Standards checklist for CE marking
Which harmonised standards a manufacturer applies largely determines the legal certainty of its CE marking. This guide explains the role the standards checklist plays in the CE process and how the standards module in CE-Copilot helps you manage the applicable standards in a structured way and keep an eye on their status.
What is the standards checklist in the CE marking process?
For CE marking, the manufacturer must document which harmonised standards it applies. This documentation is not an end in itself: applied harmonised standards trigger the presumption of conformity. That means that for an applied harmonised standard it is presumed that the essential requirements of the relevant directive covered by it are met.
A standards checklist records exactly this information in an orderly way: which standards apply to the machine, which directives they are assigned to, and which of them have already been considered. It thus connects standards research with project-based evidence and provides the basis for correctly listing the applied standards later in the declaration of conformity and the technical documentation.
A, B and C standards and their status
Harmonised standards are organised in a three-tier system. A standards (basic standards) lay down overarching design principles, B standards (group standards) deal with individual safety aspects or safeguards, and C standards (product standards) cover specific types of machinery. In practice this structure matters because it determines which standard takes precedence and how complete the body of standards for a machine is.
Equally decisive is the status of a standard. A standard may be actively harmonised, be in a transition phase with a running transition period, have been withdrawn, or exist only as a draft. This status is not static.
One central consequence follows: an applied standard that has been withdrawn or whose transition period is expiring can lose the presumption of conformity. Anyone who continues to rely on such a standard risks that their CE marking is no longer covered by the presumption of conformity. That is why continuous status monitoring of the applied standards is so important, and this is exactly where a good standards checklist comes in.
The standards checklist in CE-Copilot
Below you will find the central features, each with its concrete advantage and the benefit for your daily work.
Curated standards register: 2,300+ harmonised standards from the OJEU
2,300+ harmonised standards from the OJEU register are available organised into A, B and C standards, each with status and directive assignment. You work with a curated data basis instead of looking up every standard individually in the Official Journal.
You save laborious research of your own and base your CE marking on an orderly, traceable body of standards rather than on loosely collected individual citations.
Multi-layered filters and bilingual search (DE↔EN)
Multi-layered filters and a bilingual search with DE↔EN synonym expansion lead you quickly to the right standard. You filter by directive (Machinery Directive 2006/42, Machinery Regulation 2023/1230, LVD, EMC, ATEX, PED, RED, RoHS), organisation, year of publication and “transition period ends in less than 6 months”.
You find the right standard even from English titles and recognise early which applied standards may soon drop out of harmonisation.
Project-based ticking off with progress bar
Standards are ticked off per project; a progress bar shows the status (X of Y done, separately for A, B and C standards) and every change is saved immediately.
You keep track per project of which standards have already been considered and can prove the processing status at any time, without maintaining a separate list.
Adoption of AI suggestions from the standards finder
Suggestions from the AI-assisted standards finder are adopted into the checklist with a badge, so the source of every standard remains recognisable.
You merge AI research and manual selection into one list and can see at any time which standards were suggested by the AI and which you added yourself.
Detail view for every standard
Each standard has a detail view with a short and a full description, scope, status and current edition.
You judge without switching sources whether a standard applies to your machine and which edition is currently valid. The information sits right at the standard.
Status marking of every standard
Every standard is marked by its status (actively harmonised, in transition or withdrawn), so the current harmonisation status is recognisable at a glance.
You avoid accidentally applying a withdrawn or expiring standard and thereby jeopardising the presumption of conformity of your CE marking.
Manage your standards in a structured way now
Manage your harmonised standards per project: with a curated OJEU register, multi-layered filters, status marking and project-based ticking off. Cancel monthly, no annual subscription.