EU declaration of conformity: who signs and who is liable

Published on 4 November 2026

An EU declaration of conformity is the document in which a manufacturer declares that its product meets the applicable EU rules and takes responsibility for that. If you manufacture outside the EU, you draw it up and sign it; your Dutch importer checks it and keeps a copy. I am Martin Krüger, a Dutch lawyer at MAAK Advocaten in Amsterdam: have your declaration checked before the first shipment.

Part of our overview of EU product law for companies selling into the Netherlands.

When does your product need an EU declaration of conformity?

Only when the EU act that applies to your product requires one. For electrical equipment under the Low Voltage Directive (LVD), Article 6(2) of Directive 2014/35/EU requires the manufacturer to draw up a declaration and affix the CE marking once conformity has been demonstrated.

That directive covers electrical equipment for 50 to 1 000 V alternating current and 75 to 1 500 V direct current, with the exceptions in Annex II (Article 1); it serves as the example here. Other EU product legislation built on the New Legislative Framework contains comparable rules. Decision No 768/2008/EC only gives the EU legislature the model; it places no obligations on your company.

Machinery has its own rules on the declaration; see the new Machinery Regulation. For radio equipment, see the Radio Equipment Directive. Consumer products outside harmonised EU legislation fall under the General Product Safety Regulation, without CE marking or EU declaration of conformity.

Who draws up and signs the declaration if you manufacture outside the EU?

You do, as the manufacturer. Under Article 6(2) of the Low Voltage Directive the manufacturer draws up the EU declaration of conformity, and by drawing it up the manufacturer assumes responsibility for the product’s compliance (Article 15(4)).

The model in Annex IV ends with “Signed for and on behalf of”, followed by place and date of issue, name, function and signature. The directive does not say which officer must sign.

My advice: have it signed by someone who can bind the company and who knows what is being declared, for example the managing director or the head of quality with a written authorisation. Appoint one fixed signatory with an internal authorisation and a short checklist that is ticked off before every signature. A signature by an employee who has never seen the technical documentation is a risk: if the market surveillance authority asks questions, that person must be able to explain what the declaration rests on.

Can your authorised representative or Dutch importer sign for you?

Your authorised representative can, if the written mandate says so; your importer cannot. Under Annex III, point 5, of the Low Voltage Directive, the representative may fulfil your obligations on the declaration and CE marking on your behalf and under your responsibility.

Two things never form part of the mandate: designing and manufacturing the product in line with the safety objectives, and drawing up the technical documentation (Article 7(1)). Only you or your authorised representative may affix the CE marking (Article 30(1) of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008). Your importer is not the manufacturer, so it does not sign your declaration. More on the role: EU authorised representative in the Netherlands.

Who acts as your economic operator in the EU?

For products under the acts it lists, Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 requires an economic operator in the Union. For you: your importer, an authorised representative mandated in writing for these tasks or, if neither is established in the Union, a fulfilment service provider.

Article 4 covers products under a list of EU acts, including the Low Voltage Directive (Article 4(5)). The operator verifies that the declaration and technical documentation have been drawn up, keeps the declaration at the disposal of market surveillance authorities for the period the act requires and ensures the technical documentation can be made available on request (Article 4(3)(a)). Its name and contact details go on the product, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document (Article 4(4)).

Your Dutch importer qualifies as that operator; you can also designate an authorised representative for these tasks in a written mandate. The importer’s own duties under the Low Voltage Directive remain.

What must you put in the EU declaration of conformity?

The elements of the model in Annex IV to the Low Voltage Directive, in that structure (Article 15(2)). You draw up a written declaration for each product model (Annex III, point 4.2), and it must be “continuously updated” (Article 15(2)).

Checklist based on Annex IV:

• Product model or product: product, type, batch or serial number.
• Name and address of the manufacturer or its authorised representative.
• The statement that the declaration is issued under the sole responsibility of the manufacturer.
• Object of the declaration: identification allowing traceability, if needed with a colour image.
• The statement that the object is in conformity with the relevant Union harmonisation legislation.
• References to the harmonised standards used, or to other technical specifications.
• Additional information.
• Signed for and on behalf of: place and date of issue, name, function and signature.

