Mutual recognition ensures market access for products that are not subject to EU harmonisation. It guarantees that any product lawfully sold in one EU country can be sold in another. This is possible even if the product does not fully comply with the technical rules of the other country.

​1. If an EU-wide specifications exist, your product must comply with them
2. Where no specifications exist, your product must only comply with the rules valid in your country

​EU-wide standards and technical specifications exist for a number of product categories. Where EU specifications exist for your product(s), your products must comply with them before you can trade them freely in the EU.

Where no EU-wide specifications exist, different specifications might apply in different EU countries. In such cases, you must onlycomply with the rules valid in your country. Other countries cannot forbid the sale of your product nor oblige you to modify it or do additional testing, provided you can prove that your products fulfil all the technical and quality requirements in your own country and offer a similar level of safety: this is the principle of mutual recognition.

If your products are not recognised in another country, you can call on EU Commission help and advice services.

Indicative list of products not subject to EU-wide standards and specifications

In particular, national rules might differ on requirements relating to:

• size/dimensions
• weight
• composition
• labelling
• packaging
• testing

​To find out which technical rules apply to specific products in each Member State or the details of competent authorities within that Member State you can consult the list of Product Contact Points.

If you sell to other businesses - and not to final consumers - there is no obligation to use a given language for your products. For sales to final consumers, you might be obliged to use the national language(s) of the country you want to export to.
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If your products pose a risk to the public interest, you might not be allowed to export them freely. Your products could be forbidden if the country you want to export to can prove that its own technical requirements are essential or mandatory, and your products are not equivalent in terms of the level of safety sought.