Decision No 768/2008/EC sets out, in Chapter R4 of its Annex I, the framework that every New Legislative Framework act uses for notified bodies. Article R17 lists the requirements: the body must be established under national law with legal personality, be a third party independent of the organisation or product it assesses, must not design, manufacture, supply, install or maintain the products it assesses, must have the personnel, procedures and equipment to carry out every conformity assessment task for which it is notified, and must guarantee impartiality; the remuneration of its management and assessors may not depend on the number or results of the assessments.
The Commission’s Blue Guide describes the practical role: notified bodies carry out the tasks in the conformity assessment procedures of the applicable legislation whenever a third party is required, they are designated and notified by their national authority, and they may offer their services to economic operators inside or outside the EU. The Commission publishes the list of notified bodies, each with an identification number and its scope of notification, in the NANDO database.
For a manufacturer the question is simply whether the applicable act and module require a notified body. Where they do, the body issues an EU-type examination certificate or approves the quality system, and its identification number follows the CE marking where the body is involved in the production control phase (Decision 768/2008, Article R12(3)). Using a body that is not notified for the relevant legislation and product means that the conformity assessment is not valid.