Behind the CE Mark: The Hidden Mechanics of EU Notification

What This Webinar Covers:

Many conformity assessment bodies assume that accreditation is enough to help clients place CE-marked products on the EU market, but accreditation and notification are not the same thing. This webinar clarifies how the EU notification process actually works, how it connects to CE marking, and what laboratories, inspection bodies, and certification bodies inside and outside the EU must do to become and remain a Notified Body.

The session explains the roles of national notifying authorities versus accreditation bodies, the three possible paths for organizations located outside the EU, including countries with a Mutual Recognition Agreement, and common misconceptions that can create costly delays when trying to access the EU market.

What You’ll Learn:

• What notification really means within the EU regulatory framework
• How notification and CE marking are legally connected
• Who can become a Notified Body, and who cannot
• The differing roles of accreditation bodies and national notifying authorities
• Pathways available to non-EU organizations and their international branches
• Common misconceptions and real-world pitfalls in the notification process

Key Takeaways:

• Accreditation is typically required for notification, but accreditation alone does not grant notification or legal authority to perform CE-related conformity assessment.
• Notification is a legal, sovereign decision made by an EU member state’s national authority, not by the accreditation body that provides the technical evaluation.
• Once notified through any one EU member state, a Notified Body’s recognition is valid across the entire European Union.
• Organizations based in countries with a Mutual Recognition Agreement with the EU, such as the United States, Canada, and Japan, can pursue notification without opening a European office.
• CE marking is fundamentally a safety mark, not a quality or certification mark, and not all products require third-party conformity assessment to bear it.

Presented By:

Dr. George Anastasopoulos
Technical and International Business Development Manager of PJLA