A number is optional. If more than one EU act requiring a declaration applies, you draw up a single declaration naming each act with its publication reference (Article 15(3)). Keep it with the technical documentation for 10 years after placing on the market (Article 6(3)). Looking for a declaration of conformity template? Start from the annex of the act for your product.

What does your Dutch importer check when it asks for the declaration?

Before placing your product on the market, the importer checks that you carried out the conformity assessment and drew up the technical documentation, and that the product bears the CE marking and comes with the required documents (Article 8(2) LVD).

It also checks that the product shows a type, batch or serial number and your name and postal address, or where that is not possible its packaging or an accompanying document (Article 8(2), with Article 6(5) and (6)). For 10 years it keeps a copy of the declaration at the disposal of the market surveillance authorities and ensures that your technical documentation can be made available to them on request (Article 8(8)).

When a Dutch customer asks for the declaration, I, as a Dutch lawyer at MAAK Advocaten, first look at which EU acts apply to the product, because only those decide whether there must be an EU declaration of conformity and what goes in it. Then I put the existing declaration next to the model from that act: is the product model right, are all applicable acts listed, are the standards right, and is it signed with name, function, place and date? Often one of those elements is missing, or an old standard is listed. That can be put right in an afternoon, provided the technical documentation is in order.

Role	What it does with the declaration	Source
Manufacturer	Draws it up and signs it, assumes responsibility, keeps it 10 years with the technical documentation	Art. 6(2)–(3), 15(4) LVD
Authorised representative	May draw it up on the manufacturer’s behalf if the mandate says so; keeps it available for 10 years	Annex III point 5, Art. 7(2)(a) LVD
Importer	Checks before placing on the market; keeps a copy for 10 years; ensures the technical documentation is available on request; does not sign	Art. 8(2), 8(8) LVD
Distributor	Checks CE marking, documents, instructions and contact details; no duty to keep it	Art. 9(2) LVD
Importer or distributor selling under its own brand or modifying the product	Becomes the manufacturer: own assessment, own technical documentation, own declaration	Art. 10, 6 LVD

What if your Dutch customer sells the product under its own brand?

Then your customer becomes the manufacturer. Under Article 10 of the Low Voltage Directive, an importer or distributor that places equipment on the market under its own name or trade mark, or modifies it so that compliance may be affected, takes on the manufacturer’s obligations.

If your importer sells the product under its own name or brand, it becomes the manufacturer itself and needs its own declaration and its own documentation. In practice, that is often forgotten. Where a customer wants to sell under its own brand, agree in advance in the contract which technical documentation you will make available so that it can draw up its own declaration, and who bears the cost of any changes. Letting the customer use your declaration with its brand on it does not work: then nobody signs for the product as it reaches the market, and your customer is a manufacturer without its own declaration.

Which language does the Netherlands require for the declaration?

For electrical equipment: at least Dutch or English. Article 3(5) of the Warenwetbesluit elektrisch materiaal, the Dutch decree that implements the Low Voltage Directive, requires the EU declaration of conformity to be drawn up at least in Dutch or English.

Contact details and instructions and safety information must at least be in Dutch (Articles 3(2)–(3) and 5(2)–(3)). The decree makes the directive’s obligations for manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers and distributors binding in the Netherlands (Articles 3(1), 4(2), 5(1) and 6). Placing electrical equipment on the market without complying with the decree is prohibited (Article 2(1)); market surveillance takes place under the Dutch Commodities Act, the Warenwet (Article 9). See also CE marking enforcement in the Netherlands.

For other product groups, I always check the Dutch decree for that product before having a translation made. That way, a shipment is not held up over a translation that was not needed, or one that is missing.

Is your Dutch importer holding back a shipment until your declaration is in order? I can check it against the Dutch requirements: contact Martin Krüger, product law partner in the Netherlands.

Who is liable if the declaration is wrong?

Primarily the manufacturer: it assumes responsibility by drawing up the declaration (Article 15(4) Low Voltage Directive) and by affixing the CE marking (Article 30(3) of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008). Your importer and your EU economic operator answer for their own checks and tasks.

