MDSS News & Views

It is finally official! The Medical Devices (Amendment) (Great Britain) Regulations 2023 - statutory instrument 2023 No. 677 will come into force on July 1, 2023.

You can find the legal text on this link.

The UK government has extended the acceptance of CE marked medical devices on the Great Britain market. This legislation will provide that CE marked medical devices may be placed on the Great Britain market to the following timelines:

• general medical devices compliant with the EU medical devices directive (EU MDD) or EU active implantable medical devices directive (EU AIMDD) with a valid declaration and CE marking can be placed on the Great Britain market up until the sooner of expiry of certificate or 30 June 2028
• in vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVDs) compliant with the EU in vitro diagnostic medical devices directive (EU IVDD) can be placed on the Great Britain market up until the sooner of expiry of certificate or 30 June 2030, and
• general medical devices, including custom-made devices, compliant with the EU medical devices regulation (EU MDR) and IVDs compliant with the EU in vitro diagnostic medical devices regulation (EU IVDR) can be placed on the Great Britain market up until the 30 June 2030.

The legislation provides that you can place self-declared CE marked Class I medical devices on the GB market beyond 30 June 2023 if they are:

• self-declared against EU MDR requirements (until 30 June 2030), or
• self-declared against MDD requirements before 26 May 2021 where Notified Body involvement in their assessment is not required under MDD but is under EU MDR (until 30 June 2028). This includes upclassified devices and reusable surgical instruments.

It also provides that you can place a Class I medical device which has a sterile or measuring function with a valid MDD certificate on the GB market until 30 June 2028.

Class I medical devices and general IVDs under the Directives, for which the conformity assessment under the EU MDD or EU IVDD did not require a notified body, can only be placed on the Great Britain market if the involvement of a notified body would be required under the EU MDR or IVDR (i.e., if it is an upclassified device or a reusable surgical instrument Class I device). 

You can download the timelines for placement of CE marked medical devices on the Great Britain market under the Medical Devices (Amendment) (Great Britain) Regulations 2023 here.

The MHRA has updated their guidance on "Regulating medical devices in the UK" with changes to some key topics: ‘Summary of key requirements for placing a device on the Great Britain market’, ‘Registrations in Great Britain’, ‘UKCA marking’, ‘CE marking and Notified Bodies’, ‘Labelling requirements’ and ‘Regulation of medical devices in Northern Ireland’ Reference Guides.

We want to draw your attention to "Register medical devices to place on the market", which provides a very detailed guidance on "Registration of certain medical devices that have expired/expiring CE certificates" and "Registration of certain medical devices which are EU MDD Class I reusable surgical instruments or EU MDD Class I medical devices upclassified from Class I". 

You can access the guidance document for these specific situations here.

If you find yourself in any of these scenarios, please do not hesitate to reach out to us, and we will provide you with the necessary assistance to navigate this process.

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