For companies outside the EU · manufacturers, brands, exporters, marketplace sellers
Sell products in Europe: what non-EU companies must do
The EU regulates the product, not your postcode. A factory in Shenzhen, a brand in Istanbul or a maker in Ohio meets the same bar as a company in Hamburg — and since the GPSR, marketplaces and customs check it before you sell. This is the whole route in, in one place.
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Sources: Regulation (EU) 2023/988 · Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 · reviewed September 2026
Who this is for
Companies established outside the EU that sell, or want to sell, products to customers in the Union — whoever the buyer is.
You make the product, or have it made, and sell it under your own name.
You list on Amazon, Zalando, bol, Allegro or another EU marketplace.
You sell to an EU importer, dealer or distributor who sells on.
You ship to EU consumers from your own web shop.
What the EU requires of you
Six things every non-EU seller has to have in place. Each links to the regulation page with the exact articles.
The product is regulated, not the seller
The GPSR makes every consumer product sold in the EU meet the general safety requirement, whoever sells it and from wherever. An online offer aimed at EU consumers counts as making the product available.
Sector rules and CE marking
Toys, electrical goods, radio equipment, PPE, medical devices and more have their own acts. CE marking, an EU declaration of conformity and a technical file prove it — the file is kept for 10 years.
Someone in the EU is responsible
Without an economic operator established in the EU the product may not be placed on the market. Their name and contact details go on the product, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document.
Labelling, languages, warnings
A type, batch or serial number, the manufacturer's name and address, the importer's details, and instructions and safety information in the language of each country you sell to.
Chemicals and substances
RoHS for electrical goods, the POPs Regulation, and REACH restrictions on substances in articles — with test reports as evidence, not promises.
Packaging, batteries, WEEE
Producer responsibility per country: packaging registration and fees, WEEE for electrical equipment, the Batteries Regulation — often the part exporters discover last.
The role most sellers miss
Who you need in the EU
EU law needs an economic operator established in the EU for every product — the responsible person. There are four ways to fill the role. Which one fits depends on how you sell.
| Option | What it is | When it fits you |
|---|---|---|
| EU manufacturer | Only if you produce inside the EU. | Not an option for a company established outside the EU. |
| Importer | The EU company that first places your product on the market. It takes on the duties — and many importers refuse products without a complete file. | Your distributor or customer becomes the importer; you supply the compliance file. |
| Authorised representative | An EU company you mandate in writing to hold the technical file and speak to the authorities on your behalf. | The usual answer for direct sellers and marketplace sellers. In Managed, Conphora arranges it through a partner firm. |
| Fulfilment service provider | Only when none of the above exists in the EU — the warehouse becomes responsible for the products it handles. | Rarely what you want. |
Route to market: what each channel asks for
The rules are the same; the gatekeeper differs. Pick the channel and see what you must have ready before the first shipment.
Marketplaces
Amazon, Zalando, bol, Allegro …
Listings must show the responsible person and the product identification, and the marketplace must let you supply them. Regulated goods need their certificates uploaded before go-live.
Distributors and importers
One partner per country or region
Your importer takes the legal duties — and will ask for the technical file, test reports, the declaration of conformity and the labels before signing. A complete file is your best sales argument.
Your own web shop
Selling direct to EU consumers
You are the seller of record: responsible person on the shop, product information and warnings in the right language, VAT on distance sales, returns and recalls.
Get started
The 8-step guide
From "we want to sell in the EU" to the first compliant shipment. Every step names the evidence you need and where Conphora does the work for you.
Download the checklist (PDF) Open the full guide Also as a white paper: Product compliance: your key to the EU market (6 pages, about 12 minutes).- 1
Find the rules that apply
Product category, materials, function and channel decide which EU acts apply — often five to eight. The free checker gives a first answer in a minute.
- 2
Gap-check against each act
For every act: which requirements are met, which are open, and what evidence closes them. The gap list becomes your work plan.
- 3
Test and build the technical file
Risk assessment, test reports from a laboratory, drawings, bill of materials, standards applied. This is what authorities and importers ask for first.
- 4
Sign the declaration of conformity and mark the product
The EU declaration of conformity, CE marking where a CE act applies, the responsible person's name and address, warnings and instructions in the right languages.
- 5
Appoint your person in the EU
Importer, authorised representative or fulfilment service provider — decided by the channel. Put the mandate in writing before anything ships.
- 6
Label and register producer responsibilities
Packaging, WEEE and batteries per country you sell in — registration numbers, fees, and a representative under those acts where the country requires one.
