The EU Declaration of Conformity: what goes in it and who signs it

The EU Declaration of Conformity (DoC) is the single document that ties a product to every piece of legislation it complies with. It is not optional paperwork kept for form's sake: it is the manufacturer's formal, legally significant statement, made under their sole responsibility, that the product meets the rules. Here is exactly what has to go in it, in the order the model structure expects, and the details people most often get wrong.

Where the structure comes from

Most CE-related directives and regulations base their Declaration of Conformity model on the structure set out in Annex III of Decision No 768/2008/EC, the framework decision that standardised how EU product legislation approaches conformity assessment and marking. Individual pieces of legislation (the Low Voltage Directive, EMC Directive, RED, RoHS, Toy Safety Directive and others) each adapt this model slightly for their own scope, but the core elements are consistent enough that one document, listing every applicable act, is standard practice when several directives apply to the same product, which is the normal case for electronics.

The elements, in order

1. A unique declaration number. An identifier tying the declaration to the specific product, model, type, batch or serial number it covers. 2. Manufacturer (or authorised representative) name and address. This has to be a real, physical business address, not a PO box, and if an authorised representative is acting on the manufacturer's behalf, their details are named here too. See our authorised representative guide if you are a non-EU manufacturer trying to work out whether you need one. 3. The sole-responsibility statement. The model wording is close to: "This declaration of conformity is issued under the sole responsibility of the manufacturer." This is not boilerplate; it is the legal core of the document. 4. The object of the declaration. Enough identification of the specific product for traceability: model, type, and where appropriate a description or even a photograph. Vague descriptions ("our electronics product") do not satisfy this element; specific model numbers do. 5. The legislation declared against. Every directive or regulation the product complies with, by its official reference (for example "2014/30/EU"), not just a marketing name like "EMC compliant". 6. The harmonised standards or technical specifications used. Specific standard references, ideally with their dated version (for example "EN 55032:2015"), showing exactly what was tested against. 7. Notified body details, where applicable. Only required where a notified body was actually involved in the conformity assessment: name, identification number, what they did, and the certificate reference. 8. Additional information, where the specific legislation requires it. Sector-specific extras: accessories covered, software version, and similar detail some acts explicitly ask for. 9. The signature block. Place and date of issue, and the name, function and signature of the person authorised to sign on the manufacturer's behalf.

Who is actually allowed to sign it

The DoC has to be signed by someone with real authority to make the declaration on the manufacturer's behalf, typically a director, head of engineering, quality manager or an equivalent senior role, not an arbitrary employee with no oversight of the compliance work. The legislation does not name a specific job title; what matters is that the signatory genuinely has the authority and knowledge to stand behind the statement being made. For a small company, this is very often the founder or technical lead; for a larger one, it is usually whoever owns product compliance formally.

One DoC per model, or one for the whole range?

A single Declaration of Conformity can list multiple products, provided each one is properly identified within it (by model number, for instance) and the same legislation and standards genuinely apply to all of them. What is not acceptable is a single generic DoC that vaguely covers "our product range" without specific identification, since the whole point of element four (object of the declaration) is traceability to the specific item in question. In practice, most manufacturers issue one DoC per model or closely related model family, and reissue or amend it if the legislation, standards, or design changes materially.

Does it have to ship inside the box?

Not necessarily. Many of the underlying directives allow the manufacturer to make the Declaration of Conformity available in another way, for instance by printing a website address on the product or its packaging where the document can be downloaded, rather than including a physical paper copy with every unit. Whether this applies to your specific product, and exactly how the accompanying-documents provision is worded, depends on the specific legislation involved, so check the relevant directive or regulation's own text rather than assuming a general rule. What is consistent across all of them is that the declaration has to exist, be signed, and be genuinely retrievable, whether that is a paper copy in the box, a copy kept on file and provided on request, or a stable link.

Common mistakes worth checking for

A few patterns come up repeatedly in DoCs that do not hold up under scrutiny: listing a marketing-friendly phrase like "complies with EU safety standards" instead of the actual directive references and dated standard numbers; describing the product too vaguely to satisfy the traceability element; naming a signatory with no real connection to the product's engineering or quality function; and, especially for fast-moving product lines, failing to reissue the declaration after a hardware revision that changes which standards actually apply. None of these are rare oversights, they are the specific details worth checking your own declaration against before you rely on it.

UK Declarations of Conformity are structured similarly, with differences

A UK Declaration of Conformity (for UKCA marking) follows a comparable structure under gov.uk's guidance, but a UK DoC can currently reference either UK-specific legislation or, reflecting the UK's continued recognition of CE marking for most goods, the corresponding EU legislation and standards. See our UKCA vs CE marking piece for the current state of that recognition, since it has changed more than once since Brexit.

Generate one

Once you know the structure, filling it in correctly is mostly a matter of not missing an element. Our free Declaration of Conformity generator walks through exactly these fields for both the EU and UK models, and formats a document you can print or save as a PDF, entirely in your browser: nothing you type is sent anywhere or stored.