EN    EN EN  
EN    EN  COMMISSION OF THE E UROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 23.5.2008 
COM(2008) 311 final 
2008/0098 (COD)   
Proposal for a 
REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 
LAYING DOWN HARMONISED CONDITI ONS FOR THE MARKETING OF THE 
CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS 
(presented by the Commission) 
 
{SEC(2008) 1900} {SEC(2008) 1901}  
EN 2   EN EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM  
Following a wide consultation of stakeholders  and an impact assessment, the Commission, 
within its Better Regulation/Simplification pr ogramme, proposes replacing Council Directive 
89/106/EEC by a Regulation with the aim to be tter define the objectives of Community 
legislation and make its implementation easie r by providing some simplified mechanisms 
especially addressed to alleviate the administra tive burden for enterprises and, in particular, 
for SMEs. 
1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL  
1.1. Grounds for and objectives of the proposal 
The objective of the Construction Products Directive (89/106/EEC)1, referred to hereafter as 
the CPD, is to ensure free circulation and use of construction products in  the Internal Market. 
In October 2005, the Commission launched a three year rolling programme for simplification 
as part of its Better Regulation: Simplification Strategy2. The aim is to make legislation less 
burdensome, easier to apply and thus more effective, while also preserving EU policy 
objectives. This includes considering whether th e approach originally chosen is the most 
effective one for meeting the objec tives of the legislation. Simplif ication of the CPD is one of 
the initiatives under this Strategy, with the aim being “to clarify and reduce the administrative 
burden of the CPD, in particular for SMEs, th rough increased flexibility in the formulation 
and use of technical specifications, lighter cer tification rules, and the elimination of the 
implementation obstacles that so far have hamper ed the creation of a full internal market for 
construction products”3. 
Construction products are intermediate products intended to be incor porated in construction 
works. The concepts of safety or general inte rest thus apply to cons truction products only to 
the extent to which they contribute to the fulfilm ent of the requirements of the works in which 
they are to be incorporated. 
The New Approach is not the appropriate legi slative technique for achieving the objective of 
ensuring free circulation and use of the cons truction products. However, in the proposed 
Regulation, the New Legal Framework, as define d by the package on the internal market for 
goods4, is followed in areas such as the criteria for notification of bodies carrying out third 
party tasks in the process of attestation of de clared performance, or market surveillance 
provisions.  
In this context, the meaning of the CE marki ng defined in this prop osal is specific for 
construction products: it attests that the information accompanying the product has been 
                                                 
1 OJ L40 of 11.2.1989, p.12, as amended by Council Directive 93/68/EEC, OJ L220 of 30.8.1993, p.1. 
2 European Commission (2005):COM (2005) 535 final: Communication of the Commission to the 
European Parliament, The Council,  the European Economic and So cial Committee and the Committee 
of the Regions – Implementing the Community Lisbon Programme: A Strategy for Simplification of the Regulatory Environment, Brussels. 
3 EC MEMO/05/394 and MEMO/06/426 
4 COM(2007) 36 final  
EN 3   EN obtained in accordance with the proposed Regul ation and, therefore, must be considered 
accurate and reliable.  
Other specificities for construction products, wh ich necessitate deviation from the New Legal 
Framework, include the systems of attestation of declared pe rformance; the modules proposed 
in the New Legal Framework could not be app lied without substantial adaptation for this 
sector. However, some slight modifications ar e proposed to the systems currently in force 
under the CPD. 
In short, the objective of the Regulation is not to define the safety of the products, but to 
ensure that reliable information is presented in relation to their performances. This is achieved 
by providing a common technica l language to be used by manufacturers when placing 
products on the market and by public  authorities when defining th e technical requirements of 
works which influence, either dire ctly or indirectly, th e products to be used in those works. 
This common technical language is set out in  the harmonised techni cal specifications 
(harmonised European standards (hEN) a nd European Assessment Documents (EAD)) 
developed under this Regulation. 
The basic works requirements (BWR) are propos ed to comprise the national and European 
regulatory requirements for c onstruction works. The common technical language of the 
harmonised technical specifications is to pr ovide the necessary t ools for describing and 
assessing the required characte ristics of the construction pr oducts; its use should therefore 
enable the national authorities to carry out all the necessary checks on the products in 
question, as well as the constructors to utilis e them in the most appropriate and efficient 
manner. When the performances of products are set out by Member St ates authorities or 
declared by manufacturers, th is is to be done through th is common technical language. 
1.2. Consistency with other policies and objectives of the Union 
The general policy objective and the more speci fic/operational objectives pursued by the CPD 
revision are not only fully consistent with seve ral of the basic Community policies, such as 
the Lisbon Strategy and the policies aiming at be tter and simplified regulation, but are even a 
direct and necessary consequence of them. 
In particular, the strategies related to sustai nable development are to be taken into account 
through the application of the BWRs, continui ng as the basis for formulating technical 
specifications for construction products.  
The common technical language required for corre ct functioning of the Internal Market can 
therefore also be used as a powerful tool at the service of the environmental policies of the 
Union and of Member States in this field. 
2. CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT  
2.1. Consultation methods and general profile of the respondents 
An open consultation was conducted over the internet betw een 17.03.2006 and 15.06.2006. A 
total number of 319 replies were received, which is considered a good rate of response. All 
relevant actors concerned by the CPD includi ng industry, public administrations and other 
interested parties were represen ted in the survey answers, e ither through individual or grouped 
responses. Industrial representation in the re sponses can be considered as good: 94 sector  
EN 4   EN associations, both at European and at Nati onal level, and 102 i ndividual manufacturers 
reacted to the questionnaire. 
- A summary report of the repl ies received is available at: 
http://ec.europa.eu/enterp rise/construction/cpdrevisi on/consultation_results_en.pdf  
http://ec.europa.eu/enterpri se/construction/cpdrevision/ consultation_sta tistics_en.pdf  
- The main findings include: 
• Nearly all the replies confirm the need for a harmonised legislative framework . Mutual 
recognition is generally viewed as not sufficient to achieve free circulation; 
• An absolute need for clarification  is also confirmed concerning the fundamental elements 
of the CPD: the general approach (performan ce based versus prescrip tive approach), the 
meaning and the status (compulsory or not) of CE marking, the acceptance of CE marking 
by the national authorities and th e users of construction products  as a reliable marking, as 
well as the role of standards a nd European technical approvals; 
• The CPD clearly leaves room for simplification.  The systems of attestation of conformity 
should be simplified and reduced in number. Th e European technical approval route for CE 
marking is perceived as necessary, but the admi nistrative procedures for its delivery must 
be streamlined and guidelines for European technical approval ( ETAG) should disappear. 
The “no performance determined” (NPD) opti on should be maintained, but needs better 
definition as a means of simplifying the appl ication of the CPD and avoiding unnecessary 
costs for companies; 
• Demonstrated concern exists about the potential specific effects  of the CPD on small and 
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) . Particular emphasis is given to the need for 
appropriate treatment specifica lly for non-series products. Be sides, any changes to the 
CPD should not place undue burden on the business activity of SMEs; 
• Finally, a unanimous request is brought up for reinforcing the credibility  of the whole 
system, notably by strengthening the criteria for designation and notification of bodies and 
by a better coordination of  market surveillance. 
2.2. Impact assessment of policy alternatives 
As part of the policy on bette r regulation the Commission implemented an impact assessment 
of policy alternatives. Three options were cons idered: Option 1 – No EU action: no change; 
Option 2 – No legislation; Op tion 3 – Revision of the CPD. 
Option 1 - No EU action: no change 
The baseline option is for the CPD to continue to be in force as it currently exists. Its 
requirements would not be clarified or simpli fied in any other manner than the changes 
related to the natural evolution of the legisl ation in its current form and to legislation 
applicable to this field beyond the CPD. 
However, some of the existing divergences in national requirement s and in testing and 
certification regimes could be reduced through alr eady initiated means of administrative 
cooperation between national authorities.  
EN 5   EN Nevertheless, the in-depth analysis of this option demonstrates that many of the current 
problems, such as the unclear meaning of CE  marking, the different approaches to CE 
marking (mandatory, non-mandatory), the comp lexity of the system, the insufficient 
acceptance of CE marking and the pr oliferation of national marks, will continue to exist. This 
is confirmed by the most recent data on comp laints and infringements in areas already 
covered by harmonised technical specifications. Thus, the CPD woul d continue to fail to meet 
its objective of free circulati on and use of construction produc ts in the Internal Market. 
Option 2 - No legislation 
This option would imply a repeal of the CPD w ithout any substitute, and a reversion to mutual 
recognition taking into account  the New Legal Framework. 
In practice the Internal Market would be ba sed exclusively on the pr inciple that a product 
lawfully marketed in one Member State can be marketed in any other Member State, even if 
the product does not fully comply w ith the technical rules of the destination Member State, as 
long as a Member State has not sufficiently ju stified reasons for banning the product on the 
market in its territory.  
COM(1999)299 final on improving the application of  the principle of mutual recognition in 
the Single Market identified construction in the top five sectors for infringements of mutual 
recognition, between 1996 and 1998, under Article  28 (former Article 30) of the Treaty. By 
the time of COM(2002)419 final, the number of in fringements in the co nstruction sector had 
increased marginally over the period 1998-2001 to rank in the t op four industry sectors. The 
most recent available data confirms these tr ends and shows that mutual recognition is not 
sufficient for assuring efficient functioning of th e internal market for construction products.  
In May 2006, the stakeholder consultation show ed that manufacturers almost unanimously 
consider that mutual recognition would not be able to achieve the free circulation and use of construction products in the internal market. 
The external study
5, contracted for preparing the Impact Assessment of the revision of the 
CPD, analysed whether or not the ‘no legi slation’ option would address the problems 
identified in relation to the CPD. Unsurprisi ngly, given the above di scussion, the conclusion 
was that this option would not fulfil the objective of free circul ation of construction products 
in the Internal Market. 
Option 3 - Revision of the CPD: the preferred option  
Option 3, to revise the Community legislation, is the preferred option. It consists of a package 
which mirrors the existing necessity and scores be st in the Impact Assessment. It is the only 
one fully corresponding to the i ssues and problems requiring acti on as well as to the findings 
of the stakeholder consultation undertaken in this respect. It addresses the main identified problem drivers in an optimal way and allows th e best possible improve ments with regard to 
those who are affected. It also safeguards the general acquis  and the technical specifications 
established under the current CPD. Finally it st rictly respects the ba lanced subsidiarity 
achieved in the field of construction, i.e. Memb er States are competent for the rules of design 
                                                
 
5 by Risk & Policy Analysts Ltd (RPA), UK  
EN 6   EN and building of works, while EU legislation ensu res the Internal Market  for the products used 
in such works.  
3. ADDRESSING THE IDENTIFIED PROBLEMS  
3.1. Clarification needs 
The proposed Regulation contains a precise de finition of its subject matter as well as 
definitions of the most pertinent concepts in th e field of the Internal Market for construction 
products. Even more importantly, the specifi c meaning of CE marking for construction 
products is determined clearly: This will help  to avoid confusion with other pieces of 
legislation providi ng for its affixing. 
CE marking for construction products entails the declaration of rele vant information in 
relation to the performance of the product, acco mpanying the placing on the market of that 
product; in addition, this information is to ha ve been obtained followi ng the provisions of the 
Regulation. 
To ease the burden on SMEs, specific provision s for micro-enterprises and for individual 
products are foreseen. 
Moreover, the specific role a nd meaning of the harmonised te chnical specifications, i.e. 
harmonised standards and EADs, ar e also clarified: they shoul d be based on the concept of 
performance. As a consequence of this, the role  of harmonised technical specifications is to 
provide test or calculation me thods which should be the most  appropriate ones for assessing 
and verifying constancy of the perf ormances of the respective products. 
Finally, CE marking will be mandatory for decl aring the performances of products covered by 
the harmonised standards. Still, the proposal  preserves the voluntary character of the 
harmonised standards by offering to the manufact urers the alternative route of the European 
Technical Assessment (ETA) for obtaining CE marking. 
3.2. Reinforcing the credibility of the system 
The proposal, following the New Legal Framework, introduces new and st ricter criteria for 
the notification of bodies carrying out third pa rty tasks in the process of assessment and 
verification of constancy of performance. Along the same lines, the proposal defines stringent 
criteria also for the designati on of Technical Assessment Bodies  (TAB). As a result, one can 
expect a greater acceptance of CE marking by Member States’ auth orities and by clients 
(designers, contractors and ow ners), as the only marking attesting compliance of the 
construction products with declared performances. 
Furthermore, the provisions on safeguard pr ocedure of the New Legal Framework are 
included in this proposal: this will also e nhance the credibility of the whole system. 
