that have been nominated by a member state (according to an accreditation procedure) and have been notified by the European Commission. These notified bodies act as Independent Inspection organizations and carry out the procedures as listed in the relevant Modules applied as stated by the relevant directives and regulations. A manufacturer can choose any notified body (notified for the certain directive or regulation and relevant Modules) in any Member State of the European Union. In reality, the self-certification process consists of the following stages: Stage 1: Identify the applicable norm(s) The first step is to identify whether the product needs to bear CE marking or not. Not all products are required to bear CE marking, only the products that fall within the scope of at least one of the sectoral norms (directives and regulations) requiring CE marking. There are more than 20 sectoral product norms requiring CE marking covering, but not limited to, products such as electrical equipment, machines, medical devices, toys, pressure equipment, PPE, wireless devices and construction products. Identifying which norm(s) may be applicable, as there may be more than one, involves a simple exercise of reading the scope of each norm to establish which apply to the product (Such as the "Low Voltage Directive," 2014/35/EU). If the product does not fall within the scope of any of the sectoral norm, then the product does not need to bear CE marking (and, indeed, must not bear CE marking). Stage 2: Identify the applicable requirements of the norm(s) Each norm has slightly different methods of demonstrating conformity depending on the classification of the product and its intended use. Every Directive or Regulation has a number of 'essential requirements' that the product has to meet before being placed on the market. The best way to demonstrate that these essential requirements have been met is by meeting the requirements of an applicable 'harmonised standard,’ which offer a presumption of conformity to the essential requirements, although the use of standards usually remains voluntary. Harmonised standards can be identified by searching the 'Official Journal' on the European Commission's website, or by visiting the New Approach website established by the European Commission and EFTA with the European Standardisation Organisations. Stage 3: Identify an appropriate route to conformity The process is not always a self-declaration process, there are various 'attestation routes' to conformity depending on the Directive or Regulation and classification of the product. Many