The European Union is an important premium market for Chinese sanitary ware exports, and CE certification is the “legal passport” to enter it. In recent years, the EU has tightened compliance requirements for sanitary ware, and a considerable number of domestic companies have been blocked on their export path due to mismatches in certification and testing. Compliance is now a required course for Chinese sanitary ware going global.

1. Why CE Certification Is “Mandatory,” Not Optional

Under EU regulations, sanitary products such as toilets, faucets and shower trays must hold CE certification as a legal requirement — products without compliant CE marking cannot circulate in the EU market. Behind the CE mark lies compliance in safety, health and environmental protection, especially the release of heavy metals in products contacting drinking water.

2. The Unavoidable CPR and EN Standards

CE certification of sanitary products mainly follows the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) and its harmonized standards: EN 806 — standards relevant to drinking-water systems, covering hygiene requirements for components in contact with drinking water; EN 817 — performance and testing standards for mechanical mixing faucets (faucets); toilets, shower trays and other categories also have corresponding EN standards and type-testing requirements.

3. The Bottleneck Is Not Quality but “Equipment Mismatch”

Industry research shows that over 40% of domestic companies are blocked not because of quality issues, but because their testing equipment does not match EN test methods — for example, test rigs for flow, noise and mechanical endurance are not configured to EU harmonized standards. This reminds manufacturers that compliance is not “sticking on a label” but a systematic capability from design to testing.

4. The Right Way to Go Global

Identify the applicable directives and harmonized standards (professional certification bodies can help); complete sample type testing and performance verification to EN standards; build technical files and a Declaration of Performance (DoP); improve the factory quality system and obtain relevant international certifications; and work with partners holding multi-country certification to avoid “discovering non-compliance only when goods arrive at customs.”

5. FangHong: Going Global with a “Certification Passport”

FangHong has specialized in sanitary exports for years and holds EN 1113 verification of conformity, French ACS sanitary certification, GMC Global Manufacturer registration and ISO 9001 quality management certification, serving high-standard markets in Europe and the U.S. For brand customers seeking to enter the EU, FangHong is a reliable manufacturing partner for compliant OEM/ODM products.

Outlook

Compliance is both a threshold and a reputation. In premium markets like the EU, a solid CE certification is often the starting point of an order. Only by mastering standards and building systems can Chinese sanitary ware truly go far and steady.