CE label guidelines, FAQs and how to fix related rejection codes.

Find out what articles need a CE label and how it must be displayed or shared.

Updated May 17, 2024


What is the CE label?

CE labels are mandatory in order for certain products to be sold within Europe. The label guarantees compliance with relevant health and safety standards. If you want to sell your affected product in Europe, it needs this label to prove it's safe and up to standard. The CE label is designed in the same style as shown in the following image:

Why is this so important?

The CE label is essential because it certifies that a product meets EU safety, health, and environmental standards. It allows products to be sold freely within the European Economic Area (EEA), acting as a symbol of quality and reliability, thus increasing consumer and retailer confidence. For many assortment categories, the CE label is a legal requirement, and non-compliance can result in legal penalties. Additionally, adhering to CE standards provides liability protection for manufacturers and importers.

What are the guidelines for images of CE labels?

When articles that require a CE label are onboarded to be sold on Zalando, an image that displays the CE label and together with the product must be provided. 

These images should be Zalando standard quality for inclusion on your product detail page (PDP). However, if Zalando standard level images are unavailable, Zalando can accept an image that does not meet our image standards but will be inspected by our content team and stored on our database, not publicly displayed.

Unlike other Zalando image requirements, image quality for the CE label is not as important, because it only serves as a proof that the article complies with the requisite health and safety standards.

For the image of the CE label to be included as part of the standard range of images on the PDP, the quality of the image and the display of the article must meet Zalando standards, as in the following examples:

What do I do if the CE label is not on the article?

Not every article has the CE label directly on it. In such cases, you will usually find it directly on the packaging or on a leaflet with or in the article. Please ensure that the packaging is displayed in a single image together with the article, so that we can make sure the CE label is present and belongs to the article. Examples can be also found in our Image guidelines for accessories, electronics and toys.

Good to know

Please be aware that fake CE labels are widespread. Using fake CE labels can lead to serious legal issues. At Zalando, we reserve the right to reject any articles with fake CE labels, even if the articles initially seem compliant. Your adherence to genuine standards is crucial for maintaining safety and compliance. See below for example images.

Official European conformance CE Label

Fake CE label

Which assortment requires a CE label?

If your article requires a CE label and you wish to sell the affected article on Zalando, you must upload an image of the CE label to the article, together with the regular article images. The image itself will not be used on the product detail page (PDP), but is for internal use only. Please position the article so that the CE label of the article is visible together with the article itself. The article should be recognisable together with the CE label, as shown in the table below.

The assortment that must include a CE label

Assortment

Affected product category

Example of CE label

Battery powered watches

Smart Watches

Quartz Watches

Pulse Watches

Electronic devices

All articles with batteries

Smart accessories

Activity trackers

Heart rate monitors

Headphones

Glasses

Sunglasses

Glasses with UV protection

Ski goggles

Swimming goggles

Bicycle goggles

Protective gear

Protective gloves

Protective helmets

Shin pads

Toys

All Toys

Assortment that must only have CE label under certain conditions:

Assortment

Affected product category

All articles that have a toy added as a gimmick (the label only needs to be on the toy itself)

E.g. Statue/figure/plush tags attached to the zipper of a backpack, to crayons etc.

All articles with a battery powered function

E.g. Flashing shoes, flashing sweaters

Gloves if they include some kind of protection and are described as ‘protective’

E.g. Goalkeeper gloves

All articles that have UV protection

E.g. Swimwear, hats, clothes that mention UV protection in attributes

Important

Ensure that the CE label and the article are visible and recognisable together in one image.

Can I submit a separate image of the CE label?

The example in the image below is not allowed, because it is not clear if the article actually has the label, where the label can be found or if it was simply generated:

My article got rejected with rejection code ACSREJ_258 or ACSREJ_278 - how do I resolve them?

ACSREJ_258: Image: Other: CE label image missing

This article was rejected, because the image of the CE label was not submitted. Please include an image of the CE label.

ACSREJ_278: Image: CE label image non-compliant

The image does not suffice to validate the CE label of the article: For example, the CE label and the article are not recognisable together in one image or the authenticity of the image cannot be verified. Please note that there might be other cases where it's uncertain whether a CE label is present.

Steps to take to avoid these rejections

Please make sure your articles CE label image complies with our guidelines outlined in the section above and check if your article fulfils the following requirements:

  1. Does your article need a CE label? Please refer to the assortment list above to verify this.

  2. Are the article and the label clearly visible?

  3. Is the CE label trustworthy and does the product comply with the regulations of the European Economic Area (EEA)?

How to resolve these rejections

There are two different ways to resolve the rejection status code. Please make sure you first try the step using zDirect and only try to contact Partner Care if this step is unsuccessful.

With zDirect:

If you have used the zDirect UI for article creation, you can use the ‘Image Link’ field to submit the CE label image to us. To ensure effective processing, follow these steps:

  1. Check that the CE label image complies with our guidelines.

  2. Upload the CE label image in zDirect directly to the rejected variant. How to deal with an rejected article and how to submit images afterwards is explained here.

With Partner Care support:

If the first step is unsuccessful, you can contact Partner Care via our support form and use the request topic: Article Onboarding and request type: ACSREJ.