WHITEPAPER: Introductory Guide To The UKCA Mark & UKCA Ex By Exloc

Published 17 Jun 2021

This white paper was written on the subject by G. Warren May and shared with kind permission from Mike Davies.

UKCA Mark and UKCA ‘Ex’ (UKEX)

Background and Timescales

As a result of the UK leaving the European Union (Brexit), the UKCA mark (UK Conformity Assessed) will be phased in to replace the CE mark (European Conformity) for applicable goods to be placed in Great Britain (ie. England, Scotland and Wales). Under the current agreements, Northern Ireland will continue to accept the CE mark or the new UKNI mark. For Products traditionally sold with ATEX marking, UKCA ‘Ex’ (or UKEX) will be required in Great Britain.

UKEX will retain the familiar Ex-in-hexagon logo:

From 1st January 2021, the UKCA mark is available to be used for goods placed in Great Britain, with the CE mark still being legal until 31st December 2021.

From 1st January 2022, only the UKCA mark will be acceptable for goods placed in Great Britain and the CE mark will no longer be accepted. It will be acceptable for paperwork and packaging-only to contain the UKCA mark during 2022, but from 1st January 2023, the goods themselves must carry the UKCA mark.

Note that “Approved Body” is the new term for organisations permitted to carry out UKCA approvals. The existing term for those who carry out ATEX approvals is “Notified Body”. All former UK Notified Bodies automatically became Approved Bodies and currently, a number of European Notified Bodies, such as TÜV SÜD in Germany are applying for Approved Body status, so they will
also be able to carry out UKCA approvals.

For ATEX and CE mark, a Notified Body carries out an EU Type Examination.

For UKCA ‘Ex’ (UKEX), an Approved Body carries out a UK Type Examination.

The Process

In order for a product to receive UKCA ‘Ex’ marking, it should be approved to the latest version(s) of the EN 60079 standard(s). So, for example, an Exd product should be to EN 60079-1 2014, not 2007.

On the surface, this implies that many products would have to go through the costly process of updating their certification, before they can be assessed for UKCA and so in some cases, a
manufacturer may decide it is not worth the cost.

The usual route to update a certificate would involve assessing the product’s characteristics against every clause of the new standard. However, it has been agreed between the Approved Bodies and the UK Government, that only a gap analysis based on the changes to the standard (as highlighted in the standard) needs to take place. This means that the work is likely to be more cost-effective than might have been expected. The costs also, typically, are per Product, not per standard used to approve the product.

Note that in the case of products approved for use in Dust Zone 20 (da or II 1 D), there may be an additional dust immersion heat rise test required to meet the 60079-0:2018 version.

As with ATEX, UKEX still allows Zone 2 products to be self-certified if a manufacturer wishes to do so. This will often be done when a large system, incorporating a variety of approved components is assembled. However, for defined products such as lamps or smart phones, many customers will have more confidence in third-party approved items and may purchase accordingly.

Additionally, the manufacturer will also require a UK QAN (Quality Assurance Notification). However, this will not involve an extra audit besides the ATEX / CE audit, only an extra set of paperwork.
Many Ex products are currently marked for both ATEX and IECEx and it is likely, going forward, that products will be tri-marked to also include UKEX. See example of part of a certification label, below:

Example of part of a Certification Label

Note that the CE mark is also shown elsewhere on this label (cropped to preserve manufacturer’s anonymity).

Disclaimer

This guide is intended to give a general overview of the background, terms and processes relating to UKCA / UKEX. As individual products and the methods by which they are approved vary greatly, it is important to seek advice from an Approved Body and if applicable, obtain a quotation or price indication before making decisions about obtaining / applying the UKCA mark.