CE and UKCA Marks in Product Images: How to Show Them Accurately

The European Commission says that by affixing the CE marking, a manufacturer declares that the product meets all the legal requirements for it, so it can be sold across the European Economic Area. The Commission also says the mark does not show that the EU or any other authority has approved the product as safe. Not all products need it, and manufacturers must not affix it to products outside the scope of the laws that provide for it.

UKCA is the conformity marking for Great Britain. GOV.UK says a conformity marking is necessary only where sector-specific regulations require one. The UK continues to recognize the CE marking for Great Britain, alongside or in place of UKCA, and the guidance gives no end date. Some sectors have their own rules.

A conformity mark carries a legal meaning. The Commission says the CE marking is affixed once the necessary conformity steps are complete, and must not be put on products outside the scope of the laws that call for it. An image that shows a mark the product does not carry suggests a status the product does not have.

Marketplaces add their own image rules. Amazon's public photo guide says product shots should in most cases use a white background of RGB 255, 255, 255. Its detailed main-image rules sit in Seller Central, which we could not read publicly, so check your category style guide first.

The Commission and GOV.UK both say the mark goes on the product. Where the nature of the product does not allow that, the CE marking goes on the packaging and the accompanying document. For UKCA, GOV.UK allows a label affixed to the product or an accompanying document until 31 December 2027, and for small products the data plate, packaging or accompanying documentation. Photograph the place where your product actually carries the mark.

Our working recommendation for the photo itself: sharp focus, soft even light without glare, and a straight-on angle so the letter proportions are not distorted. Include the rest of the rating label if it carries the model number and manufacturer details, and photograph the unit you ship to that market.

Electrical and electronic equipment carries its own disposal symbol. The UK's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 require producers to mark equipment they place on the market with the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol, in a visible, legible and indelible form. Where the size or function of the product makes that impractical, the symbol goes on the packaging, the instructions for use and the warranty. The EU WEEE Directive, 2012/19/EU, sets the same symbol in its Annex IX.

We could not check the standards that set minimum sizes for this symbol or for national recycling marks, so this guide gives none. Photograph them unedited, like the conformity marks.

Not reliably. Image models can redraw small printed type and fine geometric marks, so a CE or UKCA mark in a generated image may not match the one on your product.

Picmato generates new images of your product rather than editing your original photo, and it does not check markings or compliance. Show CE, UKCA and WEEE marks in your own unedited photographs of the product or rating label. If a generated lifestyle image shows a mark, zoom in and compare it with the real product before you use it.