CE marking is a conformity marking that indicates a product has been assessed as meeting essential health, safety, and environmental requirements set out by European Union (EU) legislation. CE stands for "Conformité Européene," which translates to "European Conformity" in English.
CE marking is required for certain products before they can be legally placed on the market within the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes the 27 member states of the EU, as well as Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein. It demonstrates that the product meets the applicable EU directives or regulations that govern its specific category.
In the case of construction products, CE marking is not a quality mark; it signifies that a product complies with the harmonised standards relevant to its category, ensuring a minimum level of health, safety, and environmental protection.
The CE marking of construction products utilises a common, agreed set of European standard test methods and classification systems to provide the end-user with a way of comparing relative property performances.
This approach has standardised the key features of insulation materials (e.g. thermal conductivity, reaction to fire, mechanical characteristics etc.) and ensures an accurate comparison of products across the market is established.
To affix the CE marking, manufacturers or their authorised representatives must carry out conformity assessment procedures, which may involve testing, documentation reviews, or quality assurance processes. The specific requirements vary depending on the product and the relevant EU directives or regulations.
Whilst CE marks appear on many products traded in the European Economic Area (EEA), countries outside the EEA have their own conformity assessment markings or requirements.
Following its exit from the European Union in 2020, the UK introduced the UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking scheme, intended for products placed on the market in Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales).
Rules around affixing the UKCA mark are broadly equivalent to CE marking. However, the assessment of conformity for UKCA marking must be undertaken by a UK-approved body.
At present, both CE and UKCA marks are accepted conformity markings for construction products placed on the market in Great Britain, and either (or both) marks may be used. CE marking requirements continue to apply to construction products placed on the market in Northern Ireland.
In September 2024, the UK government announced an open-ended extension to the recognition of CE marking for construction products. Previously, it had stated its intention to end recognition of the CE mark for construction products in Great Britain and that a new UKCA mark would need to be affixed to construction products placed on the market in Great Britain from 30 June 2025.
In this September 2024 announcement, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government also advised that this extension, and the longer-term future use of CE and UKCA marking, will be reviewed as part of a wider, system-wide regulatory reform of construction products. Any future changes will be subject to a minimum two-year transition period.
ROCKWOOL UK complies with all mandatory conformity-marking requirements applicable to products placed on the market in the UK.
All construction products within the scope of harmonised European standards and placed by ROCKWOOL on the UK market are CE-marked.
ROCKWOOL is keeping under review any forthcoming, mandatory requirements for UKCA marking.
Our experts continually review and update our articles when legislation changes or new information becomes available.
Current version: 4 - 6/11/24
First published: 28/6/2023
