--- title: "Get started: the 8-step guide to your first compliant shipment" description: "An eight-step route-to-market playbook for non-EU companies: classify the product and list the acts, gap-check, test and build the technical file, sign the declaration and mark the product, appoint the EU responsible person, label and register, prepare the channel's document pack, and keep it current. With a downloadable checklist." type: "page" url: "https://www.conphora.com/sell-in-europe/get-started/" markdown: "https://www.conphora.com/sell-in-europe/get-started.md" locale: "en" language: "en" updated: "2026-09-10" author: "Conphora compliance team" publisher: "Conphora" tags: ["sell-in-europe", "non-EU", "GPSR"] license: "Free to quote with attribution and a link to the page" --- # Get started: the 8-step guide to your first compliant shipment > An eight-step route-to-market playbook for non-EU companies: classify the product and list the acts, gap-check, test and build the technical file, sign the declaration and mark the product, appoint the EU responsible person, label and register, prepare the channel's document pack, and keep it current. With a downloadable checklist. Every step names the evidence you need, what you can do yourself, what the platform does, and what Conphora can do for you. ## In short To sell a product in the EU from outside, work through eight steps: classify the product and list the EU acts that apply; gap-check the product against each act; test and build the technical file; sign the EU declaration of conformity and mark the product; appoint the EU responsible person; label the product and register producer responsibilities per country; prepare the document pack your channel asks for; and monitor rule changes and be ready to recall. - Steps 1–4 produce the evidence; steps 5–7 put it in front of the people who check it; step 8 keeps it valid. - The technical file is what authorities and importers ask for first — keep it for 10 years. - Put the responsible-person mandate in writing before anything ships. - Free to read; the checklist PDF downloads with a free account. ## 1. Classify the product and list the acts 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; the regulation pages give the scope and the articles. Evidence: A rules map: every act that applies to the product, with the reason. Run the free compliance checker and read the regulation pages it points to. https://www.conphora.com/compliance-check/ Product validation classifies each product and lists every act that applies. https://www.conphora.com/platform/ We classify your catalogue and hand you the rules map. - [ ] Product category, materials and intended use written down - [ ] Every applicable EU act listed, with the GPSR as the baseline - [ ] The countries and channels you sell to listed ## 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 and your first honest answer to an importer's questionnaire. Evidence: A gap list per product with the evidence each open item expects. Work through the requirements section of each regulation page. https://www.conphora.com/regulations/ The engine produces a gap list per product with the evidence it expects. https://www.conphora.com/platform/ We run the gap analysis and prioritise the list with you. - [ ] Each requirement marked met, open or not applicable - [ ] The evidence for every open item named - [ ] Owner and date per open item ## 3. Test and build the technical file Risk assessment, test reports from a laboratory against the standards applied, drawings, bill of materials, label artwork, instructions. This is what authorities and importers ask for first, and it is kept for 10 years. Evidence: The technical documentation, complete and indexed. Follow the technical-file structure in the glossary and the regulation pages. https://www.conphora.com/research/glossary/technical-file/ The documentation generator builds the file index and tracks what is missing. https://www.conphora.com/platform/ We assemble and maintain the file and coordinate the testing. - [ ] Risk analysis on file - [ ] Test reports for every applicable act - [ ] Drawings, bill of materials and standards applied filed - [ ] File index kept current and retained for 10 years ## 4. Sign the declaration of conformity and mark the product Under a CE act the manufacturer signs the EU declaration of conformity and affixes the CE marking; by doing so it assumes responsibility for the product's compliance. Products outside every CE act carry no CE marking but still need the GPSR's identification and safety information. Evidence: The signed declaration of conformity and the marked product. Use the declaration-of-conformity guidance on the regulation pages. https://www.conphora.com/research/glossary/declaration-of-conformity/ The documentation generator drafts the