CE Marking (CE-Marking), is also called sometimes "CE Mark", as shown on the top of this page, is a mandatory mark for many (estimatively around 70%) of the products sold on the EFTA plus European Union (EU) market (total 28 countries) and it is often referred as the "Trade Passport to Europe" for non-EU products.

EU legislations, e.g. EU directive concerning Liability for Defective Products , make EU importers liable for the products they import, including the machinery they provide to their employees for work. Many non-EU exporters are finding that no matter how interested a prospective EU importer may be in the product, the importer will NOT risk importing non-conforming products (i.e. the products without CE Marking) which, in case of accident, may generate legal action against them. The liability claims in a law suit can be as high as 70 millions EUROs .

CE Marking may be achieved through several modules . One of the most practical ways, which is preferred by many EU importers who are neither specialized in the complicated CE Marking process nor willing to take risk, is that the manufacturer designates an Authorized Representative in the EU member states who will take care of the CE Marking issue therefore the importers and/or distributors can focus on the marketing and sales of the products. The manufacturer may need only ONE Authorized Representative in EU whereas may have many importers and/or distributors.

The Authorized Representative may in some cases register the product(s) in the EU member states and thus obtain a Certificate of Registration . The Product Certificate of Registration for CE Marking obtained from one EU member state is valid for the entire EFTA plus EU market , i.e. 28 countries.

In general, CE Marking is most probably required if you want to sell, to the 25 European Union (EU) and 3 European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states, the following 22 groups of products -
appliances burning gaseous fuels, cableway installations to carry persons, construction products, electrical equipment, equipment and protective systems for explosive atmospheres, explosives for civil uses, hot water boilers, household refrigerators & freezers, lift, machinery, marine equipment, measuring instruments, medical devices, active implantable medical devices, in vitro diagnostic medical devices, non-automatic weighing equipment, personal protective equipment, pressure equipment, simple pressure vessels, recreational craft, radio equipment & telecommunications terminal equipment, toys and trans-European conventional rail system.