Construction Products Regulation in Great Britain
Guidance providing practical information for placing construction products on the GB market.
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
On 2 September 2024 the Minister for Building Safety and Homelessness issued a Written Ministerial Statement regarding recognition of the Conformité Européenne (CE) marking for construction products. The previously stated deadline of 30 June 2025 for CE marking recognition in Great Britain has now been revoked. This page will be updated to reflect this change in due course.
This guidance is about supplying construction products to the GB market. The GB market refers to England, Wales and Scotland. It is a summary of the provisions of the relevant legislation, but it is not comprehensive. You should rely on the provisions of the legislation in preference to what is summarised in this guidance.
View the legislation which made amendments to the regime for construction products post transition period:
- Construction Products (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
- Construction Products (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020
Note: This guidance does not cover goods supplied to the Northern Ireland market or goods supplied to the GB market from Northern Ireland. See guidance on Construction Products Regulation in Northern Ireland.
Our intention is to end recognition of the CE mark in GB on 30 June 2025. Current rules, which allow for continued recognition of the CE mark, will remain in place until legislation is laid to end recognition of the CE mark.
To use the UK mark (also known as the UKCA mark), businesses must ensure they are using a UK approved body for testing and certification for all products supplied to the GB market which are covered by a designated standard or conform to a UK technical assessment which has been issued for that product.
If you’re placing construction products goods on the European Union market, read: EU Construction Products Regulation and CE marking.
Purpose
To provide a summary of the actions that will be required by economic operators wishing to supply construction products to the GB market and by UK based conformity assessment bodies.
Annex A of this guidance sets out additional information for current UK approved bodies.
Annex B provides information in relation to authorised representatives.
Annex C provides detail in relation to the technical assessment bodies (‘TABs’), for those construction products that are not covered or fully covered by a designated standard.
We published guidance to help businesses to prepare for EU exit by providing practical information about placing construction products on the GB market from 1 January 2021. This guidance replaces this and provides information about further changes to requirements from 30 June 2025. See also guidance on placing goods on the NI market.
Construction Products Regulation in Great Britain
The government made legislation in March 2019 which came into effect on 1 January 2021 to make arrangements for the regulation of construction products after EU Exit. Since then, we have made further changes to take into account the effect of the Withdrawal Agreement and Northern Ireland Protocol. Those changes also came into effect on 1 January 2021.
In summary, the changes which were made in March 2019 will now apply in England, Wales and Scotland only. The regime in Northern Ireland matches the EU requirements for construction products.
Designated standards
All existing harmonised European standards became UK ‘designated standards’. This means that harmonised European standards and UK designated standards are currently identical.
The government has published, and maintains, a list of these designated standards.
Products not covered or not fully covered by a designated standard may be covered by a technical assessment document. Further details on technical assessments can be found in Annex C.
UK ‘Approved Bodies’
From 1 January 2021, UK notified bodies operating under the EU Construction Products Regulation 2011 (EU Regulation No. 305/2011) and based in the UK were granted new UK ‘approved body’ status and listed in a new UK database: the UK Market Conformity Assessment Bodies database.
Approved bodies are able to undertake conformity assessment activity for UK designated standards. Where an approved body has undertaken the assessment, the manufacturer (or their authorised representative) must affix the UK marking. Rules around affixing the UK marking are broadly equivalent to current CE marking but conformity assessment must be undertaken by a UK approved body. Further updated details on using the UK marking and the status of CABs can be found on the GOV.UK website. See Annex A.
Where a UK notified body which became a UK approved body had carried out tasks or issued certification in relation to the Assessment and Verification of Performance (AVCP) for a product before 1 January 2021, then those tasks and/or that certification may be used to support affixing of the UK marking if the product is supplied to the GB market after this date.
Accepted markings for the GB market
Your goods may require different markings for different markets. The table below illustrates the accepted markings for the GB market.
| Type of good | Accepted marking or combination of markings* |
|---|---|
| Supplying goods (which are not qualifying Northern Ireland goods) to the market in Great Britain | |
| Construction product being supplied to the GB market until 30 June 2025 | UKCA or CE or CE & UK(NI) |
| Construction product supplied to the GB market from 30 June 2025 | UKCA |
| Supplying qualifying Northern Ireland goods to the market in Great Britain (unfettered access) | |
| Construction product which is a qualifying Northern Ireland good being supplied to the GB market under unfettered access provisions from 30 June 2025 | CE or CE & UK(NI) |
*You may use combinations of the product markings listed in each box and your goods may be acceptable with more than one marking. This is the UK’s position and it will be for the EU to determine the arrangements that apply for supplying goods to the EU market.
