As a result of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) – Brexit – new resp. additional regulations regarding the marking of construction products, including timber construction products, are now valid for the British market (England, Wales, Scotland).
This means that for the placing of construction products on the market in the United Kingdom, a marking with the “UKCA” mark (UK Conformity Assessed) is resp. will be necessary.
Within a transitional period, which was extended by the British government on August 24th, 2021 from the original end of 2021 to the end of 2022, it is still permissible to place construction products with the CE mark on the market. From January 1st, 2023, only the UKCA marking will be permitted.
The UKCA marking and the conformity assessment of construction products are based on British legal regulations, which are (initially) largely analogous to the EU Construction Products Regulation. Construction products that previously (only) have been marked with a CE marking for the EU market on the basis of harmonized standards, such as e. g. wood-based materials according to EN 13986 (OSB boards, plywood, chipboard, etc.), then require a UKCA marking based on the same standard. These “designated standards” valid for the UK market are currently identical to the harmonised standards; however, this may change in the future by modifying the standards for the UK market.
Insofar as certification bodies must be involved in the conformity assessment of construction products (AVCP systems 1+, 1 and 2+), this must be done for the British market by so-called “UK Approved Bodies”. Notified bodies from the EU are not recognised for this, just as the British UK Approved Bodies are no longer recognised as notified bodies to be involved under the CE marking.
