CE Certificate Verification: NANDO Lookup and Notified Body Checks

To verify a CE certificate, look up the issuing Notified Body’s four-digit identification number in the European Commission’s NANDO database, then contact that body directly to confirm the specific certificate reference is real and still active. Before you do either, check whether the product even required a third-party certificate: many lower-risk goods are self-certified by the manufacturer with no outside body involved, so there is no external certificate to look up.

First Check Whether a Third-Party Certificate Should Exist

EU product legislation assigns different conformity assessment procedures depending on the risk a product poses. Under Module A (internal production control), the manufacturer handles all testing and documentation itself and issues its own Declaration of Conformity without involving any outside body. No Notified Body certificate exists for these products because none was required. This covers many consumer electronics, simple machinery, and low-voltage equipment.¹

Higher-risk categories such as medical devices, pressure equipment, certain construction products, and personal protective equipment typically require third-party involvement, and the Notified Body issues a certificate confirming the product meets the relevant standards. The specific directive or regulation governing each product type spells out which procedure applies.²

If someone hands you a “CE certificate” for a product that only required self-declaration, the document may be fabricated or beside the point. Check the applicable directive first to see whether a Notified Body should have been involved at all.

Information to Pull From the Certificate

Collect these details before you start cross-referencing:

The Notified Body’s four-digit identification number, which appears on the certificate and, where the body was involved in production control, next to the CE marking on the product itself.¹
The certificate reference number, which is the unique tracking number the Notified Body uses to locate the record in its system.
The manufacturer’s legal name and address, usually printed at the top of the certificate or in an identification block.
Product identifiers: model, type, batch, or serial numbers covered by the certificate. What is on the product should match what is on the certificate and the Declaration of Conformity.
The applicable legislation the certificate references, such as the Medical Device Regulation (EU) 2017/745 or the Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU.

If any of these are missing or illegible, that alone is a warning. Legitimate certificates are thorough because the Notified Body’s own accreditation depends on maintaining proper records.

Look Up the Notified Body in NANDO

The European Commission maintains a public database called NANDO (New Approach Notified and Designated Organisations) that lists every organization authorized to perform third-party conformity assessments under EU legislation.³ It is searchable at the Commission’s Single Market Compliance Space, and you can query it by identification number, by country, or by legislation.⁴

Enter the four-digit number from the certificate. The results page shows the body’s name, address, and the specific directives and regulations it is designated to cover. Confirm two things. First, that the designation is active and has not been suspended or withdrawn. Second, that the body is authorized under the exact legislation the certificate references. A body designated only under the Toy Safety Directive cannot validly issue certificates for medical devices, no matter how official the paperwork looks.

If the four-digit number returns no results, or the organization listed does not match the name on the certificate, the document is either forged or was issued by an entity that has since lost its designation.

Confirm the Certificate Directly With the Body

A NANDO lookup confirms the body is real. It does not prove the specific certificate in your hands is real. Forged documents can reference a valid Notified Body number while fabricating everything else. The only way to close that gap is to contact the body directly.

Many Notified Bodies run online verification portals where you can enter a certificate reference number and see its status: active, expired, suspended, or withdrawn. If no portal exists, send a written inquiry to the body’s compliance department with the certificate number and the manufacturer’s name, and ask them to confirm or deny that the certificate exists in their records. Response times vary, but most bodies handle straightforward lookups within a few business days.

This is the step that catches the most dangerous type of fraud: documents that look perfect because they were modeled on a real certificate, but that were never actually registered with the body whose name they carry.

Cross-Check the Declaration of Conformity

Separately from any Notified Body certificate, the manufacturer must issue a Declaration of Conformity in which it takes personal legal responsibility for the product meeting all applicable EU requirements. Even self-certified products under Module A must have one. The declaration must contain:

The manufacturer’s name and full business address, or the authorized representative’s if applicable
Product identification (serial number, model, or type) allowing traceability
A statement declaring the manufacturer’s full accountability for compliance
The relevant EU legislation the product complies with, along with any harmonized standards applied
Notified Body details, including name and identification number, where one was involved
Date of issue, and the name and signature of the person making the declaration⁵

Compare each element against the certificate and the physical product. Manufacturer name and address should match across all three. Product identifiers should be consistent. The listed standards should be current versions relevant to the product category; outdated references suggest the manufacturer has not revisited compliance in years. A missing signature or a vague manufacturer name (just a brand, no legal entity) are signs the declaration may not hold up under scrutiny.

