Certification body

A conformity assessment body designated by an EU member state and notified to the European Commission to carry out the third-party testing, inspection and certification tasks required by EU legislation, including those supporting CE marking. The UK equivalent under the UKCA regime is known as an approved body.

Certification that a product design meets a defined set of rules or standards, granted after review of documentation and testing of representative samples, so that subsequent production items are accepted without individual testing. It is common in the marine sector, where classification societies type approve materials and equipment, and in automotive regulation.

A marking declaring that a product meets the applicable European Union legislation; for construction products it means performance has been assessed and declared against a harmonised European standard under the Construction Products Regulation. It is affixed by the manufacturer and supported by a Declaration of Performance and, where required, third-party assessment by a notified body.

The UK Conformity Assessed marking, introduced after the UK left the EU as the domestic equivalent of CE marking for goods placed on the market in Great Britain. Conformity is assessed against designated standards, with any required third-party work carried out by UK approved bodies; CE marking remains accepted for many product types under continuity arrangements.