3.3. Simplification needs 
Simplification is the main objective of this pr oposal. Coinciding with the experience gained 
through the application of the CPD, and further to the simplifications induced by clarification, 
the proposal also includes an important number of  measures aimed at simplifying the route to 
CE marking, thereby reducing the administrative burden of enterprises and in particular of  
EN 7   EN micro-enterprises. Some of these measures a pply directly such as those related to micro-
enterprises, which will be gi ven simplified access to CE mark ing, where the products they 
place on the market do not imply significant safety  concerns. Specific simplified measures are 
also foreseen for dealing with i ndividual and non-series products.  
The procedures for obtaining a European Te chnical Assessment (ETA) are also to be 
simplified and clarified. Besides, European standardisation bodies a nd Technical Assessment 
Bodies are encouraged to replace testing in the harmonised technical specifications by other 
less onerous methods, such as descriptive met hods, and to introduce classes, as far as 
possible, in the harmonised standards in order to facilitate the use of the concepts “without 
testing” or “without  further testing”. 
Finally, the introduction of the Specific Tech nical Documentation (S TD) will facilitate the 
sharing of tests results performed by a third party, as well as the cascading of testing, i.e. the 
transfer of testing results fr om upstream to downstream stag es of production or from a 
systems provider or a models designer to th e assembler of such systems or models.  
These measures are expected to significantly reduce the administrative cost of placing 
construction products on the European market without decreasing the levels of safety for 
construction works. The most significant simplification measures foreseen in the proposal can 
be grouped as follows: 
3.3.1.  Measures of general application 
Systems of assessment and verification of constancy of performance 
– Change from 6 to 5 systems by the elimination of the former system 2; 
– Simplification of the former system 1+ by the removal of audit testi ng on the construction 
site and on the market. This system, which is the most demanding according to the CPD, 
requires, in addition to the tests performe d in the production plant before placing the 
product on the market, a set of tests that can be  performed on the produ ct either already on 
the market or on the construction site. The requirement for such tests has been removed. 
– Introduction of « witness tests »,  i.e. the possibility of performing tests in the 
manufacturer’s production plant,  in order to avoid moving samples of products to the 
notified body’s laboratory. 
Methods intended to reduce the cost of testing 
– Introduction of a soft system where the manuf acturer’s declaration of performances is 
simply supported by a Specific Technical Documentation (STD ), which the manufacturer 
keeps in the factory at disposal of the market surveillance authorities.  
Through the STD, the following tools are created:  – Without testing : under  certain  conditions, to be defined in  the harmonised technical 
specifications or by a Commi ssion decision, the product must  be considered without 
testing, as being suitable for a sp ecific use or able to reach a specific level or class of 
performance;  
EN 8   EN – Without further testing : in the same way, on the basis of a number of tests carried out by 
a third party, and under  certain  conditions, to be defined in  the harmonised technical 
specifications or by a Commi ssion decision, the product must  be considered without 
further testing, as being suitable for a specific us e or able to reach a specific level or class 
of performance; 
– Sharing type testing : Manufacturer will be able to use th e results of tests carried out by a 
third party as long as his product shares the fact ors determining this pr oduct-type, i.e. they 
use the same basic materials and are manuf actured using similar production systems; 
– Cascading type testing : Manufacturers assembling kits or systems can use the results of 
the tests performed by the providers of such k its or systems, under th eir authorisation and 
instructions. In addition, tests performed in upstream stages of the production process shouldn’t be repeated in downstream stages, pr ovided that the performance characteristics 
are not modified. These measures will have impor tant effects in the reduction of the cost of 
products placed on the market without reducing the safety of the works being built. They 
will particularly benefit the SMEs.  
Further to the above concrete measures, the technical specification writers are formally 
requested to use, in their t echnical specifications, evaluation methods that are less onerous 
than testing, whenever possible. 
3.3.2.  Measures of specific application  
Treatment of individually manufactured products  
The treatment of individually manufactured prod ucts is also simplified by using the new STD. 
Again, this simplification measur e applies to all the companie s manufacturing such products, 
but has special relevance for SMEs and, in par ticular, for artisans and micro-enterprises.  
Treatment of micro-enterprises  
Moreover, the proposal fores ees specific treatment for micro-enterprises, which are given 
the possibility of replacing the applicable syst em for assessment and verification of constancy 
of performance by a STD, without  the intervention of a third pa rty, except for products having 
a very important role in assuri ng the safety of the works.  
3.3.3.  European Technical Assessment (ETA) system 
Pursuant to the CPD, the system of European technical approvals is the route to CE marking 
reserved for products not covere d by any harmonised standards. This system has frequently 
been criticised mainly owing to its comp lexity, cost and lack of transparency. 
Firstly, it should be considered that, in the absence of a harmonised standard, the work of 
issuing a European technical approval consists basically of creating a new technical 
specification, i.e. determining the tests or othe r assessment methods to be applied to a product 
for evaluating its performance. This is, in fact , a complex and difficult task, necessary in order 
to allow the product to be placed on the market w ith CE marking. This practice has existed in 
MS for years, which explains the existen ce of solid national b odies in this field. 
The results of the stakeholder c onsultation indicated that this route is still needed and valid 
but that improvements are necessary. The objective  of the revision is therefore to simplify the  
EN 9   EN system as much as possible, by simplifyi ng the procedures, making the system more 
transparent and by giving a bigge r role to the manufacturer in  deciding the content of the 
assessment.  
The main changes proposed for the system can be summarised as follows: 1. European Technical Assessments (ETA) are to continue as a voluntary route to CE 
marking, as an option to the use of harm onised standards. A ETA could be carried 
out even when a harmonised standard exis ts for the same product, thereby giving 
more flexibility and choice to the manufacturer. 
2. At present, the CPD does not contain cr iteria related to sectoral competence of 
Technical Assessment Bodies. On the contra ry, the proposal explicitly sets strict 
criteria for them, including those related to sectoral competence, but  also to technical 
competences in one or more of  11 defined sectoral domains. 
3. The current system recognises two routes  for European technical approvals, the 
Guidelines (ETAGs) and the Common Understanding Assessment Procedure (CUAP).  These two are to be replaced by a si ngle simplified route, the European 
Assessment Document (EAD). 
4. The manufacturer is given a crucial role in the development of the EAD, as he 
decides which characteristics have to be d ealt with; he intervenes in the procedure 
and he signs the definitive contract only when he knows the exact work programme, the timing and the cost of the procedure. 
5. In terms of timing, the proposed procedure foresees, as objectives, 4.5 months for the 
elaboration of the EAD, as compared to estimated averages (not foreseen in the 
CPD) of 14.5 months for a CUAP and more than 24 months for the preparation of a 
ETAG. 
4. L
EGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL  
4.1. Summary of the proposed action 
The proposed Regulation foresees the repeal of th e CPD. In general, when an act is repealed 
the principle of "parallel; forms" applies, that is to say, the repeal of  a Directive would be 
effected by a replacement Directive. However, due  to the particular circumstances of this 
case, namely: 
• considerations linked to the effectiveness of the Regulation as far as the fulfilment of the 
Internal Market objectiv es are concerned;  
• experience with the current CPD, showing im portant differences in the content and the 
timing of the transpositions by Member States , which have had negative implications on 
the functioning of the Internal Market for construction products.  
• practical difficulties caused by the different transpositions, well exemplified by the present 
situation concerning the status of CE marking. The CPD has been transposed in such a way 
that CE marking is considered voluntary in 4 Member States and mandatory in the rest.  
EN 10   EN Industry is very unsatisfied with  this situation; st ill, this dilemma ha s not been resolved 
until now. 
For these reasons, it is considered that the mo st effective means of replacing the CPD is by 
means of a directly applicable instrument. A Re gulation is therefore chosen to be proposed as 
the most appropriate act, being directly applicable. The problem of divergent interpretation and implementation by Member States is thus expected to be avoided. 
4.2. Legal basis 
The proposal is based on Article 95 of Treaty. 
4.3. Subsidiarity 
The proposal is based on a clear principle of di stribution of competences and responsibilities 
between the Union and Member States in the field of the construction process. 
Member States are responsible for ensuring that  building and civil engineering works on their 
territory are designed and built  in a way that does not enda nger the safety of persons, 
domestic animals and property while respecting other basic requirements in the interest of 
general well-being. 
On the other hand, the objective of this act of Community le gislation is to provide the 
framework for the achievement of the Internal Market for construction products, for which the 
Treaty gives the responsibility to the Union. 
The removal of technical barriers in the construc tion field, to the extent  that they cannot be 
removed by mutual recognition of equivalenc e among all the Member States, may only be 
achieved by the establishment of a common t echnical language by which manufacturers will 
express the performance in relatio n to the essential characteris tics of the construction products 
they place on the market. The proposed legisl ation predominantly aims to provide the 
necessary requirements for establishi ng this harmonised technical language. 
4.4. Proportionality principle 
The proposal is very largely built on existing practices, procedures and infrastructures which 
it consolidates, clarifies and simplifies, rather than creating new measures  and infrastructures. 
Concerning the reinforcing of th e criteria for the notification of  bodies carrying out third party 
tasks in the process of assessmen t and verification of constancy of  performance, as well as the 
safeguard clause provisions, the New Legal Framework is strictly followed.  
Criteria for the designation and notification of the technical assessment bodies follow the 
same line with some adaptations taking into ac count the specific functions these bodies will 
undertake.  
EN 11   EN 2008/0098 (COD) 
Proposal for a 
REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 
LAYING DOWN HARMONISED CONDITI ONS FOR THE MARKETING OF THE 
CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS 
(Text with EEA relevance) 
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE CO UNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 
Having regard to the Treaty esta blishing the European Communit y, and in particular Article 
95 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission6, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Eu ropean Economic and Social Committee7, 
Having regard to the opinion of  the Committee of the Regions8, 
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty9, 
Whereas: (1) The rules of Member States require that construction works are designed and executed 
so as not to endanger the safety of  persons, domestic animals and property. 
(2) Those rules have a direct influence on the requirements of construction products. 
Those requirements are consequently reflected  in national product standards, national 
technical approvals and othe r national technical specifica tions and provisions related 
to construction products. By their disparity, those requirements hinder trade within the 
Community. 
(3) Council Directive 89/106/EEC of 21 December 1988 on the approximation of laws, 
regulations and administrative provision s of the Member States relating to 
construction products
10, aimed at the removal of technical barriers to trade in the field 
of construction products, in order to enha nce their free movement  in the internal 
market. 
                                                 
6 OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
7 OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
8 OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
9 OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
10 JO L 40, 11.2.1989, p.12. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council (OV L 284, 31.10.2003. p. 1.).  
EN 12   EN (4) In order to achieve that objective, Directive 89/106/EEC provided for the 
establishment of harmonised standards for construction products and provided for the 
granting of European technical approvals. 
(5) Directive 89/106/EEC should be replaced in or der to simplify and clarify the existing 
framework, and improve the transparency and the effectiveness of the existing 
measures. 
(6) It is necessary to provide for simplified procedures for drawi ng up declarations of 
performance in order to alle viate the financial burden of SMEs and in particular of 
micro-enterprises. 
(7) Regulation […] of the European Parliame nt and of the Council setting our the 
requirements for accreditation and market su rveillance relating to the marketing of 
products and Decision […] of theEuropean Parliament  and of the Council on a 
common framework for the marketing of pr oducts provide for a horizontal legal 
framework for the marketing of products in  the internal market. Therefore this 
Regulation should take account  of that legal framework. 
(8) The removal of technical barriers in the fi eld of construction may only be achieved by 
the establishment of harmonised technical sp ecifications for the purposes of assessing 
the performance of c onstruction products.  
(9) Those harmonised technical sp ecifications should include  testing, calculation and 
other means, defined within harmonise d standards and European Assessment 
Documents (EAD) for assessing performance in relation to the essential characteristics 
of construction products. 
(10) The methods used by the Member States in their requirements for works, as well as 
other national rules in relati on to the essential characteristics of construction products, 
should be in accordance with harm onised technical specifications. 
(11) It is necessary to establish basic works re quirements in order to provide the basis for 
the preparation of the mandates and harmoni zed standards and for the elaboration of 
the EADs for construction products. 
(12) Where appropriate, performance levels in relation to the essential characteristics, to be 
fulfilled by construction products in Member States should be established in the harmonized technical specifications so as to take account of different levels of basic 
works requirements for certain works as well as of the differences in climate, geology 
and geography and other different conditi ons prevailing in the Member States. 
(13) The European Committee for Standardizati on (CEN) and the European Committee for 
Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) are recognized as the competent organisations for the adoption of harmonized standards in accordance with the general 
guidelines for cooperation between the Co mmission and those two organisations 
signed on 28 March 2003. 
(14) Those harmonised standards should provide the appropriate tools for the harmonised 
assessment of the performance in relation to the essential characteristics of construction products. Harmonised standards should be establishe d on the basis of  
EN 13   EN mandates adopted by the Commission, covering the relevant families of construction 
products, in accordance with Arti cle 6 of Directive 98/34/EC. 
(15) The procedures under Directive 89/106/EEC fo r assessing performance in relation to 
the essential characteristics of construc tion products not covered by a harmonised 
standard should be simplified in order to make them more transparent and to reduce 
costs to manufacturers of construction products. 
