Manufacturing & Engineering

Manage solvents, inks and emissions in printing

If you use solvent-based inks, coatings or cleaning agents above the threshold, your print works needs an air-emissions permit that controls VOC emissions. The substances in your inks and cleaning chemicals are also subject to UK REACH.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Meet your environmental permit and emissions trading duties

Cement and lime kilns and glass and ceramic furnaces need an environmental permit before they operate. Cement, lime and glass production also fall within the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, and so can ceramic firing above a capacity threshold.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Manage environmental permits and water at your paper mill

A pulp or paper installation above the regulated capacity needs an environmental permit before it operates. Discharging effluent to the public sewer needs your sewerage undertaker's consent, and taking water from a river or borehole above the threshold needs an abstraction licence.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Comply with work equipment safety regulations (PUWER)

Every employer whose staff use work equipment, from a hand drill to a production line, must make sure it is suitable, maintained, inspected and fitted with guards, controls and warnings where needed. Only people with adequate training and information may use it.

Applies if you give your workers machinery, plant, vehicles or tools to use at work

Use mobile work equipment safely

If you use forklift trucks, dumpers, tractors or other mobile machines at work, fit roll-over protection and seatbelts where they could overturn, carry passengers only on equipment designed for them, and organise traffic routes to keep vehicles and pedestrians apart.

Applies to some businesses in this sector – open the guide to check

CLP Chemical Classification and Labelling

Classify, label and package hazardous chemicals under GB CLP.

Relevant across several parts of this sector.

Get the specialist approvals for the systems you repair and install

Gas work without Gas Safe registration is an offence, and refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat-pump work needs F-gas certification for both your company and your engineers. Aircraft maintenance needs CAA Part-145 approval before you start.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Biocides and Pesticides Authorisation

Get HSE CRD authorisation for biocidal and pesticidal products.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Get authorisation for a water activity in Scotland (EASR)

In Scotland, any activity affecting surface water or groundwater, such as abstraction, engineering or discharges, needs SEPA authorisation, and doing it without one is a criminal offence. SEPA decides which of four risk-based tiers your activity falls into, from general binding rules to a permit.

Relevant across several parts of this sector.

Trade effluent consent for discharging to sewers

If your business discharges liquid waste other than domestic sewage into a public sewer, you need trade effluent consent from your sewerage company. Discharging without it is a criminal offence under the Water Industry Act 1991, with an unlimited fine.

Applies if you put process liquids, washwater or other non-household effluent down the drain into the public sewer

Apply for a water abstraction licence

If you take more than 20 cubic metres of water a day from a river, stream, borehole or other natural source, you need an abstraction licence; abstracting without one is a criminal offence. Start early with a pre-application enquiry, because the regulator must check your abstraction won't harm the water body.

Applies if you take water from a river, borehole, spring or well rather than the mains

Water abstraction licences and drinking water quality in Northern Ireland

How water is regulated in Northern Ireland for two different kinds of business: a mill or other user that takes water from a river, lough or borehole and needs an abstraction and impoundment licence from NIEA, and a water undertaker that supplies drinking water and must meet the 2017 Water Quality Regulations enforced by the Drinking Water Inspectorate.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Apply for an environmental permit for a Part A(1) installation

If you run a Part A(1) installation in England, such as a combustion plant of 50MW thermal input or more, you need a bespoke permit from the Environment Agency before you operate. You must show best available techniques and, for new electricity-generating plant, decarbonisation readiness. Most new permits are decided within 4 months.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Meet the food-contact rules for paper and board

Paper and board that touches food, such as cartons, cups and baking paper, must be safe, correctly marked, traceable and made to good manufacturing practice. Councils enforce these rules, and breaking them is a criminal offence. Plastic layers, coatings and inks bring further rules, and Northern Ireland applies EU law.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Place chemical substances and products on the GB market

Before you supply chemicals in Great Britain, register your substances under UK REACH, then classify, label and package every substance and mixture under GB CLP. Biocides, pesticides and cosmetics also need authorisation or notification before sale.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Place fabricated metal products on the market

Boilers and pressure vessels above the pressure and volume thresholds must meet the Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, and structural steelwork needs a declaration of performance and conformity marking. Metal products outside a specific regime must still be safe.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Place basic metal products on the GB market

Structural and reinforcing steel and other load-bearing metal for construction need a declaration of performance and UKCA or CE marking before you place them on the market. Metal products outside a specific regime must still be safe.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Place non-metallic mineral products on the market

Cement, aggregates, concrete, bricks, tiles and construction glass covered by a designated standard need a declaration of performance and conformity marking before you sell them. Domestic glassware, ceramics and other goods outside a specific regime must still be safe.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Place rubber and plastic products on the market

Plastic tableware, food containers and food packaging must meet the food-contact materials rules, and new and retreaded tyres must meet type-approval standards. PVC-U windows, pipes and other builders' ware need a declaration of performance and conformity marking.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

End-of-life and restricted-substance duties for vehicle manufacturers

As long as you place vehicles on the UK market, you must provide free take-back of end-of-life vehicles and meet the reuse, recycling and recovery targets. The materials and components in your vehicles must also comply with UK REACH restrictions.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Type-approve and place motor vehicles, trailers and components on the GB market

Before you sell a motor vehicle, trailer or bodywork in Great Britain, it needs type approval from the Vehicle Certification Agency, including emissions and CO2 approval. Components such as lighting, glazing and brakes need their own approval, and replacement parts must be safe.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Meet the furniture fire-safety and product-safety rules

Upholstered furniture, mattresses, cushions and loose covers must meet the ignition-resistance and labelling rules of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 before you sell them. Furniture outside that regime must still be safe.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Place wood and wood products on the market

