GS certification

CE certification

Certification nature

Voluntary certification

Compulsory certification

Applicable regulations

Testing in accordance with German safety regulations

Testing using EU standards

Issuing Authority

An independent third party authorized by the German government conducts testing and issues GS mark certificates

CE can be self declared on the premise of having complete technical documents (including test reports)

Certificate annual fee

Annual fee must be paid

No annual fee required

Factory audit

The application requires factory audit and the factory needs annual audit after obtaining the certificate

No factory audit required

Re obtain certification

After the expiration of the 5-year validity period of GS certification, the product needs to be retested and reapplied for

One time authentication with no time limit

Market awareness

Authorized testing units are responsible for issuing the GS logo, which has high credibility and market acceptance

The factory's self declaration of product conformity has low credibility and market acceptance