(16) In order to allow manufactur ers and importers of constr uction products to draw up a 
declaration of performance for construc tion products which are not covered by a 
harmonised standard it is necessary to provi de for a European Technical Assessment. 
(17) To provide the manufacturer and the impor ter with additional flexibility for the 
assessment of the performance of the cons truction product he intends to place on the 
market, he should be entitled to request a European Technical Assessment also in a 
case in which the product is cove red by a harmonised standard. 
(18) Manufacturers and importers of construction products should be allowed to request 
European Technical Assessments to be carri ed out for their products on the basis of 
the guidelines for European technical approval established under Directive 
89/106/EEC. Therefore, the cont inuing validity of these guidelines as EADs should be 
ensured. 
(19) The establishment of draft EADs and the i ssuing of European T echnical Assessments 
should be entrusted to Technical Assessment Bodies (TAB) designated by Member States. In order to ensure that TABs have  necessary competence for carrying out those 
tasks, the requirements for their designati on should be set out at  Community level. 
Therefore it is also necessary to provide for periodical evaluations of TABs by TABs 
from other Member States. 
(20) The TABs should establish an organisation to coordinate the procedures for the 
establishment of draft EADs and for issui ng of the European T echnical Assessments. 
(21) The placing on the market of construc tion products which are covered by a 
harmonised standard or for which a Europ ean Technical Assessment has been issued 
should be accompanied by a declaration of performance in relation to the essential 
characteristics of the product in accordan ce with the relevant harmonised technical 
specifications. 
(22) The manufacturer should be entitled not to make a decl aration of performance for 
those essential characteristics of construc tion products for whic h no requirements exist 
where he intends to place the product on the market. 
(23) When no requirements related to the essentia l characteristics of construction products 
exist where the manufacturer intends to pl ace the product on the market, he should be 
allowed to place such a product on the market  without a declaration of performance. 
(24) It is necessary to provide for simplified procedures for drawi ng up declarations of 
performance in order to alle viate the financial burden of SMEs and in particular of 
micro-enterprises.  
EN 14   EN (25) In order to ensure that the declaration of  performance is accura te and reliable, the 
performance of the construction product should be assessed and the production in the factory should be controlled in accordance with an appropriate system of assessment 
and verification of constancy of perf ormance of the construction product. 
(26) Given the specificity of cons truction products and the par ticular focus of the system 
for their assessment, the procedures for the conformity assessment foreseen in the Decision (EC) ……, and the modules set out in  that Decision, are not appropriate for 
those products. Therefore, specific methods  should be established for the assessment 
and verification of constancy of performance in relation to the essential characteristics 
of construction products.  
(27) Due to the difference in the meaning of the CE marking for construction products, 
when compared to the general principles  set out in Regulation (EC) …, specific 
provisions should be put in pla ce to ensure the clarity of th e obligation to affix the CE 
marking to construction products and the consequences of that affixing. 
(28) By affixing or having affixed the CE marking to construction product, the 
manufacturer should take responsibility for the conformity of that product with its 
declared performance. 
(29) The CE marking should be affixed to all construction produc ts, for which the 
manufacturer has drawn up a declaration of performance in accordance with this 
Regulation. If a declaration of perform ance has not been drawn up, CE marking 
should not be affixed. 
(30) The CE marking should be the only mark ing which attests conformity of the 
construction product with the declared perfor mance and with applicable requirements. 
Therefore, no additional markings should be imposed to the construction products 
bearing it by the Member States nor by pub lic bodies or private bodies acting as a 
public undertaking, or acting as a public body on the basis of a monopoly position or 
under a public mandate, when the requirement s for this use in that Member State 
correspond to the declared performance. 
(31) To avoid unnecessary testing of constr uction products, for which performance has 
already sufficiently been demonstrated by stable  previous test results  or other existing 
data, the manufacturer should be allowed, under conditions set up in the harmonised 
technical specifications or in  a Commission Decision, to decl are a certain level or class 
of performance without testi ng or without further testing. 
(32) To avoid duplicating tests already carried  out, a manufacture r of a construction 
product should be allowed to use the te st results obtained by a third party. 
(33) To decrease the cost of placing products on the market for micro-enterprises, it is 
necessary to provide for simplified proced ures for assessment and verification of 
constancy of performance, when the produc ts in question do not  imply significant 
safety concerns. 
(34) For individually designed and manufactur ed construction products  the manufacturer 
should be allowed to use simplified procedures for assessment and verification of  
EN 15   EN constancy of performance, where the comp liance of the product placed on the market 
with the applicable regulatory pr ovisions can be demonstrated. 
(35) It is important to ensure the accessibility of national technical rules, so that enterprises, 
and in particular SMEs, can gather reliable and precise information about the law in 
force in the Member State where they inte nd to market their products. Product Contact 
Points established by the Regulation (EC) No … of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of […2008] laying down procedures relating to the application of certain 
national technical rules to pr oducts lawfully marketed in another Member State and 
repealing Decision 3052/95/EC should theref ore provide information also on rules 
applicable to the incorpor ation, assembling or installation of a specific type of 
construction product. 
(36) For the purposes of ensuring an equivalent and consistent enforcement of Community 
harmonisation legislation, effective market  surveillance should be operated by the 
Member States. Regulation (EC) N°… of th e European Parliament and of the Council 
of […2008] setting out the requirements fo r accreditation and market surveillance 
relating to the marketing of products provide s the basic conditions for the functioning 
of such market surveillance. 
(37) The responsibility of Member States for sa fety, health and other matters covered by 
the basic works requirements on their territory should be recognized in a safeguard 
clause providing for appropriate protective measures. 
(38) Since it is necessary to ensure thr oughout the Community a uniform level of 
performance of bodies carrying out assessm ent and verification of constancy of 
performance of construction products and si nce all such bodies should perform their 
functions to the same level and under c onditions of fair competition, requirements 
should be set for performance assessment bodies seeking to be  notified for the 
purposes of this Regulation. Provisions shoul d also be made for the availability of 
adequate information about such bodies and for their monitoring.  
(39) In order to ensure a coherent level of quality in assessment and verification of 
constancy of performance of construction prod ucts, it is also necessary to establish 
requirements applicable to th e authorities responsible fo r notifying the bodies carrying 
out these tasks to the Commission and the other Member States. 
(40) Since  the objectives of the proposed action, na mely to achieve the proper functioning 
of the Internal Market for construction products by means of harmonised technical 
specifications for expressing the performa nce of construction products, cannot be 
sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of scale and 
effects, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, 
in accordance with the principl e of subsidiarity set out in  Article 5 of the Treaty. In 
accordance with the principle of proportional ity, as set out in this Article, this 
Regulation does not go beyond what  is necessary in order to  achieve those objectives.  
EN 16   EN (41) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted 
in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of impl ementing powers conferred on the Commission
11. 
(42) In particular the Commission should be empowered to establish conditions under 
which the declaration of performance may be  available on a web site, to determine the 
period during which manufacturers, importe rs and distributors should keep the 
technical documentation and the declaration of performance available, to establish 
classes of performance in relation to the essential characteristics of construction products, to establish the sy stem of assessment of perf ormance and verification of 
constancy of the declared performance to be  applied to a given c onstruction product or 
family of construction products , to establish the format of the European Technical 
Assessment, to establish procedures for ca rrying out the evaluati on of TABs and to 
amend Annexes I to V. Since those measures  are of general scope and are designed to 
amend non-essential elements of this Regul ation, inter alia by s upplementing it with 
new non-essential elements, they must be a dopted in accordance w ith the re gulatory 
procedure with scrutiny provided for in  Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC. 
(43) Since a period of time is required to ensure that the framework for the proper 
functioning of this Regulation is in place, its application should be deferred with the 
exception of the provisions concerning the designation of TABs, notifying authorities 
and notified bodies, the establishment of  an organisation of TABs and the 
establishment of the Standing Committee.  
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
                                                
 
11 OJ L184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. Decision as amended by Decision 2006/512/EC (OJ L200, 22/7/2006, p.11).  
EN 17   EN CHAPTER  I 
GENERAL PROVISIONS  
Article 1 
Subject matter 
This Regulation lays down rule s on how to express the perfor mance of construction products 
in relation to their essential characteristics a nd on the use of CE marking on those products. 
Article 2 
Definitions 
For the purposes of this Regulation th e following definitions shall apply: 
1. "construction product"  means any product or kit which is produced and placed on the 
market for incorporation in a permanen t manner in construction works or parts 
thereof so that the dismantling of the product decreases the performance of the 
construction works and the dismantling or replacement of the product constitute construction operations; 
2. "works"  means buildings and ci vil engineering works; 
3. "essential characteristics"  means those characteristic s of the construction product 
which relate to the basic works requirements; 
4. "harmonised techni cal specifications"  means harmonised standards and European 
Assessment Documents; 
5. "making available on the market" means any supply of a construction product for 
distribution or use on the Community market  in the course of a commercial activity, 
whether in return for payment or free of charge;  
6. "placing on the market"  means the first making available of a construction product 
on the Community market; 
7. "manufacturer"  means any natural or legal person  who manufactures a construction 
product or who has such a product manufact ured, under his name or trademark; 
8. “distributor”  means any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the 
manufacturer or the importer, who make s a construction product available on the 
market; 
9. “importer”  means any natural or legal person  established within the Community, 
who places a construction product from a third country on the Community market; 
10. “economic operators” means the manufacturer, the importer, distributor and the 
authorised representative;  
EN 18   EN 11. “authorised representative”  means any natural or legal person established within the 
Community who has received mandate from th e manufacturer to act on his behalf for 
specific tasks; 
12. “harmonised standard”  means a standard adopted by one of the European 
standardisation bodies listed  in Annex I to Directive 98/34/EC, on the basis of a 
request issued by the Commission, in accordance  with Article 6 of that Directive; 
13. "European Assessment Document" means a document adopted by the organisation of 
Technical Assessment Bodies;  
14. “accreditation"  has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation (EC) No […]; 
15. “withdrawal ” means any measure aimed at prev enting the making available on the 
market of a construction product in the supply chain; 
16. "recall"  means any measure aimed at achieving  the return of a construction product 
that has already been made  available on the market; 
17. "product-type"  means the performance of a cons truction product produced using a 
given combination of raw materials or other elements in a specific production 
process; 
18. "factory production control”  means the permanent intern al control of the production 
in a factory; 
19. "micro-enterprise"  means a micro-enterprise as  defined in the Commission 
Recommendation of 6 May 2003 concerning th e definition of micro, small and 
medium sized enterprises12; 
20. “life cycle”  means the consecutive and interlinke d stages of a product life, from raw 
material acquisition or generation from natural resources to final disposal. 
Article 3 
Basic works requirements and esse ntial product characteristics 
1. The essential characteristics of constr uction products shall be laid down in 
harmonised technical specifications in re lation to the basic works requirements 
which are set out in Annex I. 
                                                 
12 OJ L 124, 20.5.2003, p. 36.  
EN 19   EN CHAPTER  II 
DECLARATION OF PERFORMANCE  
AND CE MARKING  
Article 4 
Conditions for drawing up declaration of performance 
1. The manufacturer or the importer when plac ing a construction product on the market 
shall make a declaration of performan ce if the following conditions are met: 
(a) the construction product is  covered by a harmonised standard, or a European 
Technical Assessment has been issued for that product; and 
(b) the requirements in relation to essential characteristics of that product exist 
where the manufacturer or importer intends  to place the product on the market. 
The manufacturer or the importer may make a declaration of performance where the 
requirements referred to in  point (b) do not exist. 
2. The declaration of performan ce referred to in paragraph 1 shall cover at least the 
essential characteristics for which requireme nts referred to in point b of paragraph 1 
exist. 
3. Member States shall presume the decl aration of performance drawn up by the 
manufacturer or the importer to  be accurate and reliable.  
Article 5 
Content of the declaration of performance 
1. The declaration of performance shall ex press the performance of construction 
products in relation to the e ssential characteristics of those products in accordance 
with the relevant harmonise d technical specifications. 
2. The declaration of performance sha ll contain the following information: 
(a) the product-type for which it has been drawn up; (b) the list of the essential characteristics of the construction product for which the 
performance is declared, and the levels  or classes of that performance; 
(c) the reference number of the harmonise d standard, the Euro pean Assessment 
Document or the Specific Technical Do cumentation, which has been used for 
the assessment of each e ssential characteristic.  
EN 20   EN Article 6 
Form of the declara tion of performance 
1. A copy of the declaration of performance shall be supplied with each product which 
is made available on the market. 
However, where a batch of the same product is delivered to a single user, it may be 
accompanied by one copy of the d eclaration of performance.  
2. The copy of the declaration of performan ce may be supplied by electronic means 
only with the express agreem ent of the recipient.  
3. By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 a nd 2, the content of the declaration of 
performance may be made available on a web site in accordance with conditions 
established by the Commission. 
