The mark indicates that the product may be traded freely in any part of the European Economic Area, regardless of its country of origin.

It consists of the CE logo and, if applicable, the four digit identification number of the notified body involved in the conformity assessment procedure.

[9] On 1 August, the UK's Department for Business and Trade announced that "The government intends to extend recognition of the marking for placing most goods on the market in Great Britain, indefinitely, beyond December 2024", with "different rules for medical devices, construction products, cableways, transportable pressure equipment, unmanned aircraft systems, rail products, marine equipment and ecodesign".

The manufacturer must carry out a conformity assessment, set up a technical file, and sign a Declaration stipulated by the leading legislation for the product.

Distributors must be able to demonstrate to national authorities that they have acted with due care and they must have affirmation from the manufacturer or importer that the necessary measures have been taken.

There are certain rules underlying the procedure to affix the marking: Since achieving compliance can be very complex, CE-marking conformity assessment, provided by a notified body, is of great importance throughout the entire CE-marking process, from design verification, and set up of the technical file to the EU declaration of conformity.

In order to certify, the manufacturer must do several things:[citation needed] The level of risk is defined by the "category" of each equipment.

The manufacturer, after insuring that the relevant modules for the product category have been applied, will affix the mark and draw up a Declaration of Conformity.

Many products (such as invasive medical devices, or fire alarm and extinguisher systems, Pressure Equipment, Lifts etc.)

This usually involves assessment and/or testing, and may include an evaluation of the conformity of the product to the harmonised standard(s) identified in step 2.

This information should cover every aspect relating to conformity and is likely to include details of the design, development and manufacture of the product.

); essential characteristics the product complies; any European standards and performance data; if relevant the identification number of the notified body; and a legally binding signature on behalf of the organization.

[14] The norms (directives and regulations) requiring CE marking affect the following product groups:[15][16] There are numerous 'Agreements on Mutual Recognition of Conformity Assessment' between the European Union and other countries such as the US, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Israel.

[21] A test of 27 electrical chargers with UK sockets in 2008 found that all the eight legitimately branded ones with a reputable name met safety standards, but none of those unbranded or with minor names did, despite bearing the mark;[21] non-compliant devices were actually potentially unreliable and dangerous, presenting electrical and fire hazards.

[20] In 2008, a logo very similar to CE marking was alleged to exist and to stand for China Export because some Chinese manufacturers apply it to their products.

[20] It had initiated the procedure to register CE marking as a Community collective trademark, and was in discussion with Chinese authorities to ensure compliance with EU legislation.

[24] In March 2017, another question was put to the European Commission on the statistics of the fraudulent use of the CE mark, reasserting the "China Export" myth.

Controlling products bearing CE marking is the responsibility of public authorities in member states, in cooperation with the European Commission.

Citizens may contact national market surveillance authorities if the misuse of the CE marking is suspected or if a product's safety is questioned.

The procedures, measures and sanctions applying to counterfeiting of the CE marking vary according to the respective member state's national administrative and penal legislation.

[30] According to the Unicode principles, the mark is a computer font design choice for the two ordinary upper-case letters, C and E, with a specific kerning arrangement.

The exact geometry that constitutes the mark is provided in the vector graphics data of the Adobe Illustrator Artwork and Encapsulated PostScript files available from the European Commission.