Simple question; to what extent does the date on a CE (Declaration of Conformity) matter?


I tracked down a company in Zhejiang province, got their CE, verified it by calling to Germany, but now i wonder about the date on the CE... it was tested in 2001, about 7 years ago. Is this a problem?

Quoting from [Arnoud]:


Simple question; to what extent does the date on a CE (Declaration of Conformity) matter?



I tracked down a company in Zhejiang province, got their CE, verified it by calling to Germany, but now i wonder about the date on the CE... it was tested in 2001, about 7 years ago. Is this a problem?

Hi, all depends on what kind of products you are looking for. As I could remember there is no time limitation on CE testing, but you need to know that CE is based on sample test and not for whole production. So it's possible that, even you get CE - that is not CE products. 

After a long search i found the following:


* It depends on whether there are ongoing factory audits

* it depends on whether the EN rules have been changed or not.

You've answered the question yourself !


It always helps to have a more recent CE certificate. A lot of product safety rules have changed since 2001 - most notably WEEE and RoHS. You would not want to get left

behind so it pays to stay updated.

Maybe you'd need to check with the issuing authority (eg: TUV) for a better answer. Whoever issued that certificate will be able to tell you if the submitting company has any other ongoing product testings with them or indeed if any other products have received a green light as far as safety approvals are concerned.

Perhaps you could also suggest to your supplier that they get an updated certificate

from the lab. I believe they'd be happy to oblige if your orders are regular.

 

I dug a bit deeper, and now it appears that the 2001 CE is no longer valid since the EN rules have been modified and / or the required amendments have been left out. I ll, of course, inform the manufacturer about this...  and hope he'll update it...