Those measures, designed to amend non-esse ntial elements of this Regulation, by 
supplementing it, shall be adopted in accord ance with the regulatory procedure with 
scrutiny referred to in Article 51(2).  
4. The declaration of performances shall be drawn up using the model set out in Annex 
III. 
Article 7 
Use of CE marking 
1. The CE marking shall be affixed only to those construction pr oducts, for which the 
manufacturer has drawn up a de claration of performance in accordance with Articles 
4, 5 and 6. 
If a declaration of performance has not  been drawn up by th e manufacturer in 
accordance with Articles 4, 5 and 6, the CE marking may not be affixed to construction products.  
By affixing or having affixed the CE marking the manufacturer shall take 
responsibility for the confor mity of the construction pr oduct with the declared 
performance.  
2. The CE marking shall be the only mark ing which attests conformity of the 
construction product with the declared performance. 
Member States shall not introduce natio nal measures or shall withdraw any 
references to a conformity marking other than the CE marking. 
3. Member States shall not prohibit or impe de, within their territory or under their 
responsibility, the making available on the ma rket or the use of construction products 
bearing the CE marking, when the requireme nts for this use in that Member State 
correspond to the declared performance. 
4. Member States shall ensure  that the use of construction products bearing the CE 
marking shall not be impeded by rules or conditions imposed by public bodies or  
EN 21   EN private bodies acting as a public undertaking, or acting as a public body on the basis 
of a monopoly position or under a public ma ndate, when the requirements for this 
use in that Member State correspon d to the declared performance.  
Article 8 
Rules and conditions for the affixing of CE marking 
1. The CE marking shall be subjected to the ge neral principles set out in Article 26a of 
Regulation (EC) N° … 
2. The CE marking shall be affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly to the construction 
product or to its data plate. Where this is not possible or not warranted on account of 
the nature of the product, it shall be affixe d to the packaging or to the accompanying 
documents. 
3. The CE marking shall be followed by the two last digits of the year in which it was 
affixed, the name or the identifying mark of the producer, the unique identification 
code of the construction product and the numbe r of the declaration of performance.  
4. The CE marking shall be affixed before the construction product is placed on the 
market. It may be followed by a pictogram or  any other mark indicating a special risk 
or use. 
Article 9 
Product Contact Points 
Each Member State shall ensure that the Prod uct Contact Points established in accordance 
with Regulation (EC) N°…. also provide the in formation on any technical  rules or regulatory 
provisions applicable to  the incorporation, assembling or in stallation of a specific type of 
construction product in the territ ory of that Member State.  
EN 22   EN CHAPTER  III 
OBLIGATIONS OF ECONOMIC OPERATORS  
Article 10 
Obligations of manufacturers 
1. Manufacturers shall draw up the required t echnical documentati on describing all the 
relevant elements related to the applicable  attestation of declared performance.  
Manufacturers shall draw up the declarati on of performance in accordance with 
Articles 4, 5 and 6, and affix CE marking in accordance with Articles 7 and 8.  
2. Manufacturers shall keep the technical documentation and the declaration of 
performance for the period determined by the Commission for each family of 
construction products on the basis of expect ed life and the role of the construction 
product in the works. 
Those measures, designed to amend non-esse ntial elements of this Regulation, by 
supplementing it, shall be adopted in accord ance with the regulatory procedure with 
scrutiny referred to in Article 51(2). 
3. Manufacturers shall ensure that procedures ar e in place in order for series production 
to maintain the declared performance. Ch anges in the product-type and changes in 
the applicable harmonised technical specifications shall be adequately taken into account. 
Manufacturers shall, in all cases where a ppropriate, carry out sample testing of 
marketed construction products, investigating, and, if necessary, keeping a register of 
complaints, and keeping distributors informed of such monitoring. 
4. Manufacturers shall ensure that their cons truction products bear a type, batch or 
serial number or any other element allowing their identification, or, where the size or 
nature of the product does not  allow it, that th e required information is provided on 
the packaging or in a document accompanying the construction product. 
5. Manufacturers shall indicate their name, regi stered trade name or registered trade 
mark and the address at which they can be contacted on the c onstruction product or, 
where not possible on its packaging or in  a document accompanying the construction 
product. 
6. Manufacturers who consider or have reason  to believe that a construction product 
which they have placed on the market is not in conformity with the declared 
performance, shall immediately take the ne cessary corrective measures to bring that 
construction product in conformity or withdr aw it from the market and recall it from 
end users, if appropriate. They shall imme diately inform the national authorities of 
the Member States where they made the c onstruction product available to this effect, 
giving details, in particul ar, of the non-compliance and of the corrective measures 
taken.   
EN 23   EN 7. Manufacturers shall, upon the basis of a r easoned request of the competent national 
authorities, provide them with all the in formation and documentation necessary to 
demonstrate the conformity of the c onstruction product with the declared 
performance. They shall coopera te with those authorities, at  the request of the latter, 
on any action to avoid the risks posed by construction products which they have placed on the market.  
Article 11 
Authorised representatives  
1. Manufacturers may appoint, by a written ma ndate, an authorised representative.  
The drawing up of technical documentation may not form part of the authorised 
representative's mandate.  
2. Where a manufacturer has appointed an author ised representative, the latter shall at 
least do the following: 
(a) keep the declaration of performance and the technical documentation at the 
disposal of national surveillance author ities for the period referred to Article 
10(2);  
(b) on request from the competent national authorities, provide them with all the 
information and documentation necessary to  demonstrate the conformity of the 
product with the declared performance;  
(c) co-operate with the competent authorit ies, at the request of the latter, on any 
action to avoid the risks posed by c onstruction products covered by their 
mandate. 
Article 12 
Obligations of importers 
1. When placing a construction product on th e Community market importers shall act 
with due care in relation to th e requirements of this Regulation. 
2. Before placing a construction product on the market importers shall ensure that the 
assessment and the verification of constanc y of the declared performance has been 
carried out by the manufacturer. They shall ensure that the manufacturer has drawn 
up the technical documentation referred to in  the first subparagra ph of Article 10(1). 
They shall draw up the declaration of pe rformance in accordance with Articles 4, 5 
and 6. They shall also ensu re that the product bears th e required CE marking, is 
accompanied by the required documents and that the manufacturer has respected the 
requirements set out in Ar ticles 10(4) and 10(5).  
Where an importer considers or has reason to  believe that the construction product is 
not in conformity with the declaration of performance , he may not place the 
construction product on the market until it c onforms to the accompanying declaration 
of performance or until declarati on of performance is corrected.  
EN 24   EN 3. Importers shall indicate their name, register ed trade name or registered trade mark 
and the address at which they can be cont acted on the construction product or, where 
not possible, on its packaging or in  a document accompanying the product. 
4. Importers shall ensure that, while a constr uction product is under their responsibility, 
storage or transport conditions  do not jeopardise its conf ormity with the declared 
performance. 
5. Importers who consider or have reason to  believe that a construction product which 
they have placed on the market is not in  conformity with the declaration of 
performance, shall immediately take the ne cessary corrective measures to bring that 
construction product in conformity or withdr aw it from the market and recall it from 
end users, if appropriate. They shall imme diately inform the national authorities of 
the Member States where they made the c onstruction product available to this effect, 
giving details, in particul ar, of the non-compliance and of the corrective measures 
taken. 
6. Importers shall, for the period referred to  in Article 10(2), keep a copy of the 
declaration of performance at the disposal of the market surveillance authorities and 
ensure that the technical documentation can be made available to those authorities, 
upon request. 
7. Importers shall, on the basis of a reasoned request from the competent national 
authorities, provide them with all the in formation and documentation necessary to 
demonstrate the conformity of the c onstruction product with the declared 
performance. They shall coopera te with those authorities, at  the request of the latter, 
on any action to avoid the risks posed by construction products which they have placed on the market. 
Article 13 
Obligations of distributors 
1. When making a product available on the mark et distributors shall act with due care 
in relation to the requirements of this Regulation. 
2. Before making a construction product ava ilable on the market distributors shall 
ensure that the product bears the require d CE marking and is accompanied by the 
documents required under this Regulation and by instructions and safety information in a language easily underst ood by users in the Member State where the product is 
made available on the market and that the manufacturer and the importer have 
complied with the requirements set out in Article 10(4), Article 10(5) and Article 12(3) respectively. 
Where a distributor considers or has reason to believe that a construction product is 
not in conformity with th e declaration of pe rformance, he may make the product 
available on the market only after it conf orms to the accompanying declaration of 
performance or until declaration of perfor mance is corrected.. The distributor shall 
inform the manufacturer or the importer to this effect as well as the market 
surveillance authorities, when the product presents a risk.  
EN 25   EN 3. A distributor shall ensure that, wh ile a construction product is under his 
responsibility, storage or transport conditions do not jeopardise its conformity with the declared performance. 
4. Distributors who consider or have reas on to believe that a construction product 
which they have made available on the ma rket is not in conformity with the 
declaration of performance, shall imme diately make sure that the necessary 
corrective measures to bring that product in conformity or withdraw it from the 
market and recall it from end users are ta ken, if appropriate. They shall immediately 
inform the national authorities of the Me mber States where they made the product 
available to this effect, givi ng details, in particular, of the non-compliance and of the 
corrective measures taken. 
5. Distributors shall, on the basis of a reas oned request from the competent national 
authorities, provide them with all the in formation and documentation necessary to 
demonstrate the conformity of the c onstruction product with the declared 
performance. They shall coopera te with those authorities, at  the request of the latter, 
on any action to avoid the risks posed by construction products which they have made available on the market.  
Article 14 
Cases in which obligations of manufac turers apply to impor ters and distributors 
An importer or distributor shall be consider ed a manufacturer for the purposes of this 
Regulation, when he places a product on the market  under his name or trademark or modifies 
a construction product already plac ed on the market in such a wa y that conformity with the 
declared performance, may be affected and conse quently he shall be subject to the obligations 
of the manufacturer  under Article 10. 
Article 15 
Identification of economic operators 
Economic operators shall be able, on request , to identify the following to the market 
surveillance authorities, for a period referred to in Article 10(2): 
(a) any economic operator who has supplied them with a product; 
(b) any economic operator to whom they have supplied a product.  
EN 26   EN CHAPTER  IV 
HARMONISED TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS  
Article 16 
Harmonised standards 
1. Harmonised standards shall be establishe d by the European standardisation bodies 
listed in Annex I to Directive 98/34/EC on the basis of mandates adopted by the Commission in accordance with Article 6 of that Directive.  
2. Harmonised standards shall provide the me thods and the criteria for assessing the 
performance of the construction products in re lation to their essential characteristics.  
Harmonised standards shall, where appropr iate, provide methods less onerous than 
testing for assessing the performance of the construction products in relation to their 
essential characteristics.  
3. The European standardisation bodies sha ll determine in harmonised standards the 
applicable factory production control, wh ich shall take into account the specific 
conditions of the manufacturing process of the construction product concerned.  
4. The Commission shall assess the conformity of harmonised standards established by 
the European standardisation bod ies with the relevant mandate. 
The Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union  the list 
of references of harmonised standards wh ich are in conformity with the relevant 
mandates, and set the date of a pplicability of those standards. 
The Commission shall publish any updates to that list. 
Article 17 
Formal objection against harmonised standards 
1. When a Member State or the Commission c onsiders that a harmonised standard does 
not entirely satisfy the requirements set out  in the relevant mandate, the Commission 
or the Member State concerned shall bri ng the matter before the Committee set up by 
Article 5 of Directive 98/34/EC, giving its arguments. The Committee shall, after having consulted with the relevant Eur opean standardisation bodies, deliver its 
opinion without delay. 
2. In the light of the Committee’s opinion, th e Commission shall decide to publish, not 
to publish, to publish with restriction, to main tain, to maintain with restriction or to 
withdraw the references to the harm onised standard concerned in the Official Journal 
of the European Union . 
3. The Commission shall inform the European standardisation body concerned and, if 
necessary, request the revision of the harmonised standards concerned.  
EN 27   EN Article 18  [17] 
Levels or classes of performance 
1. The Commission may establish classes of pe rformance in relation to the essential 
characteristics of construction products.  
Those measures, designed to amend non-esse ntial elements of this Regulation, by 
supplementing it, shall be adopted in accord ance with the regulatory procedure with 
scrutiny referred to in Article 51(2). 
2. Where classes of performance in relati on to the essential characteristics of 
construction products are not establis hed by the Commission, they may be 
established by the European standardisat ion bodies in harmonised standards. 
Where the Commission has established cla sses of performance in relation to the 
essential characteristics of construction products, the European standardisation 
bodies shall use those classe s in harmonised standards. 
3. The European standardisation bodies may se t in harmonised technical specifications 
the conditions under which a product shall be  deemed to satisfy a certain level or 
class of performance without tes ting or without further testing. 
4. Member States may determine the levels or classes of performan ce in relation to the 
essential characteristics of constructio n products only in accordance with the 
classification systems established by th e European standardisation bodies in 
harmonised standards, or by the Commission.  
