The UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking is a market access label introduced by the UK post-Brexit to replace the CE marking, effective from 1 January 2021. Electrical and electronic products placed on the UK market follow distinct compliance routes based on functionality, falling into two core categories: wired products and wireless products. The applicable directives, test standards and compliance requirements differ significantly between the two categories. Many brand owners and hardware manufacturers struggle to distinguish UKCA requirements for wired devices, and wireless devices with RF functions including Bluetooth, Zigbee, Wi-Fi and LoRa. This article clarifies the relevant specifications comprehensively.
1. Wired Electrical and Electronic Products
Coverage: UKCA-EMC, UKCA-LVD. Certain products additionally require RoHS compliance for restricted hazardous substances. Compliance evaluation is based on British BS EN standards. EU EN standard reports cannot be directly accepted.
UKCA-EMC complies with BS EN 55032, BS EN 61000-3-2/3-3 series standards.
UKCA-LVD follows general electrical safety standards including BS EN 62368-1.
Note: Test reports without the BS EN prefix and defects in electrical design are common targets during UK market surveillance audits.
2. Wireless Electrical and Electronic Products
Coverage: UKCA-EMC, UKCA-LVD, UKCA-RED.
This category carries higher market access barriers and stringent technical assessment, classified as high-risk export goods.
UKCA-EMC: BS EN 55032, BS EN 61000-3-2/3-3 series standards
UKCA-LVD: General electrical safety standards including BS EN 62368-1
UKCA-RED: Governed by the UK Radio Equipment Regulations SI 2017/1206, complying with RF standards such as BS ETSI EN 300 328, EN 300 220, EN 300 440.
Note: RF limits and frequency parameters differ between the UK framework and EU RED Directive. CE-RED reports cannot be utilised directly for UK market access. Products require retesting against UK national standards to obtain dedicated UKCA reports; failure to do so results in non-compliance.