Key takeaway
What This Development Means
Great Britain has updated PPE designated standards covering helmets, gloves, eyewear, visibility clothing and specialist protection. Several older standards begin losing designation on 14 August 2026, with further removals in October, November and December 2027. Manufacturers and importers should check certificates, technical files, declarations and product transition plans immediately now.
Does Loss Of Designation Ban A PPE Product?
No. Loss of a standard's designation removes the associated presumption-of-conformity route for covered requirements; it does not automatically ban every product assessed to that edition. The manufacturer remains responsible for demonstrating compliance with essential health and safety requirements using suitable technical evidence, conformity assessment and documentation for the product concerned.
What Should PPE Suppliers Check Immediately?
Suppliers should map products and certificates to every standard in Notice 0140/26, prioritising removals from 14 August 2026. They should confirm replacement editions, approved-body expectations, test coverage, declarations and technical-file references. Importers and distributors should obtain written transition evidence and avoid assuming a certificate remains suitable without checking its basis.
Source basis: Department for Business and Trade, Notice of Publication 0140/26 for personal protective equipment standards (8 August 2026)
PPE manufacturers, importers and conformity-assessment bodies face a series of transition dates after Great Britain updated the GB PPE designated standards. Notice of Publication 0140/26 was issued on 7 August 2026, and the consolidated list was updated as Version 13 on 8 August.
The notice changes which standards can support a presumption of conformity under the Personal Protective Equipment (Enforcement) Regulations 2018. It does not make standards universally mandatory, but losing designation can remove a streamlined route for demonstrating compliance with essential health and safety requirements.
GB PPE Designated Standards Removal Dates
Several older hearing-protection standards in the EN 352 series and EN 813 for sit harnesses lose designation on 14 August 2026. Older powered-filter standards follow on 8 October, while several fall-protection standards are removed on 16 November 2026.
Other transitions run longer. Older standards for certain helmets, gloves and eyewear remain designated until 16 December 2027. Businesses should use the exact notice and consolidated list because the applicable date depends on the individual standard, not simply the product category.
Products Covered By The Standards Update
The updated GB PPE designated standards span industrial safety helmets, protective gloves, eye protection, high-visibility clothing and specialist mountaineering or ice-hockey equipment. This affects both industrial supply chains and consumer-facing protective products.
Manufacturers should identify every standard cited in technical documentation and declarations of conformity. Importers and distributors need to know whether suppliers have assessed products to replacement editions and whether certificates remain suitable. Test laboratories and approved bodies should align scopes, reports and customer communications with the transition timetable.
GB PPE Designated Standards And Technical Files
Where an older standard loses designation, a compliant product does not automatically become unsafe or unlawful. However, the manufacturer may need another documented method to demonstrate conformity, such as assessment to the replacement standard or direct evidence against essential requirements.
Companies should review certificates, test reports, risk assessments, instructions, declarations and stock plans against the GB PPE designated standards. They should also check product changes and certificate conditions with the relevant approved body. Urgent attention is warranted for 14 August removals, while longer transitions should be built into design, sourcing and retesting schedules rather than left until expiry.
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