Compliance intelligence for conformity assessment — procedure changes, module updates, self-declaration vs. third-party testing requirements, and notified body developments.
Certean Signals tracks 12 verified regulatory signals on Conformity Assessment, most often involving CE Marking, EU Product Safety Regulation, Ce Marking, UKCA Marking and affecting European Union, Germany, United Kingdom, Venezuela. Coverage runs from 5 April 2026 to 4 November 2026; each signal cites its official source and carries key dates and a confidence level.
The UK removed the expiry dates for CE marking recognition effective 1 October 2024, allowing CE marks to be used indefinitely for Great Britain market access alongside or instead of UKCA marking. This applies across electrical equipment, machinery, medical devices, construction products, toys and PPE. No transition period applies because the change expands rather than restricts options. Northern Ireland continues to require CE marking under the Windsor Framework. Official confirmation of the legislative instruments remains outstanding.
Venezuela's CONATEL reduced the validity of newly issued type approval certificates from indefinite to one year under Administrative Provision No. 217, published in Official Gazette No. 43,208 on 8 September 2025. The limitation applies to telecommunications and radio equipment certificates issued through the SIGESTEL platform, operational since early 2026. Certificates issued before SIGESTEL retain indefinite validity. New applications average 10 weeks processing and now require annual renewal.
Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 replaces Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC and becomes applicable on 20 January 2027. It adds cybersecurity and artificial intelligence provisions, expands essential health and safety requirements to digital safety aspects, and updates conformity assessment and digital documentation obligations. It affects machinery manufacturers, safety component suppliers, importers and distributors across all EU member states, applying directly without national transposition. Certificates issued under 2006/42/EC remain valid until expiry.
ETSI's Industry Specification Group on Integrated Sensing and Communications published GR ISC 004 V1.1.1 in February 2026, announced 2 March 2026, identifying 19 key issues — 15 on security and privacy, 4 on sustainability — for ISAC in 6G systems. It is an informative Group Report, not a harmonised standard, and creates no conformity obligation. It feeds 3GPP SA3 work on 5G-Advanced ISAC security and a planned 3GPP study on ISAC security for 6G.
EAC conformity documentation under the Technical Regulations of the Eurasian Economic Union applies to spare parts and components placed on the market in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. Automotive spare parts fall under TR CU 018/2011 'On the Safety of Wheeled Vehicles', which covers 98 product categories. Certification bodies are annulling certificates issued without real testing, and revisions to several technical regulations are expected during 2026.
ETSI has signed a letter of cooperation with Japan's TTC and Korea's TTA to explore a global partnership on artificial intelligence standardisation, announced alongside a new ETSI standard to reduce production of harmful deepfakes. Separately, IEC, ISO and ITU issued the Seoul Statement at the International AI Standards Summit held 2–3 December in Seoul. Neither creates a legal obligation; both shape the technical specifications feeding EU AI Act harmonised standards developed by CEN-CENELEC JTC 21.
The Bureau of Indian Standards has issued a circular recording the grant of the All India First Licence under IS 19608:2026, the Indian Standard for hot-rolled carbon and alloy steel plates, sheets and strips. The standard is in force, so domestic mills and foreign manufacturers can now apply for a BIS licence and use the ISI mark on flat-rolled carbon and alloy steel supplied to India. The circular cites no Quality Control Order and sets no mandatory compliance deadline.
Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 sets the accreditation and market surveillance framework for products placed on the EU market, replacing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93. Manufacturers inside and outside the EU carry identical obligations: identify applicable requirements, determine whether CE marking applies, complete the conformity assessment, draw up technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity, and retain both for 10 years after the product is placed on the market.
Germany adopted the Third Ordinance Amending the EVPG Regulation on 14 October 2026, published in the Federal Law Gazette as BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 302. It amends the national implementing ordinance under the Energy-Related Products Act (EVPG) and affects ecodesign and energy-efficiency obligations for energy-related products placed on the German market, including product families such as electric motors and household electrical appliances. The instrument is in force at the adopted stage.
The UK national authority has published adopted statutory guidance on the Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/1107), as amended by the Product Safety and Metrology (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. It covers conformity assessment, marking and placing-on-market duties for ATEX-scope electrical and mechanical equipment supplied in Great Britain, affecting manufacturers, importers and distributors of hazardous area equipment. The guidance states no transition deadline.
Regulation (EU) 2025/40, the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, has applied directly in all 27 Member States since 12 August 2026, replacing Directive 94/62/EC. It covers all packaging regardless of material and binds manufacturers, importers, distributors and producers through conformity assessment, EU declarations of conformity, Annex VII technical documentation, Annex V single-use format bans and PFAS restrictions in food-contact packaging. Member States must have penalty frameworks in place by 12 February 2027.
EAC certification scope under the EAEU technical regulations covers only the model designations registered in the conformity document, not every variant in a commercial product family. Products in the unified list under Eurasian Economic Commission Decision No. 620 cannot be imported or sold without a valid certificate or declaration. Scheme choice matters: schemes 1c, 2c, 5c, 7c and 8c apply to serial production, schemes 3c, 4c and 9c to batch production. Certificate validity runs up to five years.