Market surveillance
The UK has powers to carry out market surveillance and enforcement (Trading Standards in GB and district councils in NI) to ensure that non-compliant products can be removed from the UK market. The government is developing UK databases to support this work.
Actions for businesses and other stakeholders
Supplying construction products to the GB market
To affix the UK marking businesses must comply with all relevant requirements under the Construction Products Regulation 2011 as retained in UK law.
Until 30 June 2025, products can continue to be supplied to the GB market without any need for reassessment or re-marking if EU requirements are met (including CE marking). To affix a CE mark, any third-party conformity assessment must continue to be carried out by an EU recognised notified body during this time. In addition, products that meet NI rules (including CE marking or CE UK(NI) marking) can be supplied to the GB market. Businesses should prepare for these provisions to end on 30 June 2025.
Products that bear the UK mark must meet UK requirements, including that third-party assessments have been carried out by a UK approved body (see Annex A).
Note: In June 2022, the government announced an intention to allow manufacturers of construction products under AVCP system 3, whose products are tested by an EU notified body before 1 January 2023, to obtain a UKCA mark without having to retest through a UK-approved body. This measure will no longer be introduced.
In recognition that legislation has not been introduced to cover this issue, and until further notice, the Office for Product Safety and Standards will not take enforcement action against any economic actor solely where the UKCA mark has been used on construction products tested by an EU recognised notified body for the purpose of CE marking, where this testing was done before 31 December 2022.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) takes all enforcement decisions on the basis of its enforcement policy.
GB economic operators - whether manufacturers, importers, distributors or authorised representatives - should consider taking professional advice to make sure that they understand their status and obligations under the GB regulatory framework.
Annex A: UK Approved bodies
Former UK notified bodies operating under the UK CPR regime became UK ‘approved bodies’ on 1 January 2021.
UK approved bodies are listed on the UKMCAB database, and have a 4-digit approved body number, which is the same as their previous notified body number where applicable. Only bodies listed on the UKMCAB database are approved bodies able to offer testing and certification under the Construction Products Regulation 2011 as retained in UK law.
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) continues to be the UK’s national accreditation body for accrediting UK approved bodies under the UK Construction Products Regulation 2011 as retained in UK law.
Annex B: Authorised representatives
To minimise disruption after 31 December 2020, where a manufacturer has issued a written mandate to an existing authorised representative based in an EU country, that authorised representative has continued to be recognised in the UK.
Annex C: Technical assessment bodies
UK-based technical assessment bodies became ‘UK technical assessment bodies’ on 1 January 2021, and are listed on the UKMCAB database.
UK technical assessment bodies are able to carry out the technical assessment of construction products for the GB market. The products may then be affixed with the UK marking.
Technical assessment bodies are now responsible for drawing up and, in agreement with Secretary of State, adopting UK assessment documents. (The UK technical assessment bodies may collectively form an organisation to undertake the role of developing and adopting assessment documents.)
Implications
UK-based technical assessment bodies are able to draw up UK assessment documents for manufacturers supplying goods to the GB market. This allows manufacturers to obtain a voluntary UK mark for their products.
UK technical assessment bodies may use a European assessment document that was adopted before the UK left the EU to develop a UK assessment document if they have obtained the necessary consent to do so from the European Organisation for Technical Assessment.
Manufacturers wanting to affix CE marking using a European technical assessment after the end of the transition period should refer to EU guidance.
To minimise disruption, until 30 June 2025, products can continue to be supplied to the UK market if EU requirements are met (including CE marking).
Frequently asked questions
1. What do I need to do to supply a good to the GB market?
Until 30 June 2025, in GB both the UK marking and the CE marking will be recognised. Manufacturers will either need to:
- affix the UK marking using a UK approved body, or
- affix the CE marking with UK(NI) indication using a UK approved body, or
- affix the CE marking using an EU recognised notified body.
Where no third-party conformity assessment is required (AVCP system 4) the manufacturer can choose whether to affix the UK marking or, until 30 June 2025, the CE marking, provided that the underlying requirements are met.