Article 19 [18] 
Assessment and verification of constancy of performance  
1. Assessment and verification of constanc y of the declared performance of 
construction products in relati on to their essential characte ristics shall be carried out 
in accordance with one of the systems set out in Annex V. 
2. The Commission shall establish which system is applicable to a given construction 
product or family of construction produc ts according to th e following criteria: 
(a) the importance of the part played by th e product with respect to the basic works 
requirements;  
(b) the nature of the product;  (c) the effect of the variability of the essential characteristics of construction 
product during the service life of the product;  
(d) the susceptibility to defe cts in the product manufacture.  
In each case, the Commission shall choose the least onerous system consistent with 
safety.  
EN 28   EN Those measures, designed to amend non-esse ntial elements of this Regulation, by 
supplementing it, shall be adopted in accord ance with the regulatory procedure with 
scrutiny referred to in Article 51(2). 
3. The system thus determined shall be indicated in the mandates for harmonised 
standards and in the harmoni sed technical specifications. 
Article 20 [19] 
European Assessment Document 
1. The European Assessment Document (EAD) shall be adopted by the organisation of 
Technical Assessment Bodies referred to in  Article 25(1) following a request for a 
European Technical Assessment by a manuf acturer or an importer, in accordance 
with the procedure set out in Annex II. 
2. The organisation of Technical Assessment Bodi es referred to in Article 25(1) shall 
establish in the EAD the methods and the cr iteria for assessing the performance in 
relation to those essential characteristics of the cons truction product, which are 
related to the use inte nded by the manufacturer. 
3. The organisation of technical assessment bodi es referred to in Article 25(1) shall 
determine in the EAD the specific factory production control to be applied, taking 
into account the particular conditions  of the manufacturing process of the 
construction product concerned. 
Article 21 [20] 
European Technical Assessment 
1. The European Technical Assessment (ETA) shall be issued by a Technical 
Assessment Body, for any construction product, at the request of a manufacturer or 
importer on the basis of a EAD in accordance wi th the procedure set out in Annex II.  
2. The Commission shall establish the format of the ETA. 
Those measures, designed to amend non-esse ntial elements of this Regulation, by 
supplementing it, shall be adopted in accord ance with the regulatory procedure with 
scrutiny referred to in Article 51(2).   
EN 29   EN CHAPTER  V 
TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT BODIES  
Article 22 [21] 
Designation of Technical Assessment Bodies  
1. Member States may designate Technical A ssessment Bodies (TAB) for product areas 
listed in Table 1 of Annex IV. 
Member States which have designated a TAB shall communicate to the other 
Member States and the Commission the name, the address of that TAB and the product areas for which that TAB is designated. 
2. The Commission shall make publicly ava ilable the list of TABs indicating the 
product areas for which they are designated. 
The Commission shall make publicly av ailable any updates to that list.  
Article 23 [22] 
Requirements for TABs 
1. The TAB shall satisfy the requirement s set out in Table 2 of Annex IV. 
2. Where a TAB no longer complies with the re quirements referred to in paragraph 1, 
the Member State shall withdraw  the designation of that TAB. 
3. Member States shall inform the Commission and the other Member States of their 
national procedures for the assessment of TA Bs, of the monitoring of their activity, 
and of any changes to that information. The Commission shall make that information publicly available. 
Article 24 [23] 
Evaluation of TABs 
1. The TABs shall verify whether other TABs fulfil the respective criteria set out in 
Table 2 of Annex IV. 
The evaluation shall be organised by the or ganisation referred to in Article 25(1) and 
shall take place once every four years, with in the product areas listed in Table 1 of 
Annex IV, for which the TABs have been designated. 
2. The Commission shall establish procedures for carrying out the evaluation, including 
appropriate appeals procedures  against decisions taken as  a result of the evaluation. 
Those measures, designed to amend non-esse ntial elements of this Regulation, by 
supplementing it, shall be adopted in accord ance with the regulatory procedure with 
scrutiny referred to in Article 51(2).  
EN 30   EN The evaluation of a TAB may not be carri ed out by a TAB from the same Member 
State. 
3. The organisation referred to in Article 25(1) shall communicate the results of the 
evaluations of TABs to all Memb er States and the Commission.  
The Commission shall, in coope ration with Member States , monitor the respect of 
the rules and the proper functioni ng of the evaluation of TABs.  
Article 25 [24] 
Co-ordination of TABs 
1. The TABs shall establish an organisati on for technical assessment, hereinafter 
"organisation of TABs". 
2. The organisation of TABs shall carry out the following tasks: 
(a) co-ordinate the application of the rule s and procedures set out in Article 19 and 
Annex II, as well as provide the support needed to that end;  
(b) inform the Commission twice a year of any question related to the preparation 
of EADs and of any aspects related to the interpretation of the rules and procedures set out in Ar ticle 19 and Annex II;  
(c) adopt EADs; 
(d) organise the evaluation of the TABs; 
(e) ensure the co-ordination of the TABs. 
3. The Commission may provide assistance to th e organisation of TA Bs in carrying out 
the tasks referred to in poi nt (e) of paragraph 2. The Commission may conclude a 
framework partnership agreement with th e organisation of TABs to that end.  
4. Member States shall ensure that the TA Bs contribute with financial and human 
resources to the organisation of TABs.  
EN 31   EN CHAPTER  VI  
SIMPLIFIED  PROCEDURES 
Article 26 [25] 
Use of Specific Technical Documentation  
1. When the manufacturer determines the produc t-type he may replace type-testing or 
type-calculation by a Specific Technical Do cumentation (STD) demonstrating that: 
(a) for one or several essential characteris tics of the constructi on product he places 
on the market, that product is deemed to  achieve a certain level or class of 
performance without testing or calcul ation, or without further testing or 
calculation, in accordance with the conditions set out in the relevant harmonised technical specifica tion or Commission decision; 
(b) the construction product he places on th e market shares the product-type with 
another construction product, manufact ured by another manufacturer and 
already tested in accordance with the relevant harmonised technical specification. When these conditions are fulfilled, the manufacturer is entitled 
to declare performance corresponding to all or part of the test  results of this 
another product; 
(c) the construction product he places on the market is a system made of 
components, which he assembles duly following precise instructions given by 
the provider of such a system or of  a component thereof, who has already 
tested that system or that componen t for one or several of its essential 
characteristics in accordance with the relevant harmonised technical 
specification. When these conditions are fulfilled, the manufacturer is entitled 
to declare performance corresponding to a ll or part of the test results for the 
system or the component provided to him. 
The manufacturer may use the test result s obtained by anothe r manufacturer only 
after having obtained an aut horisation of that manufactur er, who remains responsible 
for the accuracy, reliability and stab ility of those test results. 
2. If the construction product, referred to in paragraph 1, belongs to a family of 
construction products for which the ap plicable system for assessment and 
verification of constancy of performance is system 1 or2, as set out in Annex V, the 
STD shall be verified by a relevant cert ification body as referred to in Annex V. 
Article 27 [26] 
Use of Specific Technical Documentation by micro-enterprises 
1. Micro-enterprises may replace the applicable  system for assessment of the declared 
performance of construction product by a STD. The STD shall demonstrate the 
compliance of the construction product with the applicable  requirements.   
EN 32   EN 2. If a construction product belongs to a fam ily of construction products for which the 
applicable system for assessment and veri fication of constancy of performance is 
system 1 or 2, as set out in Annex V, th e STD shall be verified by a relevant 
certification body as referred to in Annex V. 
Article 28 [27] 
Use of Specific Technical Documentati on for individually manufactured products 
1. For a construction product designed a nd manufactured in a non-industrialised 
production process in response to  a specific order, and insta lled in a single identified 
work, the manufacturer may replace the applicable system for assessment of 
performance by a STD, demonstrating complian ce of that product w ith the applicable 
requirements. 
2. If a construction product belongs to a fam ily of construction products for which the 
applicable system for assessment and veri fication of constancy of performance is 
system 1 or 2, as set out in Annex V, th e STD shall be verified by a relevant 
certification body as referred to in Annex V.  
EN 33   EN CHAPTER  VII 
NOTIFYING AUTHORITIES AND NOTIFIED BODIES  
Article 29 [28] 
Notification 
Member States shall notify the Commission and th e other Member States of bodies authorised 
to carry out third-party tasks in the process of assessment a nd verification of constancy of 
performance under this Regulation. 
Article 30 [29] 
Notifying authorities 
1. Member States shall designa te a notifying authority that  shall be responsible for 
setting up and carrying out the necessary procedures for the assessment and 
notification of the bodies to be  authorised to carr y out third party tasks in the process 
of assessment and verification of constanc y of the declared performance for the 
purposes of this Regulation, and for the m onitoring of notified bodies, including 
compliance with the provisions of Article 33. 
2. Where notification is based on an accreditation certificate, Member States may 
decide that the assessment and monitoring refe rred to in paragraph 1 shall be carried 
out by their national accreditation bodies w ithin the meaning of and in accordance 
with Regulation (EC) No…. 
3. Where the notifying authority delegates, subcontracts or othe rwise entrusts the 
assessment, notification or monitoring referr ed to in paragraph 1 to a body which is 
not a governmental entity, the delegated, or otherwise entrusted body shall be a legal entity and shall comply mutatis mutandis w ith the requirements laid down in Article 
30. In addition, such body shall have arrangemen ts to cover liabiliti es arising from its 
activities. 
4. The notifying authority shall take full re sponsibility for the tasks performed by 
delegated or otherwise entrusted body. 
Article 31 [30] 
Requirements relating to notifying authorities 
1. The notifying authority shall be established in  such a way that no conflicts of interest 
with notified bodies occur. 
2. The notifying authority shall be organised and operated s o  a s  t o  s a f e g u a r d  t h e  
objectivity and impartiality of its activities. 
3. The notifying authority shall be organised in such a way that each decision relating 
to notification of a performance assessm ent body is taken by competent persons 
different from those who car ried out the assessment.  
EN 34   EN 4. The notifying authority shall not offer or provide any activities that notified bodies 
perform, or consultancy services on a commercial or competitive basis. 
5. The notifying authority shall safeguard th e confidentiality of the information 
obtained. 
6. The notifying authority shall have a suffici ent number of competent personnel at its 
disposal for the proper perf ormance of its tasks.  
Article 32 [31] 
Information obligation fo r the notifying authorities 
Member States shall inform the Commission and the other Member States of their national 
procedures for the assessment and notification of performa nce assessment bodies and the 
monitoring of notified bodies, and of any changes to that information.  
The Commission shall make that information publicly available. 
Article 33 [32] 
Requirements for notified bodies 
1. For the purposes of notification, a perf ormance assessment body shall meet the 
requirements set out in paragraphs 2 to 11. 
2. The performance assessment body shall be established under national law and have 
legal personality. 
3. The performance assessment body shall be a third-party body independent from the 
organisation or the construc tion product it assesses. 
A body belonging to a business association or professional federation representing 
undertakings involved in the design, manu facturing, provision, assembly, use or 
maintenance of construction products whic h it assesses, can on condition that its 
independence and the absence of any conf lict of interest are demonstrated, be 
considered to be such a body. 
4. The performance assessment body, its top level management and the personnel 
responsible for carrying out the third party tasks in th e process of assessment and 
verification of constancy of the declared  performance shall not be the designer, 
manufacturer, supplier, inst aller, purchaser, owner, us er or maintainer of the 
construction products which they assess, nor the authorised representative of any of 
those parties. This shall not preclude the use of assessed products that are necessary 
for the operations of the notified body or the use of the products for personal purposes. 
They shall not become directly involved in the design, manufactur e or construction, 
the marketing, installation, use or mainte nance of those construction products, nor 
represent the parties engaged in those activ ities. They shall not  engage any activity 
that may conflict with their independence or judgement and integrity related to the activities for which they have been notified.   
EN 35   EN The notified body shall ensure th at activities of its  subsidiaries or subcontractors do 
not affect the confidentiality, objectivity and impartiality of its assessment and/or verification activities.  
5. The notified body and its personnel shall carry out the third party tasks in the process 
of assessment and verification of constancy of performance, with the highest degree 
of professional integrity and requisite technical competence in the specific field and must be free from all pressures and inducem ents, particularly financial, which might 
influence their judgement or the results of their assessment and/or verification 
activities, especially from pe rsons or groups of persons with  an interest in the results 
of those activities. 
6. The notified body shall be capable of carrying out all the third party tasks in the 
process of assessment and verification of c onstancy of performance assigned to such 
a body in accordance with Annex V and for wh ich it has been notified, whether those 
tasks are carried out by the notified body itself or on its behalf and under its 
responsibility. 
At all times and for each system of a ssessment and verification of constancy of 
performance and for each kind or category of construction products, characteristics 
and tasks for which it is not ified, the notified body shall ha ve at its disposal the 
necessary: 
(a) personnel with technical knowledge and sufficient and appropriate experience 
to perform the third party tasks in the process of assessment and verification of 
constancy of performance; 
(b) description of procedures  according to which the as sessing of performance is 
carried out, ensuring the transparency and the ability  of reproduction of these 
procedures. It shall have appropriate policy and procedures  in place that 
distinguish between tasks carried out as notified body and any other activity; 
(c) procedures to perform their activitie s taking into consideration the size, the 
sector, the structure of the undertaki ngs, the degree of complexity of the 
product technology in question and the mass or serial nature of the production 
process. 
