Declaration of Conformity

What is a Declaration of Conformity

Like the CE Mark, the Declaration of Conformity is one of the common threads throughout all the CE marking directives. In essence, it's a piece of paper (which someone has to sign) stating that the machinery meets the requirements of the machinery directive.

The idea is that by making someone put their signature on a piece of paper, this will concentrate their mind on whether or not the machine really does comply with the machinery directive. It also allows an enforcement authority to identify who is responsible for a product and what step that person claims to have done to CE mark it.

A properly issued Declaration of Conformity is always issued by the product's manufacturer (or an authorized representative); never by a test house or Notified Body.

The Declaration needs to be signed by someone who has the power to make binding commitments on behalf of the manufacturer.

For the Declaration of Conformity to be truly meaningful the signatory should also be someone who has the authority to commit the company resources that are required to ensure that the CE marking process is properly completed. The effect of the Declaration is to identify an individual in the company who can be held responsible if the CE marking on a machine turns out to be incorrectly marked.


The following information is required on a Declaration of Conformity:

Business name and full address of the manufacturer.

Name and city of the person authorized to compile the relevant technical documentation.

A sentence declaring which essential requirements of the Machinery Directive are fulfilled.

A sentence declaring the technical construction file has been compiled.

The EN and ISO standards utilized (recommended).

The place and date of the declaration.

The identity, position, and signature of the person signing the document.

For a training class, held on-site at your facility, on how to properly CE Mark your Machinery, see: CE Marking of Machinery Training