Towards someone who suffers damage, the declaration itself creates no separate civil liability. Under Dutch law the producer is liable for damage caused by a defect in its product (Article 6:185 Dutch Civil Code). Producer includes the manufacturer and anyone who presents itself as producer by putting its name or brand on the product (Article 6:187(2)), and anyone who imports the product into the European Economic Area to sell, hire, lease or otherwise distribute it in the course of its business (Article 6:187(3)). The party that signs as manufacturer, or presents itself as producer, is therefore also a party that bears product liability, alongside your importer into the EEA. For the new EU rules, see the new EU Product Liability Directive for non-EU manufacturers.

What should your contract and mandate with Dutch partners say?

Who supplies which documents, who signs which declaration and who pays if a declaration is wrong. The Low Voltage Directive fixes the roles (Articles 6 to 10); your contracts settle the commercial side.

1. Mandate of your authorised representative: whether it may draw up the declaration and affix the CE marking (Annex III, point 5), and the tasks of Article 4(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 if it is your operator in the EU.
2. Supply contract with your importer: which documents you deliver before the first shipment and how you inform each other of changes to the product or the standards.
3. Own-brand customer: which technical documentation you make available and who pays for changes.
4. All partners: indemnities for a wrong declaration or document.

When do you need a Dutch lawyer?

When the declaration has consequences beyond paperwork: a partner refuses delivery or wants its own brand, an authority asks for documents, or someone claims damages. Article 10 LVD and Article 6:187 Dutch Civil Code decide who is manufacturer and producer; your contracts decide who pays.

At MAAK Advocaten we act for manufacturers outside the EU and their Dutch importers and distributors: we review declarations and mandates, negotiate contracts under Dutch law, deal with Dutch market surveillance, and litigate at first instance and on appeal. More on our CE marking work in the Netherlands.

Example: a US lamp maker and a Dutch own-brand retailer

An own-brand deal changes who must sign: the Dutch customer becomes manufacturer under Article 10 LVD and presents itself as producer under Article 6:187(2) Dutch Civil Code.

Suppose a US company sells mains-powered lamps through a Dutch importer, which asks for the EU declaration of conformity before the first shipment. It is in English and signed, but omits a second EU act that also requires a declaration for these lamps. The US company adds it, so that a single declaration covers both (Article 15(3)). A year later, a Dutch retail chain wants the lamps under its own brand. The chain becomes the manufacturer and needs its own declaration; the supply contract states which test reports the US company provides and who pays.

A hypothetical example, not one of our cases.

Frequently asked questions about the EU declaration of conformity

Does every product sold in the EU need an EU declaration of conformity?

A declaration is needed where the EU act for the product requires one, as Article 6(2) of the Low Voltage Directive does for electrical equipment. Consumer products outside harmonised EU legislation have neither CE marking nor an EU declaration of conformity.

Can one EU declaration of conformity cover several directives?

For electrical equipment, it must. Where equipment is subject to more than one EU act requiring a declaration, the manufacturer draws up a single declaration for all of them, identifying each act with its publication reference (Article 15(3) of the Low Voltage Directive).

Is there an official template for the EU declaration of conformity?

The act for the product sets the model; for electrical equipment, that is Annex IV to the Low Voltage Directive. Assigning a number to the declaration is optional.

When should a non-EU manufacturer call a Dutch lawyer about its declaration?

When a Dutch importer refuses delivery over the documentation, when a customer wants its own brand on the product, when you appoint an authorised representative, or when an authority or an injured party contacts you or your Dutch partner.

Primary sources

• Directive 2014/35/EU (Low Voltage Directive), Articles 1, 6 to 10 and 15, Annexes III (Module A) and IV; applied from 20 April 2016 (Article 26).
• Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products, Article 4.
• Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, Article 30 (CE marking).
• Decision No 768/2008/EC, the reference framework of the New Legislative Framework; it places no obligations on companies.
• Warenwetbesluit elektrisch materiaal (Dutch decree on electrical equipment), Articles 2 to 6 and 9; in force since 1 July 2016.
• Dutch Civil Code: Article 6:185 and Article 6:187.

Last checked on 4 November 2026 · next relevant date: 9 December 2026 (new Product Liability Directive)

Is a Dutch importer, distributor or own-brand customer asking for your declaration, or for more than you want to give? Put your situation to me through my page as product law partner in the Netherlands. — Martin Krüger