It shall have the means nece ssary to perform the techni cal and administrative tasks 
connected with the activities for which it  is notified in an appropriate manner and 
shall have access to all necessa ry equipment or facilities. 
7. The personnel responsible for carrying out the activities, for which the body has been 
notified, shall have the following: 
(a) sound technical and vocati onal training covering all th e third party tasks in the 
process of assessment and verification of constancy of the declared performance of the relevant scope for which the body has been notified; 
(b) satisfactory knowledge of the requirement s of the assessments and verifications 
they carry out and adequate author ity to carry out such operations;  
EN 36   EN (c) appropriate knowledge and understand ing of the applicable harmonised 
standards and of the relevant provisions of the Regulation; 
(d) the ability required to draw up the certificates, records and reports to 
demonstrate that the assessments and th e verifications have  been carried out. 
8. The impartiality of the notified body, its top level management and assessment 
personnel shall be guaranteed. 
The remuneration of the notified body’s top level management and assessment 
personnel shall not depend on the number of a ssessments carried out or on the results 
of such assessments. 
9. The notified body shall take out  liability insurance unless liability is assumed by the 
State in accordance with national law, or  the Member State itself is directly 
responsible for the assessment a nd/or the verification performed. 
10. The personnel of the notifie d body shall be bound to obser ve professional secrecy 
with regard to all informa tion gained in carrying out it s tasks under Annex V, except 
in relation to the competent administrative authorities of the Member State in which its activities are carried out. Proprietary rights shall be protected. 
11. The notified body shall participate in, or ensure that its assessment personnel is 
informed of, the relevant standardisation activities and the activities of the notified 
body co-ordination group esta blished under this Regulatio n and apply as general 
guidance the administrative decisions and doc uments produced as a work result of 
that group. 
Article 34 
Presumption of conformity  
When a performance assessment body can demonstrat e its conformity with  the criteria laid 
down in the relevant harmonised st andards or parts thereof, the re ferences of which have been 
published in the Official Journal of the European Union , it shall be presumed to comply with 
the requirements set out in Article 33 insofar as the applicable harmonised standards cover these requirements. 
Article 35 [33] 
Subsidiaries and subcontracting of notified bodies 
1. Where the notified body subcont racts specific tasks connect ed with the third party 
tasks in the process of assessment and veri fication of constancy of performance or 
has recourse to a subsidiary, it shall ensure  that the subcontractor or the subsidiary 
meets the requirements set out in Articl e 33, and inform the notifying authority. 
2. The notified body shall take full respon sibility for the tasks performed by 
subcontractors or subsidiaries wh erever these are established.  
3. Activities may be subcontracted or carr ied out by a subsid iary only with the 
agreement of the client.  
EN 37   EN 4. The notified body shall keep at the disposal of the national authorities the relevant 
documents concerning the assessment of  the subcontractor’s or subsidiary’s 
qualifications and the work ca rried out by the subcontractor  or the subsidiary under 
Annex V.  
Article 36 [34] 
Witness tests 
1. Where justified by technical, economical or  logistic reasons, notified bodies may 
decide to carry out the tests referred to in  Annex V, or have such tests carried out 
under their supervision, either  in the manufacturing plants  using the test equipments 
of the internal laboratory of the manufact urer or, with the prior consent of the 
manufacturer, in a private or public laborat ory, using the test equipments of that 
laboratory. 
2. Before carrying out those tests, the no tified body shall check whether the test 
equipment has an appropriate calibrati on system and whether that system is 
operational.  
Article 37 [35] 
Application for notification 
1. A body to be authorised to carry out third party tasks in the process of assessment 
and verification of constancy of perfor mance shall submit an application for 
notification to the notifying authority of the Member State in which it is established.  
2. The application shall be accompanied by a description of the activities to be 
performed, the assessment and/or verifica tion procedures for which the body claims 
to be competent, as well as by an accredita tion certificate, where it exists, delivered 
by the national accreditation body within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No …, 
attesting that the body meets the requ irements laid down in Article 33. 
3. Where the body concerned cannot provide an  accreditation certif icate, it shall 
provide the notifying author ity with all documentary evidence necessary for the 
verification, recognition and regular m onitoring of its co mpliance with the 
requirements laid down in Article 33. 
Article 38 [36] 
Notification procedure 
1. Notifying authorities may notify only bodies  which have satisfied the requirements 
laid down in Article 33. 
2. They shall notify the Commission and the othe r Member States us ing the electronic 
notification tool developed and managed by the Commission.  
Exceptionally, for horizontal no tifications referred to in  the second subparagraph of 
paragraph 3, for which the appropriate electr onic tool is not avai lable, hard copy of 
the notification shall be accepted.   
EN 38   EN 3. The notification shall include full details of  the functions to be  performed, reference 
to the relevant harmonised technical specifi cation and, for the purposes of the system 
set out in point 1.4 of Annex V, the esse ntial characteristics for which the body is 
competent. 
However, reference to the relevant harmonise d technical specificat ion is not required 
in the following cases of essential characteristics: 
(a) reaction to fire; (b) resistance to fire; (c) external fire performance; (d) noise absorption. 
4. Where a notification is not based on an accreditation certific ate, the notifying 
authority shall provide the Commission a nd the other Member States with all 
documentary evidence which attests the notified body’s competence and the 
arrangements in place to ensure that th e body will be regularly monitored and will 
continue to satisfy the require ments laid down in Article 33. 
5. The body concerned may perform the activ ities of a notified body only where no 
objections have been raised by the Commi ssion and the other Member States within 
two weeks following a notification in case of  an accreditation certificate is used and 
within two months following a notifica tion in case accreditation is not used. 
Only such a body shall be considered as  a notified body for the purpose of this 
Regulation. 
6. The Commission and the other Member States shall be no tified of any subsequent 
relevant changes to the notification. 
Article 39 [37] 
Identification numbers and lists of notified bodies  
1. The Commission shall assign an identif ication number to a notified body.  
It shall assign a single such  number even where the body is notified under several 
Community acts. 
2. The Commission shall make publicly availa ble the list of the bodies notified under 
this Regulation, including the identification numb ers that have been allocated to 
them and the activities for which they have been notified.  
The Commission shall ensure that th is list is kept up to date.   
EN 39   EN Article 40 [38] 
Changes to the notification 
1. Where a notifying authority has ascertained or  has been informed that a notified body 
no longer meets the requirements set out in Ar ticle 33, or that it is failing to fulfil its 
obligations, the notifying authority shal l restrict, suspend or withdraw the 
notification as appropriate, depending on th e seriousness of the fa ilure to meet those 
requirements or fulfil those obligations. It shall immediately inform the Commission 
and the other Member States thereof.  
2. In the case of withdrawal, restriction or  suspension of notification or where the 
notified body has ceased activity, the notifying Member State concerned shall take the appropriate steps to ensure that the f iles are either processed by another notified 
body or kept available for the responsib le notifying and market surveillance 
authorities on request.  
Article 41 [39] 
Challenge of the competence of notified bodies 
1. The Commission shall investigate all cases where it doubts or doubt  is brought to its 
attention as to the competence of a notif ied body or the continued fulfilment by a 
notified body of the requirements and responsibilities placed on it.  
2. The notifying Member State shall provide  the Commission, on request, with all 
information related to the basis for notification or the maintenance of the competence of the body concerned.  
3. The Commission shall ensure that all information obtained in the course of its 
investigations is treated confidentially.  
4. Where the Commission ascertains that a notified body does not meet, or no longer 
meets, the requirements for its notificati on, it shall inform the notifying Member 
State thereof and request it to take the necessary corrective measures, including de-
notification, if necessary. 
Article 42 [40] 
Operational obligations for notified bodies 
1. Notified bodies shall carry out third party tasks in accordance with the systems of 
assessment and verification of constancy of  performance provided for in Annex V. 
2. Assessments and verifications of constancy of performance shall be carried out in a 
proportionate manner, avoiding unnecessary burden for economic operators. The notified bodies shall perform their activities  taking into consideration the size, the 
sector, the structure of the undertakings i nvolved, the relative complexity of the 
technology used by the construction products  and the serial character of the 
production. 
In so doing it shall neverthe less respect the degree of ri gour required for the product 
by this Regulation and the role of the product in the safety of the works.  
EN 40   EN 3. Where, in the course of the monitoring activity aiming at the verification of the 
constancy of the manufactured product pe rformances, a notified body finds that a 
construction product no longer has the same performance compared  to that of the 
product-type, it shall require  the manufacturer to ta ke appropriate corrective 
measures and shall suspend or wit hdraw its certifi cate if necessary. 
4. Where corrective measures are not taken or do not have the required effect, the 
notified body shall restrict, su spend or withdraw any certif icates, as appropriate.  
Article 43 [41] 
Information obligation for notified bodies 
1. Notified bodies shall inform the notif ying authority of the following:  
(a) any refusal, restriction, suspen sion or withdrawal of certificates;  
(b) any circumstances affecting the scop e of and conditions for notification; 
(c) any request for information on assessme nt and/or verification of constancy of 
performance activities carried out whic h they have received from market 
surveillance authorities; 
(d) on request, third party tasks in accord ance with the systems of assessment and 
verification of constancy of  performance carried out w ithin the scope of their 
notification and, any other activity perf ormed, including, cross-border activities 
and subcontracting. 
2. Notified bodies shall provide the other bodi es notified under this Regulation carrying 
out similar third party task s in accordance with the systems of assessment and 
verification of constancy of performan ce and covering the same construction 
products with relevant information on issu es relating to negative and, on request, 
positive results from these assessments and/or verifications.  
Article 44 [42] 
Exchange of experience 
The Commission shall provide for the organisation of exchange of experience between the 
Member States’ national authorities re sponsible for policy on notification.  
Article 45 [43] 
Coordination of notified bodies 
The Commission shall ensure that appropriate  coordination and coope ration between bodies 
notified under Article 29 is put into place and properly operated in the form of groups of 
notified bodies both at the sector al and cross sectoral level. 
Member States shall ensure that  the bodies notified by them part icipate to the work of those 
groups, directly or by desi gnated representatives.  
EN 41   EN CHAPTER  VIII 
MARKET SURVEILLANCE AND SAFEGUARD PROCEDURES  
Article 46 [44] 
Procedure to deal with construction produc ts presenting a risk at national level 
1. Where the market surveillance authorities of one Member Stat e have taken action 
pursuant to Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No … or where they have sufficient reason 
to believe that a construction product doe s not achieve the decl ared performances 
and/or presents a risk for the health or safety of persons or for other issues of public 
interest protection covered by this Regula tion, they shall perform an evaluation in 
relation to the product concerned covering all the requirements laid down by this 
Regulation. The concerned economic operators  shall cooperate in any necessary way 
with the market surveillance authorities. 
Where, in the course of th at evaluation, the market surv eillance authorities find that 
the construction product does not comply w ith the requirements laid down by this 
Regulation, they shall without delay require  the relevant economic operator to take 
all appropriate corrective act ions to bring the product in to compliance with those 
requirements or to withdraw the product from  the market or recal l it within such 
reasonable period, commensurate with the nature  of the risk, as they may prescribe.  
The market surveillance authorities sh all inform the relevant notified body. 
Article 19 of Regulation (EC) N°… applie s to the measures referred to above. 
2. Where the market surveillance authorities consider that the non-compliance is not 
limited to the national territory, they shall inform the Commission and the other Member States of the results  of the evaluation and of th e actions which they have 
required the economic operator to take. 
3. The economic operator shall ensure that any corrective actions are taken in respect of 
all the construction products concerned which he has made available on the market 
throughout the Community. 
4. Where the relevant economic operator, with in the period referred to in the second 
subparagraph of paragraph 1, does not take adequate corr ective actions, the market 
surveillance authorities shall take all appr opriate provisional measures to prohibit or 
restrict the making available of the constr uction product on the national market or to 
withdraw the construction product from  that market or to recall it. 
They shall inform the Commission and the other Member States, without delay, of 
such measures. 
5. The information referred to in paragraph 4 shall provide all av ailable details, in 
particular as regards the necessary data for the identification of the non-compliant 
construction product, the origin of the cons truction product, the nature of the risk 
involved, the nature and durat ion of national measures taken as well as the view 
points put forward by the economic operator concerned. In particular, the market  
EN 42   EN surveillance authorities shall indicate whether the non-complia nce is due to either of 
the following:  
(a) failure of the product to meet the require ments related to the health or safety of 
persons or to other issues of public interest protection laid down by this 
Regulation; 
(b) shortcomings in the harmonised tec hnical specifications or in the STD. 
