Declaration of Conformity

The document where the manufacturer signs its own homework.

The EU declaration of conformity is the manufacturer's formal statement that the product meets the essential requirements, with its model structure in Annex V and a simplified form in Annex VI F-021. The simplified declaration may be a pointer: an internet address where the full declaration can be accessed F-050.

The paperwork triangle

Declaration, technical documentation and CE marking travel together: the declaration is kept with the technical documentation for at least ten years after placing on the market F-016, and the CE marking is affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly — or failing that, to the packaging or accompanying documents F-027.

Practical note

The declaration is a short document; the credibility behind it is the technical file F-016. Teams that treat the declaration as the deliverable have it backwards — it is the receipt, not the purchase.

Verified facts this page relies on

F-021 EU declaration of conformity (Annex V) and simplified declaration (Annex VI). Art. 28, Art. 13(12), (20), Annex V, Annex VI
F-050 A manufacturer may provide a simplified EU declaration of conformity that contains the internet address at which the full declaration can be accessed. Art. 13(20), Art. 28(2), Annex VI
F-016 Technical documentation (Annex VII) is drawn up before placing on the market and kept, with the EU declaration of conformity, for at least ten years after placing on the market or the support period, whichever is longer. Art. 13(12)–(13), Art. 31
F-027 CE marking is affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly to the product, or where not possible to the packaging or the declaration of conformity/accompanying documents; for software, on the declaration of conformity or the website accompanying the product. Art. 29–30

Facts are maintained and human-verified in the CEMarque Facts Table (v2026.09.4, verified 2026-09-10).

Editorial review: Claude (AI reviewer, delegated by the editor), 2026-10-08. Methodology and correction process: how this site works.

Related in the reference

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