Inspect the Physical CE Mark

The marking itself follows specific rules. Both letters must share the same vertical dimension, the minimum height is 5 millimeters unless the product’s specific legislation allows smaller, and if the mark is scaled the original proportions must be preserved.¹ The mark can be solid or hollow and appear in different colors as long as it remains visible, legible, and permanent. It belongs on the product itself, or on the packaging where the product is too small.

Where a Notified Body was involved in the production control phase, its four-digit identification number must appear next to the CE marking on the product.² If the certificate names a Notified Body but no number appears beside the mark, something is wrong.

One visual check that catches a surprising number of fakes is letter spacing. The official CE marking has a specific, proportional gap between the “C” and the “E.” Products where the two letters are squeezed together so they nearly touch are using a different mark that does not signify EU conformity. If the spacing looks cramped compared to the standard proportions in EU legislation, treat the marking as suspect.

EU law prohibits affixing any marking that could be confused with the CE marking in meaning or form.⁶ Products bearing look-alike marks should be treated as non-compliant until proven otherwise.

Ask for the Technical File

Behind every legitimately CE-marked product sits a technical file that the manufacturer, or the economic operator responsible for the product in the EU, must be able to produce on request. The file includes design drawings, material specifications, test reports, risk assessments, and any other evidence supporting the compliance claims.² The default retention period is ten years from the date the product was placed on the market, though some sector-specific legislation sets different timeframes.⁷

If a manufacturer cannot produce the technical file when asked, that is treated as a serious compliance failure regardless of whether the CE marking and certificate otherwise check out. For importers this matters directly. EU market surveillance rules require an economic operator established in the EU to be responsible for each product placed on the market, and that operator must keep the Declaration of Conformity available and make sure the technical documentation can be provided to authorities on request.⁸ If the manufacturer goes silent, the EU-based operator is the one held responsible.

Medical Devices Have an Extra Layer

The European Database on Medical Devices (EUDAMED) is becoming the centralized system for registering manufacturers, devices, Notified Body certificates, and market surveillance data. Starting May 28, 2026, the first four EUDAMED modules become mandatory: actor registration, device registration, Notified Body certificates, and market surveillance.⁹

Once fully operational, EUDAMED will let anyone check whether a medical device certificate is registered, which Notified Body issued it, and whether it is still active. It does not replace direct verification with the Notified Body, but for anyone importing or distributing medical devices in the EU it is worth checking as its mandatory modules come online.

If Verification Fails

If any step produces a mismatch, the Notified Body number does not appear in NANDO, the body denies issuing the certificate, the Declaration of Conformity is incomplete, or the physical mark looks wrong, do not place the product on the market. Selling a product with a fraudulent or invalid CE marking exposes you to fines, forced recalls, destruction orders, and customs blocks that can shut a product out of the entire single market, and “I didn’t know” is not a defense when the verification tools are publicly available.⁶

Report the problem to the national market surveillance authority in the EU country where the product was intended to be sold. Each member state designates authorities responsible for enforcing product safety legislation, and they can investigate manufacturers, suspend certificates, and coordinate enforcement across borders. If the goods are already imported, cooperate proactively; authorities treat operators who flag problems voluntarily very differently from those who get caught.

Where the manufacturer is outside the EU, notify whoever holds the authorized representative mandate. That person or entity has a legal obligation to inform authorities and the relevant Notified Body when they have reason to believe a product presents a compliance problem.⁸

1
Your Europe. CE Marking – Obtaining the Certificate, EU Requirements
2
EUR-Lex. Decision 768/2008/EC
3
European Commission. Notified Bodies
4
European Commission. New Approach Notified and Designated Organisations
5
Your Europe. Signing an EU Declaration of Conformity
6
EUR-Lex. Regulation (EC) No 765/2008
7
Your Europe. Preparing Technical Documentation
8
EUR-Lex. Regulation (EU) 2019/1020
9
European Commission. EUDAMED