6. Member States other than the Member St ate which initiated the procedure shall 
without delay inform the Commission and th e other Member States of any measures 
adopted and of any additional informati on relating to the non-compliance of the 
construction product concerned at their disposal, and, in the event of disagreement 
with the notified national m easure, of their objections. 
7. Where, within fifteen working days of r eceipt of the information referred to in 
paragraph 4, no objection has been raised  by either a Member State or the 
Commission in respect of a provisional meas ure taken by a Member State in relation 
to the construction product concerned, th e measure shall be deemed justified.  
8. Member States shall ensure the appropriate restrictive measures are taken in respect 
of the construction product concerned, such as withdrawal of the product from their 
market, without delay. 
Article 47 [45] 
Community safeguard procedure 
1. Where, on completion of the procedure set out in Article 46(3) and (4), objections 
are raised against a national measure of a Member State or wh ere the Commission 
considers the national measure to be c ontrary to Community legislation the 
Commission shall without delay enter into consultation with the Member States and the relevant economic operator(s) and shall proceed to the evaluation of the national 
measure. On the basis of the results of that evaluation, the Co mmission shall take a 
decision, indicating whether the measure is justified or not. 
The Commission shall address its decisi on to all Member States and shall 
immediately communicate it to them and to the relevant economic operator(s). 
2. If the national measure is considered justified, all Member States shall take the 
necessary measures to ensure that th e non compliant construction product is 
withdrawn from their markets. Member Stat es shall inform the Commission thereof. 
If the national measure is considered unjus tified, the Member State concerned shall 
withdraw the measure. 
3. Where the national measure is considered to  be justified and the non-compliance of 
the construction product is attributed to s hortcomings in the harmonised standards as 
referred to in Article 46(5)(b), the Commi ssion must inform the relevant European 
standardisation body (bodies) and bring the matter before the Committee set up 
under Article 5 of Directive 98/34/EC. The Co mmittee must consult with the relevant 
European standardisation body and deliver its opinion without delay.  
EN 43   EN Where the national measure is considered to  be justified and the non-compliance of 
the construction product is attributed to s hortcomings in the EAD or in the STD as 
referred to in Article 46(5)(b), the Commi ssion shall adopt the appropriate measures. 
Article 48 [46] 
Complying construction products which neverthe less present a risk to health and safety 
1. Where a Member State after having perf ormed an evaluation under Article 46(1) 
finds that although a construc tion product is in compliance with this Regulation, it 
presents a risk for the health or safety of persons or for other issues of public interest 
protection, it shall require the relevant economic operator to take all appropriate 
measures to ensure that the construction product concerned, when placed on the market, no longer presents that risk or to withdraw the construction product from the 
market or recall it within such reasonable period, commensurate with the nature of 
the risk, as it may prescribe.  
2. The economic operator shall ensure that any corrective actions are taken in respect of 
all the construction products concerned which he has made available on the market 
throughout the Community. 
3. The Member State shall immediately info rm the Commission and the other Member 
States. The information shall provide all available details, in particular as regards the 
necessary data for the identification of the construction product concerned, the origin 
and the supply chain of the product, the na ture of the risk i nvolved, the nature and 
duration of national measures taken.  
4. The Commission shall without delay enter in to consultation with the Member States 
and the relevant economic operator(s) and shall proceed to the evaluation of the 
national measure. On the basis of the resu lts of that evaluation, the Commission shall 
take a decision, indicating whether the m easure is justified or not, and where 
necessary, propose appropriate measures. 
5. The Commission shall address its decisi on to all Member States and shall 
immediately communicate it to them and to the relevant economic operator(s).  
Article 49 [47] 
Formal non-compliance 
1. Without prejudice to Article 46, where a Me mber State makes one of the following 
findings, it shall require the relevant ec onomic operator to put an end to the non-
compliance concerned: 
(a) the CE marking has been affixed in violation of Article 7 or Article 8; 
(b) the CE marking has not been affixed, when required according to Article 7(1); 
(c) the declaration of performance has not been drawn up, when required 
according to Article 4;  
EN 44   EN (d) the declaration of performance has not been drawn up in accordance with 
Articles 4, 5 and 6; 
(e) the technical documentation is eith er not available or not complete. 
2. Where the non-compliance referred to in paragraph 1 continues, the Member State 
shall take all appropriate measures to rest rict or prohibit the ma king available on the 
market of the construction product or ensure that it is recalled or  withdrawn from the 
market.  
EN 45   EN CHAPTER  IX 
FINAL PROVISIONS  
Article 50 [48]  
Amendment of Annexes 
1. Commission may amend Annexes I to V. 
2. Those measures, designed to amend non-esse ntial elements of this Regulation, shall 
be adopted in accordance with the regulator y procedure with scrutiny referred to in 
Article 51(2). 
Article 51 [49] 
Committee 
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee, called Standing Committee of 
Construction. 
2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1) to (4) and Article 7 of 
Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having re gard to the provisions of Article 8 
thereof. 
Article 52 [50] 
Repeal  
1. Directive 89/106/EEC is repealed.  
2. References to the repealed Directive shall be construed as references to this 
Regulation. 
Article 53 [51] 
Transitional provisions  
1. Construction products which have been pl aced on the market in accordance with 
Directive 89/106/EEC before 1 July 2011 sh all be deemed to comply with this 
Regulation. 
2. Manufacturers and importers may make a decl aration of performance on the basis of 
a certificate of conformity or a declara tion of conformity, which has been issued 
before 1 July 2011 in accordance with Directive 89/106/EEC. 
3. Guidelines for European technical approva l which were published before 1 July 2011 
in accordance with Article 11 of Directive 89/106/EEC may be used as EADs. 
4. Manufacturers and importers may use European technical approvals issued in 
accordance with Article 9 of Directive 89/ 106/EEC before 1 July 2011as European 
Technical Assessments throughout the peri od of validity of those approvals.  
EN 46   EN Article 54 [52] 
Entry into force 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of  the European Union. 
However, Articles 3 to 21, 26, 27 and 28, Articles 46 to 50, 52 and 53 as well as Annexes I, 
II, III and V shall apply from 1 July 2011. 
This Regulation shall be binding in  its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 
Done at Brussels, […] 
For the European Parliament For the Council 
The President The President […] […]  
EN 47   EN ANNEX I  
Basic works requirements  
Construction works as a whole and in their se parate parts must be fit for their intended 
use. 
Subject to normal maintenance, basic work s requirements must be satisfied for an 
economically reasonable working life.  
1. MECHANICAL RESISTANCE AND STABILITY  
The construction works must be designed and built in such a way that the loadings that 
are liable to act on them during their constructions and use will not lead to any of the following: 
(a) collapse of the whole or part of the work; (b) major deformations to an inadmissible degree;  (c) damage to other parts of the works or to fittings or installed equipment as a 
result of major deformation of the load-bearing construction;  
(d) damage by an event to an extent disproportionate to the original cause.  
2. S
AFETY IN CASE OF FIRE  
The construction works must be designed and built in such a wa y that in the event of an 
outbreak of fire: 
(a) the load-bearing capacity of the cons truction can be assumed for a specific 
period of time, 
(b) the generation and spread of fire and smoke within the works are limited, (c) the spread of the fire to ne ighbouring construction works is limited, 
(d) the safety of rescue teams is taken into consideration.  
3. H
YGIENE , HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT  
The construction works must be designed and bu ilt in such a way that  they will not be a 
threat neither to the hygiene nor health of  the occupants and ne ighbours, nor exert a 
exceedingly high impact over thei r entire life cycle to the e nvironmental quality nor to 
the climate, during their constr uction, use and demolition, in part icular as a result of any 
of the following: 
(a) the giving-off of toxic gas;  
EN 48   EN (b) the emissions of dangerous substa nces, volatile organic compounds (VOC), 
greenhouse gases or dangerous particle s into indoor or out door air; 
(c) the emission of dangerous radiation; (d) the release of dangerous substances into drinking water, ground water, marine 
waters or soil; 
(e) faulty discharge of waste water, emission of flue gases or fau lty disposal of solid 
or liquid wastes; 
(f) the presence of dampness in parts of the works or on surfaces within the works. 
4. S
AFETY IN USE  
The construction works must be designed and built in such a way that they do not present 
unacceptable risks of accidents in service or in operation such as slipping, falling, 
collision, burns, electrocuti on, and injury from explosion.  
5. PROTECTION AGAINST NOISE  
The construction works must be designed and built in such a way that noise perceived by 
the occupants or people nearby is kept down to a level that will not threaten their health 
and will allow them to sleep, rest and work in satisfactory conditions.  
6. ENERGY ECONOMY AND HEAT RETENTION  
The construction works and their heating, c ooling and ventilation in stallations must be 
designed and built in such a way that the amou nt of energy required in use shall be low, 
when account is taken of the climatic conditions of the location and the occupants. 
7. SUSTAINABLE USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES  
The construction works must be designed, bui lt and demolished in such a way that the 
use of natural resources is sust ainable and ensure the following: 
(a) recyclability of the construction works, their materials and parts after 
demolition; 
(b) durability of the construction works; (c) use of environmentally compatible  raw and secondary materials in the 
construction works.  
EN 49   EN ANNEX II  
Procedure for adopting European Assessment Document and for issuing European 
Technical Assessment  
1. Technical Assessment Body (TAB) shall carry out assessment and issue the 
European Technical Assessment (ETA) in the product area for which it has been 
designated. 
The provisions of this Annex on manuf acturers apply also to importers. 
2. The elaboration and the adoption of a Eu ropean Assessment Document shall be 
carried out in accordance with points 2.1. to 2.9. 
2.1. The TAB receiving a ETA request (her einafter "responsible TAB") for a 
construction product shall inform the organi sation of TABs refe rred to in Article 
25(1) and the Commission of the content of  the request and of  the reference to 
the Commission decision for assessment and verification of constancy of 
performance, which the TAB intends to appl y for this product, or of the lack of 
such a Commission decision. 
2.2. The responsible TAB shall, in cooperat ion with the manufacturer, obtain the 
relevant information on the product and on its intended use. The responsible 
TAB shall inform the manufacturer if the product is covered, fully or partially, 
by another harmonised technical specifica tion. The responsible TAB shall then 
draft a first contract to be concluded with the manu facturer, defining the terms 
for the elaboration of the work programme. 
2.3. Within one month from the conclusion of  the first contract, the manufacturer 
shall submit to the responsib le TAB a technical file describing the product, its 
intended use and details of the fact ory production control he applies. 
2.4. Within one month from the reception of the technical file, the responsible TAB 
shall prepare and send to the manufacturer  the draft second contract and the 
draft work programme, containing all detailed aspects and actions it will 
undertake to assess the performance for the essential characteristics of the 
product in relation to the intended use. The draft work programme shall include 
at least the following parts: 
(a) part 1 : the assessment programme indi cating test methods, calculation 
methods, descriptive methods, paramete rs and all other means, including 
the assessment criteria considered su itable for identifying the product, for 
assessing the performance for its essential characteristics in relation to the intended use, and the durability as pects for the relevant essential 
characteristics; 
(b) part 2: the activities related to the initial  inspection of the plant in which 
the product covered by the request is manufactured; 
(c) part 3: the places where the tests will be carried out;  
EN 50   EN (d) part 4: expected time and costs. 
2.5. After the conclusion of the second cont ract, comprising the agreed work 
programme, between the res ponsible TAB and the manuf acturer, the responsible 
TAB shall send Part 1 of the work progr amme, together with the part of the 
technical file related to the description of the product and its intended use, to all 
the other TABs designated for the same construction products area, referred to 
in Table 1 of Annex IV. Those TABs shall constitute a working group, which shall be co-ordinated by the responsible TAB. 
Within two weeks from the reception by all the TABs concerned of those 
documents from the responsible TAB, the working group shall establish the 
draft EAD, containing the assessment met hods and criteria of the performance 
for the relevant essential characteristics,  based on Part 1 of the work programme 
and on the pertinent and justified t echnical contributions provided by its 
members. 
2.6. The draft EAD shall then be communicated by the responsible TAB, together 
with the relevant part of the technical  file, containing the description of the 
product and its intended use, to all the other TABs.  
Within two weeks, these other TABs sh all communicate to th e responsible TAB 
the relevant information related to thei r national building re gulations and other 
legal or administrative provisions applic able to the product and to its intended 
use, as appropriate. The responsible TAB shall inform the members of the 
working group and the manufacturer about  the contents of these contributions. 
2.7. The responsible TAB shall include thes e contributions, after consulting the 
working group, in the draft EAD, which it shall send to th e organisation of 
TABs referred to in Article 25(1). Afte r communicating the final draft EAD to 
the manufacturer, who shall have one week  for his reactions, the organisation of 
TABs shall adopt the EAD as a provisi onal document. The organisation of 
TABs shall send a copy of the adopted pr ovisional EAD to the manufacturer and 
the Commission. If the Commission communi cates, within fifteen working days 
from reception, to the organisation of TA Bs its observations on the provisional 
EAD, it shall be amended accordingly by the organisation of TABs. After this 
period, the responsible TAB shall start the preparati ons for carrying out the 
assessment. 
