters, and other instruments in legal metrology |
| Non-Automatic Weighing Instruments Directive 2014/31/EU | Scales requiring operator intervention |
| Gas Appliances Regulation (EU) 2016/426 | Appliances burning gaseous fuels, and their fittings |
Medical devices are worth a note in a DPP context: they are excluded from the ESPR, so a CE mark here will not be followed by an ecodesign product passport.
Construction, energy and chemicals
| Act | Product scope |
|---|---|
| Construction Products Regulation (EU) 2024/3110 | Construction products permanently incorporated in works. Replaced Regulation (EU) No 305/2011, in force since 7 January 2025, with a long phase-out. CE marking follows from the declaration of performance |
| Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC | Energy-related products, where an implementing measure applies |
| ESPR (EU) 2024/1781 | Almost all physical goods, including components and intermediate products, as delegated acts arrive |
| Fertilising Products Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 | EU fertilising products placed on the market as CE marked |
| Explosives for Civil Use Directive 2014/28/EU | Civil explosives |
| Pyrotechnic Articles Directive 2013/29/EU | Fireworks and other pyrotechnic articles, categories F1 to P2 |
The Construction Products Regulation is the odd one out mechanically: the manufacturer declares performance against harmonised technical specifications rather than conformity with safety requirements, and the CE marking follows the declaration of performance. Our CPR article covers the difference and the new passport.
Transport, mobility and the newest additions
| Act | Product scope |
|---|---|
| Recreational Craft Directive 2013/53/EU | Recreational craft, personal watercraft, engines and components |
| Unmanned Aircraft Regulation (EU) 2019/945 | Unmanned aircraft systems in the open and specific categories, with class identification labels |
| Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 | All battery categories — portable, LMT, SLI, industrial, electric vehicle |
| AI Act (EU) 2024/1689 | High-risk AI systems. See the revised dates below |
The AI Act deserves precision, because the dates moved. High-risk obligations — including CE marking for high-risk systems — were originally set for 2 August 2026 and 2 August 2027. Following the Digital Omnibus on AI, they now apply from 2 December 2027 for standalone high-risk systems under Annex III and from 2 August 2028 for AI embedded in products already covered by sectoral CE legislation under Annex I. The Article 50 transparency duties were not delayed and have applied since 2 August 2026.
Which products are not CE marked
This is where the expensive mistakes happen — in both directions. Some manufacturers affix CE with no legal basis; others assume that because no CE act applies, no EU product law applies. Both are wrong.
No CE marking, but other EU rules apply:
- Furniture — no CE act. Governed by the General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988, chemical restrictions under REACH, and EUDR for wood content. Furniture is nonetheless on the ESPR working plan, so a DPP is coming without CE ever arriving.
- Textiles and clothing — no CE act. Fibre composition labelling, REACH, and a first-wave ESPR category.
- Cosmetics — Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, with notification to the CPNP instead of CE marking.
- Food, feed and food contact materials — their own regime entirely.
- Packaging — PPWR, EPR schemes, no CE mark.
- Unpowered hand tools, most sports equipment, stationery, most household goods — general product safety only.
Regulated, but marked differently:
- Marine equipment — Directive 2014/90/EU uses the wheel mark, not CE.
- Motor vehicles, agricultural and forestry vehicles, two- and three-wheelers — Regulations (EU) 2018/858, 167/2013 and 168/2013 use type-approval.
- Rail subsystems — Directive (EU) 2016/797 uses EC verification and authorisation for placing in service.
The practical test: if you cannot name the act and the article that requires the marking, you should not be affixing it.
One product, several acts
Most manufacturers with a compliance problem do not have a testing problem. They have an incomplete list of applicable acts.
Take a cordless, app-connected garden tool sold in the EU in 2027. In scope:
- Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 — it is machinery
- Low Voltage Directive — if mains charging above 50 V is part of the product
- EMC Directive — electromagnetic emissions and immunity
- Radio Equipment Directive — the Bluetooth module
- RoHS Directive — substance restrictions in the electronics
- Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 — the removable battery pack
- Cyber Resilience Act (EU) 2024/2847 — a product with digital elements, from 11 December 2027
Six or seven acts, one product. The rules for handling that are fixed and worth memorising:
- Every applicable act must be satisfied in full. They do not substitute for one another, and the strictest requirement is not “good enough” for the others.