declaration from your product data. https://www.conphora.com/platform/ We draft the declaration and review your label artwork. - [ ] Declaration of conformity signed by the manufacturer - [ ] CE marking affixed where a CE act applies - [ ] Type, batch or serial number on the product ## 5. Appoint the EU responsible person Importer, authorised representative or fulfilment service provider — decided by the channel. Put the mandate in writing before anything ships, and put the person's name and address on the product and every listing. Evidence: A written mandate or an importer agreement, and the details on the product. Read the responsible-person page and agree the role with your importer or a representative. https://www.conphora.com/sell-in-europe/eu-responsible-person/ The gap list flags a missing responsible person on every product. https://www.conphora.com/platform/ We arrange the mandate with our EU-established partner firm. - [ ] Responsible person chosen per channel - [ ] Mandate or importer agreement signed - [ ] Name and address on the product, packaging or accompanying document, and on every listing ## 6. Label the product and register producer responsibilities Label sets per language, and producer registrations for packaging, WEEE and batteries in each country you sell in — registration numbers, fees, and a representative under those acts where the country requires one. Evidence: Label artwork per market and registration numbers per country. Start from the WEEE, Batteries and PPWR regulation pages. https://www.conphora.com/regulations/weee/ Validation lists the registrations each product triggers per market. https://www.conphora.com/platform/ We coordinate the registrations and the fee filings. - [ ] Instructions and warnings in the language of each country - [ ] Packaging, WEEE and battery registrations per country - [ ] Who registers — you, your importer or a representative — agreed in writing ## 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, answers to the supplier questionnaire. Plus the customs basics — an EORI number, the tariff code, IOSS or OSS for VAT on distance sales, the Incoterms agreed with your importer. Evidence: One pack per channel, ready before the first shipment. Use the route-to-market page for your channel and the trade portals in the resources directory. https://www.conphora.com/sell-in-europe/route-to-market/ Audit and share links answer a retailer's or importer's questionnaire with one link. https://www.conphora.com/platform/ We upload the certificates and answer the questionnaires with you. - [ ] Certificates and declaration uploaded to the marketplace, or sent to the importer - [ ] Supplier questionnaire answered with evidence - [ ] EORI, tariff code, VAT scheme and Incoterms settled ## 8. Monitor changes and be ready to recall Rules change: the GPSR, the PPWR, the Batteries Regulation and more are all moving. Follow the regulations that apply, re-check products when they change, and have a recall procedure — direct notification of affected consumers, a recall notice and a remedy — before you need one. Evidence: A change log per regulation and a tested recall procedure. Follow the regulations that apply in the Compliance Radar. https://www.conphora.com/tools/compliance-radar/ Change alerts re-open the gap list; the recall manager runs a recall from first alert to closure. https://www.conphora.com/platform/ We monitor, re-validate and support you through a recall. - [ ] Regulations that apply followed for changes - [ ] Products re-checked when a rule changes - [ ] Recall procedure written and the customer data to run it available ## The checklist Every item above on one page. Read it here; download the PDF with a free account. ## Product compliance: your key to the EU market The seven-layer stack, the responsibility matrix, the channel demands and the eight-step playbook — 6 pages, about 12 minutes. [Read online or download](https://www.conphora.com/white-papers/product-compliance-for-non-eu-suppliers/) ## Managed: we run the eight steps for you One team, one plan, one contact — including the EU responsible person through our partner firm. [Talk to us about Managed](https://www.conphora.com/sell-in-europe/managed/) ## How Conphora helps ### Free to read Regulation pages, the glossary, this guide and the free compliance checker. No account. [Open](https://www.conphora.com/regulations/) ### Free account The Academy track, downloads and Radar follow. Never a card. Create a free account ### Subscription The compliance engine, every tool and 20 products included. [See plans and pricing](https://www.conphora.com/pricing/) ### Managed We run the whole route for you, with a named contact. [Talk to us about Managed](https://www.conphora.com/sell-in-europe/managed/) _Reviewed 2026-09-10 by Conphora compliance team_