2.8. The responsible TAB shall carry out the assessment according to the provisions 
of the adopted provisional EAD and sha ll subsequently issu e the corresponding 
ETA.  
2.9. As soon as the first ETA has been issu ed on the basis of a given provisional 
EAD by the responsible TAB, this EAD sh all be adjusted, if appropriate, by the 
organisation of TABs on the basis of a proposal from the responsible TAB. The 
final EAD shall then be adopted by the organisation of TABs and sent to the 
Commission. The Commission shall publish the reference to the final EAD in 
the Series C of the Official Journal of the European Union .  
EN 51   EN 3. When the reference to the final EAD has been published in the Official Journal  
of the European Union , the preparations for ETA s on the basis of any 
subsequent requests, concerning constr uction products with similar essential 
characteristics in relation to their intended use to the first request, shall be carried out according to this final EAD.  
4. A Commission representative may attend, as obs erver, to all the meetings of the 
working group referred to in point 2.5. 
5. If all the TABs and the manufacturer have not agreed upon the EAD, the 
organisation of TABs shall submit this matter to the Commission for appropriate resolution.  
EN 52   EN ANNEX III  
Declaration of performance  
No. ...................  
1. No ........................... (unique identification code of the product) 
2. Name or identification mark and address of ( authorised representative of the ) 
manufacturer:  
............................................................................................................................... .. 
............................................................................................................................... .. 
3. This declaration of perfor mance is issued under the sole responsibility of the 
manufacturer: 
............................................................................................................................... .. 
............................................................................................................................... .. 
4. Identification of product  (allowing traceability ): 
............................................................................................................................... .. 
............................................................................................................................... .. 
5. The performance of the product identified  above is in conformity with the 
declared performances under point 7. 
6. The .................................................. ( name, number of th e notified body, if 
relevant ) 
performed .............................................................… ( description of intervention ) 
and issued …...................................... ( the certificate of conformity of the 
product, the certificate of conformity of the factory production control, the test 
reports - if relevant ): 
 ........................................................................................................................  ........................................................................................................................ 
7. Declaration of performance ( list, levels or classes and reference to the 
corresponding harmonised technical specification/Speci fic Technical 
Documentation used for the assessment of the performance for the declared 
essential characteristics ) 
Name of the declared 
essential characteristic Level or class of 
performance for the 
declared essential 
characteristic Reference of the 
harmonised technical 
specification / Specific 
Technical 
Documentation
   
EN 53   EN    
   
   
 
Signed for and on behalf of: ………………………….   ............................................ ............................................... 
(place and date of issue) (name, function)(signature)  
EN 54   EN ANNEX IV  
 
Product areas and requirements for Technical Assessment Bodies  
 
Table 1 - Product areas  
 
Area 
Code Product Area Families of construction products  
A CIVIL ENGINEERING Geotextiles and related products - Circula tion fixtures - Floori ngs, paving and road 
finishes - Aggregates - Road construction pr oducts - Pipes, thanks and ancillaries not 
in contact with water intended for human  consumption - Floor beds including 
suspended ground floors, roads and other trafficked areas - Ultra thin layer asphalt 
concrete - Waste water engineering products  - Falling rock protection kits - Liquid 
applied bridge-deck waterproofing kits - Expansion joints for road bridges 
B PREFABRICATED TOTA L/PARTIAL BUILDING 
UNITS Timber frame and log prefabricated buildi ng kits - Cold storag e building kits and 
cold storage building envelope kits - Pref abricated building units - Concrete frame 
building kits - Metal frame building kits  
C LOAD BEARING MATERIALS AND COMPONENTS Structural timber products  and ancillaries - Cement, building limes and other 
hydraulic binders - Reinforcing and pre-stre ssing steel for concrete - Structural 
metallic products and ancillaries - Products related to concrete, mortar and grout - 
Structural bearings - Precast concrete pr oducts - Prefabricated stairs kits - Light 
composite wood-based beams and columns - Po st tensioning kits for the pre-stressing 
of structures - Anchor bolts   
EN 55   EN D ROOFING AND BUILDING ENVELOPE Curtain walling kits  - Roof coverings, Roof light s, roof windows and ancillary 
products - Flat glass, profiled glass and gl ass block products - External and internal 
doors and windows, roof openings and r oof lights - Liquid applied roof 
waterproofing kits - Kits for exterior wa ll claddings - Struct ural sealant glazing 
systems - Kits of mechanically fastened flexible roof waterproofing membranes - Self supporting translucent roof kits - Prefabricated wood-based load-bearing 
stressed skin panels and self-suppor ting composite lightweight panels 
E INTERNAL/EXTERNAL BUILDING 
COMPONENTS/KITS Sanitary appliances - Wood-based panels - Masonry and related pr oducts - Internal 
and external wall and ceiling finishes - G ypsum products - Internal partition kits - 
Watertight covering kits for wet room floors and walls - Non-load bearing permanent 
shuttering kits based on hollow blocks or  panels of insulating materials and/or 
concrete  
F HEATING/VENTILATION/INSULATION Chimneys, Flues and specific products - Space heating appliances - Thermal 
insulating products - External thermal insu lation composite kits - Inverted roof 
insulation kits – Vetures 
G FIXATIONS SEALINGS/ADHESIVES Construction adhesives - Pins for structur al joints / Connector s - Three dimensional 
nailing plates - Anchors bolts / Screws - Wall plates made of stainless steel. - Cavity 
trays - Fastener for external wall claddings and flat or pitched roofs - Connector for 
sandwich elements of concrete - Gas and watertight seals for pipes in wall and floor penetrations - Sealing kits, profiles and strips - Joints  sealing compounds - Elastic 
suspended fixings - Tension Rods - Point fastener - Surface repellents and coating 
treatments - Levelling fasteners for roof s, walls and interior applications - 
Waterproofing products / treatments  
H FIRE PROTECTION AND RELATED PRODUCTS Fire alarm, fire detection, fixed fire fighting, fire and smoke control and explosion 
suppression products - Fire stopping, fire sealing and fire protective products.  
EN 56   EN I ELECTRIC INSTALLATION Any construction product relate d to electric installation. 
J GAS INSTALLATION Any construction product rela ted to gas installation. 
K WATER SUPPLY AND SEWAGE Kit consisting of a trap with  partially mechanical closure, mounted in a non-trapped 
gully - Kit for manhole top consisting of Cove r and additional rings made of plastic 
for different purposes - Piping kits for cold  and hot water, including those intended 
for human consumption - Piping systems for drainage and sewerage  with or without 
pressure - Flexible coupling for gravity a nd pressure sewerage and drainage pipe - 
Composition toilet  
  
EN 57   EN Table 2 - Requirements for technical assessment bodies  
Competence Description of competence Requirement 
1 Analysing risks Identify the possible risks and benefits for the use of 
innovative construction products in the absence of established/consolidated tec hnical information regarding 
their performance when installed in construction works. 
2 Setting technical criteria Transform the outcome of the ri sk analysis into technical 
criteria for evaluating behavi our and performance of the 
construction products regarding the fulfilment of applicable national requirements; the technical information needed by those participating in the building process as potenti al users of the construction 
products (manufacturers, designers, contractors, 
installers). A TAB shall be independent from the stakeholders and from any 
particular interests. 
In addition, a TAB shall have staff with: 
(a) objectivity and sound  technical judgement;  
(b) detailed knowledge of the regulatory provisions and other 
requirements in force in the Member  States, concerning product areas 
for which it is to be designated; (c) general understanding of cons truction practice and detailed 
technical knowledge, concerning produc t areas for which it is to be 
designated; (d) detailed knowledge of specific risks involved and the technical 
aspects of the construction process; (e) detailed knowledge of the existi ng harmonised standards and test 
methods within the product areas fo r which it is to be designated; 
(f) appropriate li nguistic skills. 
3 Setting assessment 
methods Design and validate appropria te methods (tests or 
calculations) to assess performance for essential characteristics of construction products, taking into account the current state of the art.  
4 Determining the 
specific factory production control Understand and evaluate the manufacturing process of the 
specific product in order to id entify appropriate measures 
ensuring product constancy through the given manufacturing process.  A TAB shall have staff with appropriate knowledge of the 
relationship between the manuf acturing processes and product 
characteristics related to factory production control. 
5 Assessing the product Assess the performance for essential charac teristics of In addition to the requireme nts listed in points 1, 2 and 3, a TAB shal l  
EN 58   EN  construction products on the basis of harmonised methods 
against harmonised criteria. have access to the necessary mean s and equipment for the assessment 
of the performance for essential characteristics of construction 
products within the product areas for which it is to be designated.  
6 General management Ensure consistency, reliabil ity, objectivity and traceability 
through the constant app lication of appropriate 
management methods. A TAB shall have:  
(a) a proven record of respect of good administrative behaviour; 
(b) a policy and the supporting procedur es to ensure confidentiality of 
sensitive information within the TAB and all its partners; 
(c) a document control system to ensure registration, traceability, maintenance and archiving of  all relevant documents; 
(d) a mechanism for internal audit and management review to ensure 
the regular monitoring of the compliance with appropriate management methods; (e) a procedure to deal objectiv ely with appeals and complaints. 
  
EN 59   EN ANNEX V   
Assessment and verification of constancy of performance  
1. SYSTEMS  OF ASSESSMENT  AND  VERIFICATION  OF CONSTANCY  OF 
PERFORMANCE   
1.1. System 1 - Declaration of th e performance for the essent ial characteristics of the 
product by the manufacturer on the basis of following items: 
(a) the manufacturer shall carry out: 
(i) factory production control (FPC); (ii) further testing of samples taken at the factory according to the prescribed 
test plan; 
(b) the notified body shall issu e the certificate of confor mity of the product on the 
basis of: 
(i) determination of the product-type on the basis of type testing (including 
the sampling), type calculation, ta bulated values or descriptive 
documentation of the product; 
(ii) initial inspection of the manufacturing plant and of FPC; 
(iii) continuous surveillance, a ssessment and evaluation of FPC; 
(iv) audit-testing of samp les taken at the factory. 
1.2. System 2 - Declaration of th e performance for the essent ial characteristics of the 
product by the manufacturer on the basis of following items: 
(a) the manufacturer shall carry out: 
(i) factory production control; (ii) further testing of samples take n at the factory by the manufacturer 
according to the prescribed test plan; 
(b) the notified body shall issu e the certificate of confor mity of the product on the 
basis of: 
(i) determination of the product type on the basis of type testing (including 
the sampling), type calculation, ta bulated values or descriptive 
documentation of the product; 
(ii) initial inspection of the manufacturing plant and of FPC; 
(iii) continuous surveillance, a ssessment and evaluation of FPC.  
EN 60   EN 1.3. System 3 - Declaration of th e performance for the essent ial characteristics of the 
product by the manufacturer on the basis of following items: 
(a) the manufacturer shall carry out: 
(i) determination of the product-type on the basis of type testing (including 
the sampling), type calculation, ta bulated values or descriptive 
documentation of the product; 
(ii) factory production control; (iii) testing of samples taken at the fa ctory according to the prescribed test 
plan; 
(b) the notified body shall issue the certif icate of conformity  of the FPC on the 
basis of: 
(i) initial inspection of the ma nufacturing plant and of FPC; 
(ii) continuous surveillance, a ssessment and evaluation of FPC. 
1.4. System 4 - Declaration of th e performance for the essent ial characteristics of the 
product by the manufacturer on the basis of following items: 
(a) the manufacturer shall carry  out factory production control; 
(b) the notified body shall carry out determ ination of the product-type on the basis 
of type testing (based on the sampling carried out by the manufacturer), type calculation, tabulated values or desc riptive documentation of the product; 
1.5. System 5 - Declaration of th e performance for the essent ial characteristics of the 
product by the manufacturer on the basis of following items: 
(a) the manufacturer shall carry out:  
(i) determination of the product-type on the basis of type testing, type 
calculation, tabulated values or desc riptive documentation of the product; 
(ii) factory production control; 
(b) no tasks for the notified body. 
2. BODIES
 INVOLVED  IN THE  ASSESSMENT  AND  VERIFICATION  OF 
CONSTANCY  OF PERFORMANCE 
With respect to the function of the notified bodi es involved in the assessment and verification 
of constancy of performance of construction pr oduct, distinction shall be made between: 
(1) certification body: a notified body, governmental or non governmental, possessing 
the necessary competence and responsibility to carry out a certification according to 
given rules of procedure and management;  
EN 61   EN (2) inspection body: a notified body having the organi zation, staffing, competence and 
integrity to perform according to specified criteria the following functions: assessing, 
recommending for acceptance and subsequent audit of quality control operations of 
manufacturers, and selection and evaluati on of construction products in the plant, 
according to specific criteria; 
(3) testing laboratory: a notified laboratory which measures, examines, tests, calibrates 
or otherwise determines the characteris tics or performance of materials or 
construction products.