A common and expensive misunderstanding: CE is not a certificate someone issues to you after a test. For most product categories it is a self-declaration of conformity, backed by documentation you must be able to produce.
What the technical file contains
- Which directives and harmonised standards apply to your product — the starting point, and the step most often rushed.
- Test reports demonstrating conformity with each of them.
- A risk assessment, and how the design addresses each identified risk.
- Technical drawings, materials, and a description of the manufacturing controls.
- The signed EU declaration of conformity, naming a responsible legal person.
The part that catches Chinese exporters
Many product categories require a responsible person established in the European Union who holds the file and answers to the authorities. A supplier without one is not simply less convenient — for those categories the product cannot be lawfully placed on the market, and a professional buyer will know this.
Buying a « CE certificate » from a laboratory does not, on its own, make a product compliant. Buyers who have been caught by this once check the file, not the certificate.
Where to read it yourself
Official pages, opened and checked on 26 September 2026. Where a rule changes, these are the addresses that change with it — this article does not.