Authorised representative
A natural or legal person established within the European Union who has received a written mandate from a manufacturer to act on the manufacturer's behalf in relation to specified tasks under the CRA. An authorised representative's minimum statutory tasks include keeping the EU DoC and technical documentation available, providing conformity information on request, and cooperating with market surveillance.
Source citations
Regulation text
Article 3(15) of Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 defines an authorised representative as:
"a natural or legal person established within the Union who has received a written mandate from a manufacturer to act on its behalf in relation to specified tasks".
Key points
- An authorised representative (AR) must be EU-established — a non-EU entity cannot be an AR
- The appointment is optional (Art. 18(1) uses "may") but practically important for non-EU manufacturers who need a named EU contact for market surveillance authorities
- Core design, development, production, and vulnerability handling obligations (Art. 13(1)–(11), 13(12) first subparagraph, 13(14)) cannot be delegated to the AR — they remain with the manufacturer
- The mandate must expressly grant the minimum statutory tasks: (a) keeping EU DoC and technical documentation available for ≥10 years; (b) providing conformity information on request; and (c) cooperating on corrective measures
- The AR must provide a copy of the mandate to market surveillance authorities upon request