The product-specific directives set out by the EU stipulate requirements for products that fall into that category in order for them to be marketed within EU member states. These directives establish a regulatory framework that all businesses most adhere to when designing and manufacturing their products.

The Radio Equipment Directive 2014 53 EU, and the corresponding UK Radio Equipment Regulations 2017, covers all radio equipment including products that traditionally did not have radio functionality but that are now radio-enabled.  

If you would like assistance with the Radio Equipment Directive, please get in touch

What is the Radio Directive?

The Radio Equipment Directive addresses the health and safety, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), efficient use of the radio spectrum and, for certain equipment, other specific criteria for radio products. By complying with this legislation, you may then legitimately affix a CE mark to your product which allows it to be sold in the EU.

The Radio Equipment Directive can also be referred to as 2014 53 EU Radio Equipment Directive or 2014 53 EU.

This Directive covers a range of products, including those with any form of wireless communication capability such as Wi-Fi, LTE, 5G, Bluetooth and GPS. In addition to this, the Directive also covers the USB standards for charging as well as user data privacy protection and network protection. The Directive covers protection against fraud, interoperability, access to emergency services and the compliance of combined radio software and equipment.

The purpose of the EU Radio Equipment Directive (RED) is to create a common set of EU-wide rules that all manufacturers must follow and conform to. This allows a manufacturer to test their product against the requirements through every stage in order to check that it is compliant and produce the necessary documentation to show this.

What does the Radio Directive cover?

The EU Radio Equipment Directive covers a range of different radio products, which are defined as being any electrical or electronic product that intentionally emits and/or receives radio waves for the purpose of radio communication and/or radiodetermination. It also refers to electric or electronic products which must be completed with an accessory like an antenna in order to function for these purposes.

The list of products included within the Radio Equipment Directive includes:

  • Mobile phones
  • Laptops
  • Radars
  • Television and radio broadcast receivers
  • Fitness devices
  • Smartwatches
  • Routers
  • Radio transceivers
  • Devices with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or GPS capabilities

It is important to remember that there are certain radio items which do not fall under the scope of the Radio Equipment Directive, including equipment for use by the police, military or state security, amateur radio equipment that is not commercially available, marine equipment, some aviation equipment and custom-built evaluation kits for professional research and development use.

Equipment within the Radio Equipment Directive must meet the essential requirements that are set out in both the Low Voltage Directive and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive and requires equipment to avoid interference with terrestrial and orbital communications.

Let us help you

Making sure that your product meets all the necessary requirements in order for it to earn a CE mark and go on sale in the EU can be a complicated process. We have experts on hand to ensure that your product is both safe and legal. Call us on 01298873837 or via email info@ARenquiries.com, alternatively you can fill out our form over on our contact page.

Our Scope of Service

Along with the Radio Equipment directive 2014 53 EU, we also serve the following directives:

How AR Service will support you?

Authorised Representative Service will act as your responsible economic operator and carry out the following obligations for you:

  • We will verify that your EU Declaration of Conformity (or Incorporation, Performance, etc.) and technical documentation has been drawn up correctly.
  • We will keep these documents at the disposal of market surveillance authorities for the period required by that legislation and ensure that the technical documentation can be made available to those authorities upon request.
  • Upon request from a market surveillance authority, we will ensure that the technical documentation can be made available to them in order to demonstrate the conformity of the product.
  • If we have reason to believe that a product presents a risk, we will highlight this information to the necessary parties.
  • If a risk is identified, we will liaise with you and support you in taking immediate, necessary, corrective action to remedy any noncompliance causing the risk.
  • As your Authorised Representative, we will provide you with our name and contact details, for you to place on the product, it’s packaging or accompanying documentation.
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Address

Address

Registered address on your product label

Expertise

Experts

Management and coordination

Compliance

Compliance

Declaration of conformity