- 7
Prepare the channel's document pack
What the marketplace, the importer or the retailer asks for before go-live — certificates, the declaration, labels, the responsible person's details — plus the customs basics: an EORI number, the tariff code, IOSS or OSS for VAT on distance sales, the Incoterms agreed with your importer.
- 8
Keep it current and be ready to recall
Rules change: the GPSR, the PPWR, the Batteries Regulation and more are all moving. Follow your regulations, re-check products when they change, and have a recall procedure before you need one.
How Conphora helps, step by step
Start free and go as far as you need. Managed is for companies that want a European compliance department without hiring one.
- Free to read Free
The regulation pages, the glossary, this guide and the free compliance checker — no account.
Open - Free account Free
Take the Academy track Conphora Certified User, download the checklist and the white papers, follow the regulations that apply in the Compliance Radar.
Create a free account - Subscription €129 per month
The compliance engine validates every product against the acts that apply, lists the gaps and generates the declaration of conformity, the document packs and the status links. 20 products included.
See plans and pricing - Managed Quote
Conphora's team runs the whole route for you: rules, file, testing coordination, the EU responsible person through our partner firm, producer registrations and the marketplace onboarding — with a named contact.
Talk to us about Managed
Managed service
Let Conphora run your EU compliance
One team, one plan, one contact. We map the rules, build and keep the technical file, coordinate testing, arrange the EU responsible person through our partner firm, register you for packaging, WEEE and batteries per country, and onboard you on the marketplaces or with your importer.
- A fixed monthly fee per product portfolio; quote within two working days.
- Includes the subscription — your products live in the platform, you see everything.
- The responsible-person mandate is signed with an EU-established partner firm, in your name, and clearly labelled as theirs.
Conphora is not a law firm, not a certification or notified body, and does not test products. The authorised-representative role is provided by a mandated EU partner firm, not by Conphora.
About the Managed serviceQuestions non-EU sellers ask
Straight answers, each with its source on the page that carries the full answer.
Do I need a company in the EU to sell there?
No. You need an economic operator established in the EU who is responsible for the product — an importer, an authorised representative you mandate in writing, or in the last resort a fulfilment service provider. Many non-EU sellers appoint an authorised representative and keep selling under their own brand.
Do I need a company in the EU to sell on Amazon Germany?
No, but the listing must show an EU responsible person's name and address when the manufacturer is outside the EU, and the marketplace must let you supply it. Without one you cannot complete the listing.
What is an EU responsible person, and can my freight forwarder be one?
The responsible person is the manufacturer, importer, authorised representative or fulfilment service provider established in the EU whose details appear on the product. A freight forwarder is not one; a fulfilment service provider that warehouses and dispatches your goods can be, but only when no manufacturer, importer or authorised representative exists in the EU.
Does CE marking apply to my product?
Only if a CE act covers it — toys, electrical goods, radio equipment, PPE, medical devices and others. Every consumer product still falls under the GPSR's general safety requirement, with a responsible person, traceability and instructions in the right language.
Who is the importer if I sell through a distributor?
The EU company that first places your product on the Union market is the importer — usually your distributor or first customer. It must check that you have met your obligations and put its own name and address on the product, and it will ask for your file before it does.
Can Amazon or my distributor be my responsible person?
A distributor who imports becomes the importer and takes on the duties. A marketplace does not become your responsible person; it must make sure the listing shows one and can suspend traders that repeatedly offer non-compliant products.
Do I need to register for WEEE in every country?
Producer responsibility is organised per Member State: electrical equipment, batteries and packaging are registered, and fees paid, in each country where you sell, and some countries require a representative under those acts. Your importer may carry it — agree who does.
Can Conphora be my authorised representative?
No — Conphora is not itself an authorised representative. In the Managed service the mandate is arranged with an EU-established partner firm, clearly labelled as theirs, while Conphora runs the compliance work around it.
What language do the label and the instructions have to be in?
Instructions and safety information must be in the language determined by the Member State where the product is made available, so plan one set per country you sell to.
How long does it take?
With a complete technical file and existing test reports, a few weeks: the mandate, the labels, the registrations. Without test reports the laboratory lead time decides — plan for months rather than weeks.
What happens if I sell without all of this?
Market surveillance authorities can require documents, order corrective action, withdrawal or recall, ban a product and have listings removed within two working days; products entering the EU are controlled at the border, and dangerous products are published on Safety Gate.
I already supply EU companies. Do I need Conphora?
When an EU customer runs its products in Conphora, its data and document requests to you land in one supplier account. You see only what each customer asked for; the link in a request works without an account.
White paper
Product compliance: your key to the EU market
A field guide for non-EU suppliers — 6 pages, about 12 minutes.
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