Product legislation and responsible authority
A large part of product legislation has its origins in EU directives that are implemented in Swedish legislation, such as laws, ordinances and regulations.
This legislation states, among other things, which health and safety requirements the product must meet and how the manufacturer must have his product inspected to ensure that it meets these requirements. Sometimes it is required that the technical inspection takes place at an independent assessment body, but often it is sufficient that the manufacturer himself certifies that the product meets the applicable requirements.
In the product requirements guide below, we help you identify laws and regulations that apply to your products and to find the right responsible authority for different product areas.
Implementation of EU Rules
National product requirements for harmonised products
Most of the product rules are harmonised in the EU. This means that the same rules apply in all EU countries. Rules are applied to product groups, such as toys, or product characteristics, such as electromagnetic compatibility.
In this search tool, you can make one of the following searches, by EU legal reference, by product area or by responsible authority. The result will show the EU legal act, the responsible authority and the Swedish regulation implementing the EU legal act (where applicable).
Before your search. Please copy the EU legal reference (e.g 1234/56/EC) from the ”EU rules” gateway search result and paste them into our search tool.
National product requirements for non-harmonised products
There are also product rules that are not harmonised in the EU, this means specifications might differ in each EU country. In such cases, you must only comply with the rules applicable in the EU country where you intend to place your product on the market.
If your products meet these requirements in your EU country, other EU countries cannot forbid the sale of your products, oblige you to modify them or make you undertake additional testing unless they can prove that your products do not fulfil your country’s technical and quality requirements and do not offer a similar level of safety. This is known as the principle of mutual recognition.
To find out which national rules apply to specific products in each EU country or the details of competent authorities within that country you can contact the Product Contact Points.
