Wetsuits, snorkels and watersports equipment

• Regulation (EU) 2016/425 — PPE for diving and buoyancy equipment
• Regulation (EU) 2023/988 — GPSR
• Directive 2013/53/EU for craft over 2.5 metres
• Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 — REACH

Who has to appoint one

Manufacturers and sellers outside the Union placing watersports equipment on the EU market. Diving regulators, buoyancy compensators and dry suits are Category III PPE requiring notified body involvement; wetsuits and snorkels are generally consumer products.

Thresholds and exemptions

Category III applies to equipment protecting against drowning or against hazardous atmospheres, which covers most scuba equipment.

What must appear on the label

For PPE: CE marking with the notified body number, the standard reference and the performance data. For consumer items: manufacturer and responsible person details, size and use warnings, and for snorkels the warnings about length and breathing resistance.

Marketplace fields

Marketplaces remove scuba equipment lacking a notified body number, and children's snorkelling sets are checked for choking and entrapment hazards.

Documentation you must hold

EU declaration of conformity, technical documentation, EU type-examination certificate for Category III equipment with production surveillance, and REACH evidence for neoprene and coatings.

Standards and testing

EN 250 for diving apparatus, EN 1809 for buoyancy compensators, EN 14225 for diving suits, EN 1972 for snorkels including breathing resistance and length limits, and material testing under REACH.

Language requirements

Instructions and safety warnings in the language of each member state of sale, which for diving equipment is essential given the consequences of misuse.

When it applies

Before placing on the market. Type-examination certificates last five years maximum.

How long records are kept

Ten years.

What happens if you do not comply

Withdrawal and Safety Gate alerts, with diving equipment treated as high risk. Injuries or deaths involving uncertified equipment lead to prosecution.

Who enforces it

Market surveillance authorities, notified bodies and customs.

Where the boundary lies

A paddle board under 2.5 metres is a consumer product; longer inflatable craft fall under the Recreational Craft Directive. Children's snorkels have specific length and diameter limits precisely because dead space causes carbon dioxide build-up.

Questions we are asked

Do wetsuits need CE marking?

Ordinary surfing wetsuits are consumer products. Diving suits designed to protect against cold at depth are PPE with type examination.

Are snorkels regulated?

EN 1972 sets limits on length, internal volume and breathing resistance, and children's snorkels have stricter parameters.