The Government has confirmed businesses will have an extra year to start using the new UKCA product safety marking.

Applicable for most products placed on the market in England, Scotland and Wales, the UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking allows the UK to have control over its goods regulations, maintaining the high product safety standards expected in the UK.

Recognising the impact of the pandemic on businesses, the Government will extend the deadline to  January  1 2023 to apply UKCA  marks for certain products to demonstrate compliance with product safety regulations, rather than January 1 2022.

The UKCA marking replaces the product safety labelling the UK previously used while a member of the EU, such as the CE mark.

The announcement follows the Government’s extensive and ongoing engagement with business groups and reflects the issues businesses have raised, particularly given the impact of the pandemic.  Businesses must take action to ensure they are ready to apply UKCA marking by  January 1 2023, the final deadline.

The Government will continue to engage with manufacturers to ensure they understand what they need to do to get ready, including through a new series of webinars.  The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has already run several webinars in the last few months and engaged extensively through trade associations.

• The UKCA marking covers most goods which previously required the CE marking, known as ‘new approach’ goods, in addition to aerosol products that previously required the ‘reverse epsilon’ marking.
• This extension means all goods which previously required the CE marking will not need to use the UKCA  marking until January 1 2023. The exception is medical devices, where businesses will not need to use the UKCA marking until  July 1 2023.
• To extend the deadline, the Government will introduce a statutory instrument under section 8 of the European Union Withdrawal Act  later this year.
• Businesses have been able to use the UKCA mark since January 1 2021 to demonstrate their conformity with product standards in England, Scotland and Wales.
• Under the terms of the Protocol, Northern Ireland will continue to recognise the CE marking for goods placed on the market in Northern Ireland.  They will need to use the UKNI marking if they use a UK Conformity Assessment Body to test their products.
• The Government has published the UK Market Conformity Assessment Bodies database which businesses can use to identify the appropriate body to certify their products.
• To find out what labelling requirements apply to your product, businesses should read the Product safety for businesses: A to Z of industry, guidance published by the Office for Product Safety and Standards.
• Businesses can also sign up to the upcoming webinar on the new regulations. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will also be running a series of further webinars in the coming months.