- The conformity assessment route can differ per act. Self-assessment under one, notified body involvement under another. See the modules.
- You affix one CE marking, not one per act.
- You issue one EU declaration of conformity that lists every act, with the references of the harmonised standards applied. The template and mandatory fields are common across acts precisely so this single document works.
That fourth point is where product data management stops being an administrative topic. A declaration listing seven acts is only as accurate as the underlying record of what was tested, to which standard version, on which product variant.
Assemblies and composite products: when you become the manufacturer
A recurring and expensive misunderstanding: combining CE-marked components does not produce a CE-marked result by inheritance.
If you assemble bought-in, individually CE-marked parts into a functional unit that has a new function of its own — a production line from separate machines, a control cabinet, a machine with an added robot cell — you have placed a new product on the market. You are its manufacturer. That means a fresh risk assessment for the assembly, your own technical documentation, your own declaration of conformity, and your own CE marking on the assembly. The component declarations become inputs to your file, not a substitute for it.
The same logic applies to substantial modification. Under the Machinery Regulation, a modification not foreseen by the original manufacturer that introduces a new hazard or increases an existing risk makes the modifier the manufacturer of a substantially modified machine — with the full obligation set attached. Retrofitters, systems integrators and in-house maintenance teams are the ones who get caught by this.
Where the DPP already sits inside CE legislation
The Digital Product Passport is often described as an ESPR topic. It is not, or not only: it has already been written into several CE acts on separate timelines, each with its own scope.
| Act | Passport | Applies from |
|---|---|---|
| Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 | Battery passport for LMT, industrial >2 kWh and EV batteries | 18 February 2027 |
| Toy Safety Regulation (EU) 2025/2509 | DPP mandatory, taking over the role of the declaration of conformity | 1 August 2030 |
| Construction Products Regulation (EU) 2024/3110 | DPP system for construction products | Phased with the delegated acts |
| ESPR (EU) 2024/1781 | DPP per product group, via delegated acts | Per delegated act, first ones from 2027 |
Two observations for planning purposes.
The Toy Safety Regulation is the most instructive case, because there the passport does not sit next to the declaration of conformity — it replaces it as the primary demonstration of conformity, while the CE marking itself remains and becomes one of the mandatory data elements inside the passport. That is the direction of travel for the whole framework, and we cover it separately in when the DPP replaces the EU declaration of conformity.
And the ESPR reaches products that have never had a CE mark. Furniture and textiles will get a passport without CE marking ever applying to them. So “which of my products need CE marking” and “which of my products need a DPP” are two different lists that overlap only partly — which is exactly why they should be answered separately and at the same time.
What the European Product Act will change
Worth knowing now, because it affects how much of today’s paperwork is worth automating.
The Commission’s 2026 work programme includes a review of the New Legislative Framework, expected as a European Product Act in Q3 2026 — a package combining a revised New Legislative Framework and Market Surveillance Regulation with a revised Standardisation Regulation. Public consultations ran in January 2026.
The stated direction is digital by default: electronic product documentation, electronic declarations of conformity, mandatory electronic communication between economic operators and authorities, and — explicitly — integration of the Digital Product Passport into the NLF itself rather than leaving it as a product-by-product bolt-on. CEN and CENELEC’s response to the consultation asks for exactly that alignment.
Nothing here is law yet, and a Q3 2026 proposal means adoption years later. But the direction removes one common objection: firms treating digital compliance documentation as optional until the ESPR delegated acts land are, on current evidence, planning against the framework’s own trajectory.
Five steps to build your own list
- Inventory by function, not by catalogue. Scope definitions turn on what a product does and how it is powered, not on how your range is organised. Variants with a radio module belong in a different bucket from those without.
