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If I am interested in selling a microphone I designed in the EU Market (for example on Amazon,) do I need any certifications for it?
I looked through some of the products that require the CE mark but I could not find anything for a wired microphone, only that wireless ones do require one. Next to a possible CE certificate are any other certificates required in this specific example?
If such a certificate is necessary, is it possible to self-certify your own product? What would that look like?
Rode make microphones and here's an example of one of their CE declarations of conformity: -
I've added a likely picture of the product from here: -
However, no need to feel this needs a lot of work on your part because it's possible that Rode have CE marked their product just to impress folk as much as anything else. I mean it's hardly likely to contravene any of the specifications listed.
If such a certificate is necessary, is it possible to self-certify your own product? What would that look like?
I don't feel it's necessary but, like Rode, if you want to make a certificate of conformity then self-certification is bound to be the best option. You might wish to put a CE mark on the product and you will need a CofC and, you will need to produce a technical file that justifies your claims. Justification of the claims is bound to be easy because the microphone is passive, doesn't produce EMI and, inevitably meets the low voltage directive.
The technical file needs to be kept safely stored in case someone challenges your right to CE mark your product.
CE marking is required for most products sold in the EU.
In many cases, the CE marking itself does not inherently require some external agency to deliver some kind of agreement or certification: it is then up to the producer or importer to certify that the product complies with the relevant regulations (so the first step is to determine which regulations are applicable, but for most electronics it revolves around the EMC directive and the low-voltage directive).
Some types of products require an agreement from an official agency, but I believe those are quite limited (like medical devices). It’s not like in the US where a lot of devices need to be submitted to the FCC and get an authorisation number.
Now, to self-certify, you still need to produce a document which explains why you think your product is in conformance with regulations (you just don’t need to submit it to anyone, but you must have it ready for inspection if required).
The details depend on what directives are relevant. In some cases you just explain what directives are involved, what the risks are, and what measures are taken to eliminate those risks.
In some cases, you will need to prove that your product is conformant, especially when it comes to EMC: while nothing on paper prevents you from doing it yourself, the hardware/setup required to verify conformity is expensive enough that it’s cheaper to go through a test house for this.
Note that in the EU, EMC certification does not only involve what EM radiation your device emits (like for FCC certification in the US), but also how it behaves when subjected to external radiation. It also involves both intentional and unintentional radiators (nearly any piece of wire or trace on a PCB can become an unintentional radiator in the wrong conditions). Read the relevant directive to understand exactly what your product should or should not do, what testing is required, etc.
All electronics sold within the EU needs to be CE marked. "CE" being an abbreviation for the French Conformité Européenne - in English that's European Conformity. You need to provide a Declaration of Conformity (DoC), which might be called "EC DoC" or "CE DoC" depending on if you favour English or French. The DoC must contain a statement where you as a company (producer or importer) claim compliance with applicable EU directives.
The most common directives for electronics are:
Further Directives may apply in case of for example industrial/automotive/med-tech applications.
In case your product contains any form of wireless electronics ("intentional radiators"), then RED applies and takes precedence over EMC. The electrical safety parts of LVD also applies regardless of your supply voltage. Wireless electronics CE mark using RED, LVD and RoHS directives.
Otherwise, in case your product is supplied from 50-1000VAC or 75-1500VDC, the LVD directive applies. You then CE mark against LVD, EMC and RoHS directives.
Otherwise, in case your product has lower supply voltage than that, you CE mark against EMC and RoHS directives. For a standard wired microphone, this is likely what applies.
RoHS compliance is mandatory for all electronics. It is mainly about taking your Bill of Materials and finding the datasheet for every component, then note that the manufacturer claims RoHS compliance. You make a list of all datasheets as part of your technical file. Note that just "lead free" is not sufficient - RoHS is a list of some 10 forbidden substances including lead.
WEEE compliance is mandatory for all electronics but need not be mentioned in the DoC. You need to mark your product with a crossed-over waste bin symbol and you need to recycle all electronics used in the product. This is easiest done by paying a fee to a recycling organization then sort out electronics in your waste handling — you may have to weigh it. You need to have such recycling arrangements in place both in the land where you produce the product (if within EU) and in all EU counties you export to. The rules for this changes all the time and it's a bureaucratic nightmare...
Ideally the DoC should also contain a list of so-called "harmonized" technical standards which are applicable to the product. For each EU directive, there is a list of such standards. Determining which ones that apply to a certain product isn't easy and usually involves seeking help from an expert at a test house.
CE marking does not usually require type approval from a test house. There is no mandatory certification as with US FCC. However, if you self-certify a product you will need to prove compliance to technical standards through your documentation known as the "technical file". Demonstrating EMC compliance in particular can be hard to do unless you happen to have a EMC lab in your basement... so the easiest way to do this is to enlist a test house.
Non-EU European countries usually accept CE marking, though in some cases they like to complicate things. The UK is rolling out a new UKCA mark which will eventually replace CE, right now there's a transition period where both UKCA and CE is accepted. Some other non-EU countries may require 3rd party test house reports against EU harmonized standards as mandatory.
In the end, the party legally responsible for all of the above is the party who places a product on the market, as in making it available for purchase by consumers. Doesn't matter if you are the producer or an importer - if you put something on the market you are responsible for ensuring that the pile of documentation ("technical file") sits on a server somewhere.
