ALIENOR CERTIFICATION Ltd is part of a group whose parent company is the CRITT SPORT LOISIRS, a non-profit association under the law of 1901.

In 1988, the CRITT SPORT LOISIRS was created by the will of the public authorities and university research in order to develop new industrial activities by participating in the creation of innovative products. The aim was therefore to act as an interface between research, businesses and public institutions.

Established since 1996 in Châtellerault, France, CRITT SPORT LOISIRS has continued to evolve and with its tests laboratories, ISO/IEC 17025 accredited by COFRAC, CRITT SPORT LOISIRS over time became a European Notified Body under the Directive 89/686/EC relating to Personal Protective Equipment.

In 2016, following the repeal of this directive in favour of the new EU Regulation 2016/425, the European rules for becoming a Notified Body evolved. The accreditation to the ISO/IEC 17065 standard was necessary, to ensure impartiality, therefore its certification branch was detached and its first subsidiary and Notified Body ALIÉNOR CERTIFICATION was created in 2017, under EU Regulation 2016/425 on Personal Protective Equipment.

Since the implementation of BREXIT on January 2021, the United Kingdom (England, Wales and Scotland) has officially left the EU.

As a result, the UKCA marking replaces the CE marking for products placed on the market in England, Wales and Scotland. From January 2023, compliance with the UKCA assessment requirements and the UKCA marking will be mandatory in England, Wales and Scotland (with some recently published extensions until 2024).

The rules for obtaining the UKCA marking are the same as for the CE marking, i.e. the current modules B (conformity of equipment to standards) and C2/D (verification of manufactured PPE).

For this, the manufacturer will need to apply for a new UKCA certificate from a UK Approved Body if they want to place goods in the United Kingdom.

In this context, given the strong demand from our customers for UKCA marking, ALIÉNOR CERTIFICATION decided to open a subsidiary in London, UK having become an Approved Body no. 8523 in 2023.