Misleading CE marking which implied that a lock was suitable for fire or smoke resisting doors has been withdrawn following a government department investigation.

The lock, manufactured in China, didn’t claimed to be suitable for fire doors but nevertheless carried the CE mark. Since only locks intended for use on fire/smoke resisting doors are regulated under the Construction Products Directive, this was potentially misleading.

Michael Skelding, secretary of the Door & Hardware Federation which took up the case with the Communities and Local Government (CLG) department, said:

"The relevant standard, EN 12209, actually covers locks for all applications, but the CE marking instructions within it are aimed exclusively at locks intended for use on fire/smoke doors - that is, where there is a safety risk to life rather than a risk to, say, property.

"The standards, however, may not be limited as to the end use and this can result in a situation where the product falls within the scope of the standard, but outside the scope of the mandate, as it did in this case."

The Door & Hardware Federation has now been told by CLG that the UK notified body had been contacted by UKAS and had agreed to withdraw the offending certification.

Door & Hardware Federation