---
id: KB-NO-015
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/regulation/the-declaration-of-conformity
idioma: en
categoria: normativa
subcategoria: producto
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-NO-007, KB-IU-004, KB-NO-025]
citadoPor: [KB-NO-018, KB-NO-022, KB-NO-024, KB-NO-029]
---

# The declaration of conformity

_The document stating your product complies, who signs it, and why it cannot be copied from a supplier._

**Responde a:** what is a declaration of conformity · who signs the ce declaration · supplier sent me their declaration is that enough · technical documentation for ce marking

If you place a product on the market, sooner or later someone asks for its declaration of conformity. It is a short document — it fits on one page — and also the one that causes the most misunderstanding, because it looks like a certificate someone gives you and it is not: it is a declaration you make.

## What it is and is not

| It is | It is not |
| --- | --- |
| Your own declaration about your product | A certificate issued by a third party |
| Signed by someone in your company | Something a supplier signs on your behalf |
| Backed by technical documentation you keep | A loose form to fill in |
| About a specific product or family | Valid for your whole catalogue |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The first row changes the whole conversation: nobody gives it to you, you make it. And in signing it you take on that technical documentation exists behind it. If you are ever asked for it and have it, the next question will be about that documentation — and that is what needs preparing, not the declaration.

## The commonest mistake

> [!WARNING]
> Forwarding a supplier's declaration as if it were yours. Theirs covers **their** product as they place it on the market; if you transform it, assemble it with other things, or sell it under your own brand, that document no longer describes what you are placing on the market. It is spotted the moment someone compares names, and it undermines everything else you presented.

## What to keep and be able to find

**En corto**

- The signed declaration, with the person and the date.
- The technical documentation behind it, even though it is not handed to anyone.
- The declarations of components you buy, which feed it but do not replace it.
- And previous versions, so you know what was declared for what you sold three years ago.

The last point is always neglected and is what you need when a claim arrives about an old unit: what matters then is not what you declare today, but what you declared when that unit shipped.

## When it must be redone

1. **When the product changes** — A different component, a new version, a change of manufacturer.
2. **When what is required of it changes** — The references the declaration cites can be updated.
3. **And when who places it on the market changes** — If you start selling it under your own brand, the declaration is yours from that day.

> [!NOTE]
> Which products need a declaration, exactly what it must cite and what technical documentation must be kept depends on the product type and the market, and it gets updated. **Confirm that with your adviser or the relevant body**; what is explained here is the documentary mechanics: who signs, what backs it, and what you must be able to show years later.

**Can anyone sign it?**

Someone able to bind the company. Not the salesperson who emails it.

**Is English acceptable?**

It is usually required in the language of the country of sale; ask before translating.

**Must it be given to the customer?**

Often yes, and in many cases it accompanies the product. Keep a record of who it was sent to.

## Ejemplos

**A company sells under its own brand equipment assembled from bought-in components.**

- Stops forwarding the component maker's declaration
- Issues its own and keeps the technical documentation behind it

→ When a large client asks, it hands over a document describing what it actually sells.

**The supplier's is copied with the name changed.**

- Issues its own, on its own file

→ The document says what you can stand behind.

**Nobody knows who should sign it.**

- Clarifies it with the adviser before issuing

→ The signature belongs to whoever can give it.

**It is issued and nothing backing it is kept.**

- Stores the technical file alongside it

→ The cover page has what supports it behind.

**The product changes and the declaration stays the same.**

- Reviews the declaration with every change

→ The document describes what is sold today.

**A client asks for the declaration of an old version.**

- Keeps each version with its date

→ You provide the one that covered that sale.