- Work down the list above, act by act. For each, read the scope article and the exclusions article. Exclusions are where most of the real answers are.
- Expect several hits per product, and write them all down. An incomplete list produces an inaccurate declaration of conformity, which is a documented infringement even when the product is perfectly safe.
- For each act, identify the conformity assessment module and whether a notified body is required. Verify any notified body against the Commission’s NANDO list — accreditation is not notification.
- Map the data. Every act produces evidence: test reports, certificates, standard references, substance data. That is the same data the declaration of conformity needs today and the product passport will need tomorrow, so capture it once in a structured system rather than per product launch. The implementation checklist sets out how to sequence that.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an official list of products requiring CE marking?
Not as a list of products — only as a list of legal acts, each with its own scope definition. The Commission publishes the harmonisation legislation and the sector pages, but the mapping from “my product” to “these acts” is the manufacturer’s responsibility and cannot be delegated to a lookup table.
When is CE marking mandatory?
Whenever a product falls within the scope of an act that provides for it, and before it is placed on the EU market. Not on manufacture, not on sale to the end user — on placing on the market. For imports, the importer must verify that the manufacturer has done this, and importers of goods from outside the EU carry manufacturer-level obligations if they sell under their own name or brand.
Does furniture or clothing need CE marking?
No. Neither is covered by any CE act, and affixing the marking would be an infringement. Both are subject to other EU rules, and both are on the ESPR working plan for a Digital Product Passport — which is a separate obligation with no CE component.
Is there such a thing as a CE certificate?
For most products, no. The manufacturer assesses the product, compiles the technical documentation and signs the declaration of conformity without any external body involved. Certificates exist only where the applicable act requires a notified body, and even then it is that body’s certificate for a specific module, not a general “CE certificate”. A supplier offering to sell you one for a self-assessed product is describing something that does not exist.
We sell into the EU from outside. Who is responsible?
The manufacturer bears the obligations, but the EU needs a person inside the Union who is accountable for the file. Under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 that is the economic operator named for the product — manufacturer, authorised representative, importer or fulfilment service provider. Without one, the product cannot be lawfully placed on the market, regardless of testing.
Does the CE marking mean the EU approved the product?
No. No EU authority approves products or grants CE marks. The marking is the manufacturer’s own declaration, backed by documentation that authorities can demand after the fact. This is the single most common misconception, and it is why “CE certified” is not a meaningful phrase.
Read next
- CE marking: meaning, obligation and the link to the DPP
- Conformity assessment: modules A to H1 and when you need a notified body
- EU declaration of conformity: template and mandatory fields
- When the DPP replaces the EU declaration of conformity
- Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230: what changes in 2027
- EU Toy Safety Regulation (EU) 2025/2509: the DPP becomes mandatory
- Construction Products Regulation (EU) 2024/3110 and the DPP
- Battery passport: EU requirements and timeline
- Cyber Resilience Act (EU) 2024/2847: obligations from 11 September 2026
- ESPR regulation: ecodesign requirements
- How to implement a DPP: the complete checklist
myDPP is not a notified body and does not perform conformity assessment. What it does is hold the product data that your declarations of conformity and product passports are built from — versioned, validated and machine-readable. See myDPP.
Sources
- Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, Article 30 (general principles of the CE marking) — EUR-Lex
- Decision No 768/2008/EC (common framework for the marketing of products, conformity assessment modules) — EUR-Lex
- Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products — EUR-Lex
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR) — EUR-Lex
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (Batteries Regulation) — EUR-Lex
- Regulation (EU) 2025/2509 (Toy Safety Regulation) — EUR-Lex
- Regulation (EU) 2024/3110 (Construction Products Regulation) — EUR-Lex
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 (Machinery Regulation) — EUR-Lex
- Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 (Cyber Resilience Act) — EUR-Lex
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act) and Annex I, list of Union harmonisation legislation — EUR-Lex
- European Commission, CE marking — obligations of manufacturers, Single Market and Industry
- European Commission, 2026 Commission work programme: review of the New Legislative Framework
- CEN and CENELEC, response to the consultations on the European Product Act, 2026