What is an ‘Authorised Representative’?

In the context of product compliance, an Authorised Representative

(AR) is an individual or a business entity that acts as an authorised point of contact on behalf of a manufacturer that is based outside of the country for which the product is being sold (or placed on the market in most cases, even if a sale is not involved).

In the case of an EU AR, the representative would be based in one of the 27 members states (UK being a ‘third country’ from 1st January 2021 so an EU AR can no longer be located in the UK from this date).

The CE mark will of course remain a requirement for the majority of product types that are being placed on the EU market. The CE declaration of conformity (also referred to as EC declaration of conformity) requires certain key information to be stated on it such as the business name, person responsible, product names / model number and legislation applied. Comply Express can create the declaration on behalf of customers and can also licence the use of its EU address and contact details so that relevant EU bodies can contact to make enquiries if required. In this mode, we liaise between EU bodies such as enforcement body, and market surveillance authority etc, and the original manufacturer / supplier that is located outside the EU.

Is it mandatory to appoint an Authorised Representative?

Under new Market Surveillance legislation EU 2019/1020 released in July 2019 all items falling under the scope of union harmonisation legislation (as identified in Article 4, paragraph 5 of the legislation) will need to have an economic operator and business name and address for surveillance purposes. The transition period of the legislation ends in July 2021, therefore all items shipped after this date are required to have an economic operator. An Authorised Representative is one form of economic operator.

How does Comply Express provide the AR service?

This software includes a special AR feature which enables the customer to register their details including product information which is then stored in the system’s database. This forms the basis of the AR service. It also provides other features that assist with product certification. The basic AR service may be purchased on its own if preferred. See our Services page.

Comply Express Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary business of Product Approvals Ltd. The software is available by monthly subscription.

How do I get started?

Simply contact Comply Express  by email  or phone to enquire further