Flooring, tiles and surface coverings

• Regulation (EU) 2024/3110 — Construction Products
• Regulation (EU) 2023/988 — GPSR
• Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 — REACH
• Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 during transition

Who has to appoint one

Manufacturers outside the Union placing flooring on the EU market. Products covered by a harmonised standard require a declaration of performance with the reaction to fire class and, for some, formaldehyde emission class.

Thresholds and exemptions

Coverage depends on whether a harmonised standard applies to the product type. Loose rugs and mats are consumer products under GPSR rather than construction products.

What must appear on the label

CE marking with the declaration of performance reference where a harmonised standard applies, the declared reaction to fire class, formaldehyde emission class where relevant, manufacturer and EU representative details, and batch identification.

Marketplace fields

Distributors and specifiers require the declaration of performance, and national rules on indoor emissions — notably in France, Germany and Belgium — impose additional labelling and limits.

Documentation you must hold

Declaration of performance, technical documentation, initial type testing, factory production control, and REACH evidence for plasticisers in vinyl products and for flame retardants.

Standards and testing

EN 13501-1 for reaction to fire classification, EN 14041 for resilient, textile and laminate floorings, formaldehyde emission testing to the applicable class, and phthalate screening for vinyl.

Language requirements

The declaration of performance and installation instructions in the language required by the member state.

When it applies

Before placing on the market.

How long records are kept

Ten years.

What happens if you do not comply

Prohibition of sale and refusal by building control. Indoor emission limits are enforced nationally and have removed products from the French market in particular.

Who enforces it

Market surveillance authorities, building control and national indoor air quality authorities.

Where the boundary lies

Vinyl flooring is the recurring REACH issue because of plasticisers, and several member states operate indoor emission labelling schemes that go beyond the harmonised standard. A rug is a consumer product; the same material fitted as a floor covering is a construction product.

Questions we are asked

Do rugs need a declaration of performance?

Loose rugs are consumer products under GPSR. Fitted floor coverings within a harmonised standard need a declaration of performance.

What is the French emission label?

A national indoor air emission classification from A+ to C that must appear on the product, in addition to the EU requirements.