27 January 2021

The Brexit transition period formally ended on 31^st December 2020 meaning that European Union legislation no longer applies to the United Kingdom (UK), so in this respect it is no longer bound by Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation in the European Union (EU) nor by Regulation (EU) 2019/515 on the mutual recognition of goods.

Consequently, UKAS certificates will no longer be considered as a proof of “accreditation” within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 and certificates and reports issued by Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) accredited by UKAS are no longer recognised with respect to the EU Regulatory system as of 1^st January 2021, e.g. regarding Notified Bodies for the purposes of CE Marking, EU Emission Trading System, EU Food and Feed regulations, EU Cybersecurity act, and other European Union legislation.

On 30^th December 2020, the EU, the Euratom and the UK have signed a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) on a provisional basis, pending ratification. It provides for free trade in goods, ensure fair competition and limited mutual market access in services, as well as for cooperation mechanisms in a range of policy areas. However, the TCA does not change what was stated in the paragraphs above.

UKAS is a signatory of the EA Multilateral Agreement (EA MLA) which is a signed agreement between the EA Members whereby the signatories recognize and accept the equivalence of the accreditation systems operated by the signing members, and also the reliability of the conformity assessment results provided by CABs accredited by the signing members.

As signatory to the EA MLA the accreditation system operated by UKAS continues to be accepted by the other signatories as equivalent to their own accreditation system and declare, when requested, conformity assessment results (e.g. reports or certificates) issued by CABs accredited by UKAS for the relevant scope to the EA MLA, to the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (ILAC MRA) and to the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (IAF MLA) as reliable as those issued by CABs accredited by themselves.

For any further information regarding EU/UK trading please contact the relevant National authority appointed by Member States for the specific EU legislation, or the corresponding UK authority.

EA Statement on continuing recognition of UKAS under the EA MLA can be downloaded here.

For more information about the EA MLA, please visit the following page.