2. If I am supplying goods from the EU to the GB market, will my obligations be affected?
If you supply products from the EU to the GB market you will, in most cases, now be classified as an ‘importer’ bringing products into GB from a third country. There is a requirement:
- for importers to label their products with their name and address
- to ensure that the assessment and verification of constancy of performance (AVCP) requirements have been carried out by the manufacturer
- that the product bears the conformity marking; and
- that the manufacturer has complied with their labelling obligations.
In addition, importers must not supply products to the GB market if they have reason to believe that the product does not comply with the applicable requirements of the UK Construction Products Regulations 2011 as retained in UK law.
3. Can I still use certificates from EU-recognised notified bodies for products supplied on the GB market?
Until 30 June 2025, the CE marking can be affixed where any third-party conformity assessment has been undertaken by an EU recognised notified body. To affix the UK marking businesses must comply with all relevant requirements under the Construction Products Regulation 2011 as retained in UK law including that they use a UK approved body.
4. Can an EU-recognised notified body certificate be used to enable a manufacturer to affix the UK marking?
Where CE marking has been legitimately affixed, the product can continue to be supplied to the GB market until 30 June 2025. There is no need to affix UK marking in addition to CE marking. After this date, the UK mark must be affixed. To affix the UK marking businesses must comply with all relevant requirements under the Construction Products Regulation 2011 as retained in UK law including that they use a UK approved body.
5. Will manufacturers supplying products to GB and the EU be required to issue 2 Declarations of Performance for the same product?
If you decide to affix both the UK mark and CE mark to your product for the GB market, you will need valid Declarations of Performance that meet both the GB and EU CPR regimes’ requirements.
6. How long will GB continue to accept CE marked products?
Until 30 June 2025, in Great Britain, both the UK mark, and the CE mark will be recognised.
7. What is meant in the Regulations by ‘place on the market’ and ‘making a product available on the market’?
References in the GB regime to ‘the market’ now mean the Great Britain market, rather than meaning the EU market. Apart from that, these definitions are unchanged and so operators do not need to change their approach in this regard. See Article 2 in Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 (PDF, 998KB) for more information.
‘Placing on the market’ means the first making available of a construction product on the GB market.
‘Making available on the market’ means any supply of a construction product for distribution or use on the GB market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge.
8. What information do I need to include on the UKCA mark label?
The UK mark should be followed by:
- the two last digits of the year in which it was first affixed
- the name and the registered address of the manufacturer, or the identifying mark allowing identification of the name and address of the manufacturer
- the unique identification code of the product-type
- the reference number of the declaration of performance
- the level or class of the performance declared
- the reference to the harmonised technical specification applied
- the identification number of the approved body, if applicable, and the intended use as laid down in the harmonised technical specification applied.
9. Can I use the UKCA mark on AVCP system 3 products tested by an EU notified body for the purpose of CE marking where this testing was done before 1 January 2023?
In June 2022, the government announced an intention to allow manufacturers of construction products under AVCP system 3, whose products are tested by an EU notified body before 1 January 2023, to obtain a UKCA mark without having to retest through a UK-approved body.
This measure was related to the intention at that time to end recognition of CE marking for construction products on 31 December 2022, and was subject to legislation. Following the extension of CE marking recognition for construction products until 30 June 2025, the government will not introduce the legislation to bring in these measures. Therefore it remains that UKCA marking should only be affixed to products tested by a UK approved body.
In recognition that legislation has not been introduced to cover this issue, and until further notice, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) will not take enforcement action against any economic actor solely where the UKCA mark has been used on construction products tested by an EU recognised notified body for the purpose of CE marking, where this testing was done before 31 December 2022.
OPSS takes all enforcement decisions on the basis of its enforcement policy.
Updates to this page
Last updated 2 September 2024 + show all updates
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Page updated to reflect the Written Ministerial Statement made by the Minister for Building Safety and Homelessness on 2 September 2024.
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Page updated to reflect OPSS will not take enforcement action against any economic actor solely where the UKCA mark has been used on construction products tested only by an EU recognised notified body for the purpose of CE marking, where this testing was done before 31 December 2022.
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Updated to reflect the government will continue to recognise the CE mark on construction products for another 2.5 years, to allow businesses until 30 June 2025 to prepare for the UK mark.
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Guidance has been amended to reflect the government’s intention to recognise historic test certificate for products under AVCP System 3. It includes clarification on the deadline for historic test certificate and conditions that make the given certificate valid.
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Guidance has been amended to refer to the new end-date for recognition of the CE mark in Great Britain (1 January 2023), and include clarification regarding the need for additional legislation to end recognition of the CE mark.
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First published.