The Declaration of Conformity (also known as 'DoC') is a legal document wherein a manufacturer formally declares the product's conformity with the essential requirements of the relevant EU CE directives and regulations.
Any product falling within the scope of at least one of the CE directives and regulations must have a Declaration of Conformity. However, if a product is covered by several CE directives/regulations, only a single Declaration of Conformity needs to be drawn up.
The Declaration of Conformity is drawn up in one of the EU's official languages after the technical file is assembled. A copy of it is added to the technical file, which is then made available to the national market authorities. If the Declaration of Conformity isn't available or is invalid, the market authorities have the right to recall the product, issue a monetary fine and send the person who placed the non-compliant product on the market to prison.
The Declaration of Conformity must be kept for at least ten years from the date of placing the last product unit on the EU market unless the relevant directives and regulations provide for any other duration.