If you are first to place timber on the GB market, the UK Timber Regulation bans illegally harvested timber and requires a due-diligence system. Construction timber needs conformity marking, wood-based panels have formaldehyde limits, and export pallets must meet ISPM 15.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Vehicle Type Approval

Get type approval for vehicles manufactured or imported into GB.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Meet motor fuel quality and hydrocarbon oil duty

Petrol and diesel for road vehicles must meet the statutory limits on sulphur and other composition parameters before you put them on the market. The mineral oils you produce are also subject to excise duty under the Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Place paper products on the market

Paper or board that touches food, such as cartons, cups and baking papers, must meet the food-contact materials rules. Other paper consumer goods must be safe, and the packaging you make or use brings extended producer responsibility duties.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Assess whether your product meets the general safety requirement

Before you sell a consumer product in Great Britain, assess its foreseeable hazards and record your findings in a signed, dated risk assessment. Keep it for at least 10 years: it is the basis of your due diligence defence if enforcement action is taken.

Applies if you make, import or supply finished goods that end up in consumers' hands

Product standards and CE marking for the Northern Ireland market

Under the Windsor Framework, goods placed on the Northern Ireland market follow EU product rules, so products covered by EU harmonised rules need CE marking; UKCA marking alone is not valid there. Since 13 December 2024, the EU General Product Safety Regulation has also applied in Northern Ireland.

Relevant across several parts of this sector.

Construction product marking - CE and UKCA compliance

Construction products sold in Great Britain can carry the CE mark until further notice, and UKCA marking is voluntary. Since 8 January 2026, products that meet the new EU Construction Products Regulation also satisfy the GB rules.

Applies if you distribute or resell construction products made by others

Electrical product safety compliance

If you make, import or sell electrical equipment rated between 50V and 1,000V AC or 75V and 1,500V DC for Great Britain, it must meet the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016. Keep technical documentation, issue a declaration of conformity and apply UKCA or CE marking.

Relevant across several parts of this sector.

CLP labelling for candles and wax melts

Yes, once a sensitiser in the fragrance oil reaches its limit, you need a CLP hazard label or a short allergy statement. If no sensitiser reaches a limit, you must still check the finished product for other hazards before concluding that no CLP label is needed.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Sell homemade soap and skincare

Soap and skincare you make at home are cosmetic products, with no exemption for small makers. Before your first sale you need a Responsible Person, a signed safety report and, in Great Britain, an SCPN notification. Northern Ireland uses the EU CPNP system instead.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Hallmarking rules for jewellery

Usually yes: silver you sell as silver needs a UK hallmark unless the piece is light enough to be exempt. You must also display the Dealer's Notice and keep nickel, cadmium and lead within the legal limits.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

UKCA and CE marking for medical devices

Medical devices on the Great Britain market can carry a UKCA mark, which has no expiry, or a CE mark during the transition: until 30 June 2028 for devices certified under the old directives and 30 June 2030 under the EU MDR or IVDR. Northern Ireland requires CE marking.

Relevant across several parts of this sector.

Place a medical device on the GB market

To place medical devices on the GB market, you must classify them, follow the right conformity assessment route and register them with the MHRA. UKCA marking has no expiry date, and CE marking under the old EU directives is accepted until 30 June 2028.

Relevant across several parts of this sector.

Medical device compliance checklist

Before placing a medical device on the Great Britain market, confirm you have classified it, completed the right conformity assessment, compiled technical documentation, affixed the UKCA or CE mark and registered with the MHRA. Since 16 June 2025, you also need a post-market surveillance system that meets the enhanced rules.

Relevant across several parts of this sector.

Toy safety compliance in Great Britain

If you make, import or sell toys in Great Britain, they must meet the essential safety requirements of the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011, including limits on small parts and chemicals. Grade each toy for age, add the required warnings and apply UKCA or CE marking; breaches are criminal offences.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Manage the medical devices you buy and use

Buy only medical devices with a UKCA marking or a recognised CE marking, keep a record for each device, maintain and examine it, and train its users. Report adverse incidents and near misses to the MHRA, and consult a radiation protection adviser if you use X-ray equipment.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Placing medical devices on the Northern Ireland market

Under the Windsor Framework, medical devices placed on the Northern Ireland market must meet the EU Medical Devices Regulation and carry a CE mark, not UKCA alone. If a UK Approved Body assesses the device, add the UKNI mark, and non-UK manufacturers need an EU Authorised Representative.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Post-market surveillance for medical devices

If you place medical devices on the Great Britain market, you must run a post-market surveillance system proportionate to their risk class, under enhanced rules in force since 16 June 2025. That means a written plan, active data collection, trend analysis, summary reports and field safety corrective action when needed.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Report a medical device safety incident to MHRA

If your medical device is involved in a serious incident in Great Britain, report it to the MHRA through the MORE portal: within 2 calendar days for a serious public health threat, 10 for a death or unanticipated serious deterioration, and 15 for other serious incidents. Failing to report is a criminal offence.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Choosing a UK Approved Body for medical devices

You need a UK Approved Body to UKCA mark any medical device above Class I, and for the sterility or measuring aspects of Class Is and Im devices. Higher classes face fuller assessment, up to design examination and clinical data review for Class III, so pick a body whose designated scope covers your device.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Classify your medical device for the GB market

Before placing a medical device on the Great Britain market, you must classify it under the Medical Devices Regulations 2002 by its intended purpose, invasiveness and duration of contact. The class decides whether you can self-certify, as for most Class I devices, or need a UK Approved Body.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.

Software and AI as medical devices (SaMD/AIaMD)

Software with a medical purpose, such as diagnosing, monitoring or treating disease, is a medical device in its own right and must be registered with the MHRA before going on the Great Britain market. Many such products are Class I now, but most are expected to move to at least Class IIa.

Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.