Commercial property owners and facilities managers face strict regulatory requirements when choosing steel doors for their buildings. CE marking is an important certification that impacts compliance, insurance, and safety standards.
This article explains CE marking for steel doors, outlines the verification process, and clarifies how Brexit affects these certifications for UK businesses. You will gain practical knowledge to ensure your door specifications meet all legal requirements while providing the best possible protection.
What is CE Marking for Steel Doors?
CE marking acts as a product passport for steel doors, showing they meet specific European safety standards. This marking became mandatory under the Construction Products Regulation with the introduction of harmonised standards EN 16034 and EN 14351-1.
CE marking assures building owners and specifiers that doors meet essential safety requirements and perform as expected and claimed. The marking confirms that manufacturers have tested the doorset to defined standards, maintain consistent production quality, and take legal responsibility for product conformity.
In 2018, Bradbury Group achieved CE fire accreditation for its security door range, combining certified fire protection with high-security performance in our steel doors.
How Do Testing and Certification Work?
CE marking certification involves a rigorous process that verifies steel doors meet specific performance requirements:
Initial Type Testing
Independent notified bodies conduct comprehensive testing against European standards. For steel fire doors, this includes:
- Testing fire resistance under controlled conditions
- Measuring smoke control performance
- Assessing durability and reliability
- Evaluating self-closing mechanisms
- Determining classification categories
These tests determine whether doors can receive classifications like EI₁ (integrity and insulation) or E (integrity only), along with their fire resistance duration in minutes.
Factory Production Control
Manufacturers must implement documented production control systems that maintain consistent quality. These systems include material inspection procedures, production process controls, product testing protocols, traceability systems, and staff training requirements.
Regular audits by third-party certification bodies verify that these systems remain effective, providing additional assurance that CE-marked doors maintain their performance characteristics over time.
Technical Documentation
Complete technical files document all compliance aspects, including test reports from notified bodies, production control documentation, installation instructions, and maintenance requirements. This documentation forms the basis for the Declaration of Performance (DoP) that accompanies each CE marked door.
Which Performance Characteristics Are Assessed?
CE marking evaluates the following performance aspects that determine a door’s suitability for specific applications:
- Fire Resistance Testing: Fire-rated steel doors receive classification based on their performance in standardised fire tests. Ratings indicate fire integrity duration (in minutes), insulation performance (temperature rise on non-fire side), and radiation control capabilities. Our M2MFD fire door range delivers exceptional protection with ratings up to 240 minutes (4 hours), ideal for critical applications requiring maximum containment
- Smoke Control Capabilities: Doors can receive additional classification for smoke control performance – Sa classification (ambient temperature smoke control) or S₂₀₀ classification (elevated temperature smoke control)
- Self-Closing Reliability: The door’s ability to close automatically from any open position is tested through thousands of cycles to safeguard consistent performance over time
- Durability Classification: Doors receive durability ratings based on their ability to maintain performance after repeated use cycles, ranging from light duty to heavy duty applications
- Sound Insulation: For areas requiring acoustic control, doors can be tested for sound reduction capabilities, measured in decibels (dB)
Why Does CE Marking Matter for Commercial Buildings?
CE marking provides the following important benefits for commercial buyers:
1. Legal Compliance
Building regulations across the UK mandate that construction products like steel doors meet specific performance standards. CE marking provides verifiable evidence that doors comply with relevant legislation, performance claims are independently verified, and installation meets regulatory requirements.
Building control officers may reject installations without proper certification, causing costly delays and remediation work. This is especially relevant for fire-rated applications where compliance directly impacts occupant safety.
2. Risk Management and Insurance
Adequately certified doors help manage risk in several ways. Insurance policies often require compliant fire protection measures, documented certification simplifies claims processes if incidents occur, and liability protection is enhanced through demonstrated due diligence.
Insurers offer preferential terms for buildings with properly documented CE-marked fire doors, recognising the reduced risk profile they provide. This can result in premium savings over the lifetime of a building.
How to Verify CE Marking on Steel Doors
Commercial buyers should follow these steps when verifying CE marking:
- Request the Declaration of Performance (DoP) – This legally binding document must include the unique product identification code, intended use(s) of the product, manufacturer details, system of assessment and verification, referenced harmonised standards, declared performance for essential characteristics, and manufacturer’s signature.
- Examine the CE Label – Check that the physical CE marking includes the CE symbol, last two digits of the year when first affixed, manufacturer name and address, product type reference, DoP reference number, applied technical specifications, and essential characteristics with performance values.
- Verify Testing Documentation – Ask for copies of test reports from notified bodies to confirm performance claims, especially for critical characteristics like fire resistance.
- Check Installation Instructions – Check to see that detailed installation instructions are provided and followed precisely to maintain the door’s certified performance.
- Confirm Maintenance Requirements – Obtain written maintenance instructions to ensure the door will continue to perform as certified throughout its service life.
What Changed After Brexit?
The UK’s departure from the European Union introduced important changes to product certification that affect steel door specifications:
UKCA Marking Introduction
The UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking now replaces CE marking for products sold in Great Britain. While CE marking is recognised during the transition period (extended to 2025 for specific products), manufacturers and buyers should prepare for full UKCA implementation.
The UKCA marking follows similar principles to CE marking but relies on UK-based approved bodies rather than EU notified bodies for conformity assessment. This dual system creates additional complexity for project specifications.
Dual Marking Requirements
Some manufacturers now apply CE and UKCA markings to their products to remain compliant across all markets. This approach provides flexibility for projects with international stakeholders while ensuring compliance with UK-specific requirements. It is especially valuable when regulations continue to evolve during the current transition period.
Secure Your Property with Bradbury Group’s Compliant Steel Doors
Ensuring your commercial property has properly certified steel doors provides much-needed protection and compliance benefits. We manufacture a comprehensive range of steel doors that meet and exceed all relevant standards, with full documentation to support your regulatory requirements.
Our technical experts understand the complex relationship between fire performance, security, and other door characteristics. With our M2M2, M2M3, M2M4, and M2M+24 doors, your regulatory demands and practical security needs are met.
Contact us to discuss how our fully certified steel doors can enhance your building’s compliance and protection.