Selling on Amazon: How to get the Declaration of Conformity in 1 day?

Amazon obligates sellers on its European sites to present their products’ Declaration of Conformity (DoC). Many sellers don’t know anything about this requirement until they are notified by Amazon and, consequently, experience issues with obtaining the document. So, if you want to sell a product on Amazon, you need to know more on the subject: what a DoC is, when and why it is required and how you can quickly get it in one day.

What is a Declaration of Conformity?

The Declaration of Conformity is issued at the end of the CE marking process, and it only applies to products falling within the scope of one or more of the CE directives. It is proof of a product’s compliance with the European legislation on product safety. The person, who draws up and signs the DoC, takes full responsibility for the product’s conformity with the relevant EU legislation. Usually, this is done by the product’s manufacturer.

What kind of products must have a Declaration of Conformity?

As said above, the DoC is only required for products that are subject to CE marking.

Do you know what CE marking is? It is a mandatory safety symbol placed on certain products sold within the EU/EEA. For instance, if you want to sell electronics or some fitness equipment on the EU market (in this case: Amazon’s European sites), your product must have CE marking.

Products for which Amazon would require a Declaration of Conformity are:

• Any medical device
• Measuring instruments
• Construction products
• Gas appliances
• Pyrotechnics
• Explosives for civil use
• Cable-way installations and lifts
• Machinery
• Non-automatic weighing instruments
• Personal protective equipment
• Electrical equipment
• Radio Equipment
• Hot water boilers
• Pressure equipment and simple pressure vessels
• Recreational craft
• And, toys.

However, not all product types listed above are allowed for sale on Amazon.

Amazon sellers usually sell electronics, software products, mechanical fitness equipment, toys, smart e-health watches, sun or safety glasses, etc.

Products restricted and not allowed to be listed on Amazon are weapons, explosives, hazardous and dangerous items, surveillance equipment, recycling electronics and many more (see full list). Recalled products are also not permitted for sale on Amazon.

When and why does Amazon require the Declaration of Conformity?

For products, classified as requiring “pre-approval”, Amazon might ask you to present additional documents, performance checks or other qualifications. By doing so, Amazon ensures that only products in compliance with the product safety legislation in Europe are sold on their marketplace.  Such products can be, for example, toys, automotive parts, batteries or other electrical products, protective equipment (e.g. glasses, safety hats, and gloves) and others.

Therefore, if you’re planning to sell any of the mentioned above products on Amazon, it is very likely that you’ll need to obtain approval from Amazon beforehand. In the majority of cases, the approval is brought down to uploading the Declaration of Conformity to the Amazon system.

If you already have the DoC of the product you want to sell and want to apply for pre-approval, you need to do the following:

1. Set up your Amazon selling account – go to amazon.com to do it
2. Open the Inventory menu and select Add a Product
3. Search for the item you want to sell or enter its code in the search field
4. Check the search results for the item you want to sell
5. Click the link ‘Listing limitation apply’ next to the item
6. Click the button ‘Request approval’
7. Check if you have all documents required and upload them.
8. Submit the application and wait a few days for the final result.

Once submitted, Amazon will either approve your request or reach out for more information.

How do you get a DoC for a branded product?

If you want to sell a product bearing another company’s brand on the Amazon EU marketplace, you will need to take the role of a distributor, and as such, you will have specific responsibilities. These responsibilities will be mainly related to verifying that:

• The product has been CE marked and bears the safety symbol;
• It has all documents required by law (e.g. user manual);
• A Declaration of Conformity has been issued for the product;
• The contact information of the product’s manufacturer or importer is present;
• The registered trade name or trademark, as well as the product type or serial number, are indicated on the product or in the documents that accompany it.

In short, you should be able to get the Declaration of Conformity from the manufacturer or the importer of the product. However, this will be the case only if the product has been CE marked. Once you have the Declaration of Conformity, you will have to present it to Amazon and wait for the approval.

How do you obtain a Declaration of Conformity for your own brand/ private label product?

If you want to sell a product within the EU zone that bears your own brand or private label, know that you will be seen as the legal manufacturer of that product. Consequently, you will be the only one responsible for ensuring the product’s compliance with the relevant EU legislation. What does this mean?

Well, it means that you will need to draw up and sign the Declaration of Conformity of the product. And by doing that, you will declare that the product meets all criteria set out in the relevant legislation, and you will take full responsibility if any issues regarding its compliance arise.

However, the Declaration of Conformity is not the same for all products. There are different requirements for its content depending on the type of product you need it for. Therefore, it’s recommendable to get your Declaration of Conformity from a competent body offering reliable CE marking certification services.

How can you get a Declaration of Conformity for your product?

Clever Compliance, previously CECHECK, is a provider of CE certification services and can issue a valid Declaration of Conformity for your product in a few business days. Get in touch with us at contact@clevercompliance.io to learn more about how we can help you.