The CE marking is a label that many products must have to be sold in the European Union. This mark must be visible, legible, and indelible and demonstrates that the manufacturer has evaluated the effect considering it meets the requirements for a specific sector and associated European Directives and Regulations.
The manufacturer is the sole responsible for declaring the conformity of the product with all requirements. This manufacturer must:
- ensure accordance with all relevant EU-wide requirements
- determine whether he can assess the effect by himself or if it is necessary to involve a notified body
- put together a technical dossier documenting conformity: find out about technical documentation
- draft and sign an EU declaration of conformity.
The products that present higher safety risks cannot be checked just by the manufacturer. In these cases, a Notified Body (an independent organization appointed by national notifying authorities) must perform the safety check. The manufacturer may affix the CE marking to the product only once this has been done.
If a notified body has tested the product, the CE marking must be accompanied by the notified body’s identification number. These CE marking and identification numbers may be affixed separately, as long as they appear linked.
Previously in the drones’ sector, Civil Aviation Agencies of each member country dictated the specifications for drones’ products and operations but now, the new Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 for the European Community has updated these specifications.
This regulatory framework for drones is divided into 2 main documents:
- Regulation (EU) 2019/945, establishes the requirements for compliance during the design and manufacturing phases, and entered into force in the last quarter of 2019.
- Regulation (EU) 2019/947, establishes provisions for safe drone operations, and entered into force the last quarter of 2019 but its application was moved to mid-2020.
Alter Technology has been providing specific services to several manufacturers from all over the globe to get the CE marking for their drones and, in the meantime, ALTER is also working to be Notified Body for the Drones’ Regulation to close the cycle and complete its set of dedicated services for the UAS Industry.
