EU Construction Products Regulation and CE marking, including UK product contact point for construction products
How to place CE marking on your product, how to identify UK requirements relating to construction products, and how to apply to be a UK Notified Body or Technical Assessment Body.
The EU Construction Products Regulation 305/2011 (PDF, 1MB) (‘the CPR’) seeks to remove technical barriers to the trade of construction products in the European single market. It places obligations on manufacturers, distributors and importers of construction products when these products are placed on the market.
The CPR aims to ensure the reliability of information on the performance of construction products, information which is of interest to designers, constructors, public authorities and consumers. This is achieved through harmonised European product standards and European Technical Assessments using a common technical language and uniform assessment methods.
This page is the UK’s ‘Product Contact Point for Construction’ required by the CPR. It outlines the requirements of the CPR, and how these apply when construction products are placed on the market in the UK.
Industry trade associations including the Construction Products Association have produced a variety of guidance on the CPR.
EU Construction Products Regulation
The CPR includes requirements for construction product to have CE marking and to be accompanied by a declaration of performance (DoP) and other information if it is to be placed on the market in the European Economic Area and it is covered by
- a harmonised European product standard
or
- a European Technical Assessment (These are used by manufacturers of products which are not covered by a harmonised European standard but who still wish their products to be CE marked.)
The European Commission provides the text of the Regulation, the Delegated Acts including those which amended its Annexes, information including FAQs, and a list of the harmonised European product standards on the European Commission’s Europa website.
A construction product cannot be CE marked under the EU-CPR unless it is covered by a harmonised European standard (hEN) or, otherwise, the manufacturer has had a European Technical Assessment drawn up for it.
The manufacturer of a product that is not covered or not fully covered by a harmonised European product standard (some innovative products, for example) can apply for a European Technical Assessment as a route to CE marking. European Technical Assessments are based on European Assessment Documents (EAD). Both of these documents are prepared by Technical Assessment Bodies (TABs).
CE marking your construction product
The CPR requires manufacturers of products covered by a harmonised standard and manufacturers who have obtained a European Technical Assessment for their product, to draw up a Declaration of Performance (DoP). These manufacturers are required to take on the responsibility for the assessment of their products and for the conformity of their products with the declared performances [these are shown in the declaration of performance]. They also need to show that they have done this by providing CE marking, unless a derogation under Article 5 is applied.
There is no need for manufacturers to declare performance for every individual characteristic of a construction product. They do need to include provisions (ie regulations or technical rules) in relation to the intended use or uses of the product in the Member States where they are looking to market it.
To ensure accuracy and reliability the performance of construction products there is a system of applying a system of Assessment and Verification of Constancy of Performance (AVCP). The harmonised product standards and European Assessment Documents are available on the European Commission’s NANDO-CPR website.
UK manufacturers can apply to any notified body in the EU and then once they the necessary certification their products can be sold anywhere in the EU. A list is available on the European Commission’s NANDO-CPR website.
Following an appropriate assessment, the notified body will issue relevant certification allowing manufacturers to produce a DoP, CE mark their products and put them on the market in the EU.
Guidance
A manufacturer planning to CE-mark their product or looking for a ‘to-do list’ can consult the CE marking step-by-step guide.
You can also view a series of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the European Commission CPR webpage.
Industry trade associations including the Construction Products Association have produced a guidance note on the Construction Products Regulation.
Trade associations such as the British Constructional Steelwork Association (BCSA) and the Rural & Industrial Design & Buildings Association (RIBDA) have produced guidance on their websites for all sizes of business dealing with structural steel products, much of which can be accessed by non-members.
UK Product Contact Point
This page is the UK’s ‘Product contact point for construction’ as required by the CPR. Manufacturers, distributors and importers intending to make construction products available on the market in the UK may wish to consult the following links to check how the following provisions relate to their intended use or uses:
- Building Regulations in England and the guidance in Approved Documents
- Building Regulations in Wales and the guidance in Approved Documents
- Building Regulations in Scotland
- Building Regulations in Northern Ireland
Standards for Highways in the UK (applicable to motorways and trunk roads in the UK):
- Highways England
- Transport Scotland
- Roads Authorities for Wales
- Road Authorities for Northern Ireland (Transport NI)
There is also another UK Product Contact Point which, in accordance with EU Regulation 764/2008 (PDF, 94KB) provides information on products or aspects of products to which the mutual recognition principle applies, and the national technical rules relating to those products.
Mutual recognition is the principle of EU law under which Member States must allow goods that are legally sold in another Member State also to be sold in their own territory. Mutual recognition applies to non-harmonised goods - those that are not already covered by EU-wide legislation, such as the CPR - setting common requirements that all products of that type must meet before being placed on the EU market.
Enforcement
The UK Construction Products Regulation (SI 2013/1387) supports the EU Construction Products Regulation by setting out the enforcement regime for this regulation.
Compliance monitoring and enforcement duties for this Regulation in the UK fall to local authorities’ Weights and Measures (Trading Standards) in England, Scotland and Wales and district councils in Northern Ireland.
Manufacturers should firstly discuss any CE marking issues of their product with their local Trading Standards office.
If you have concerns regarding other construction products not being CE marked, then you should contact either the local authority Trading Standards office or alternatively the Trading Standards office, where the product manufacturer concerned has its head office.
Designation of a Notified Bodies and Technical Assessment Bodies
Notified Bodies are designated to support a manufacturer CE marking their construction product in ways set out in the CPR and the harmonised technical specifications.
There are which describe the UK approach for the assessment, designation and notification of Notified Bodies under the EU Construction Products Regulation.
Technical Assessment Bodies are designated to support manufacturers who chose to European Technical Assessment route to CE marking for a construction product that is not covered or not fully covered by a harmonised European standard.
There are which describe the requirements that apply in the UK the assessment and designation of Technical Assessment Bodies under the EU Construction Products Regulation.
In the UK, the designating authority is the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The department uses the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to undertake the initial assessment, accreditation and routine monitoring of Notified Bodies and Technical Assessment Bodies.
If you have queries about the Designation of a Notified Body, or Technical Assessment Body under the CPR in the UK please contact:
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Energy and Safe Materials Division
South-West Zone, 2nd floor, Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF