Market surveillance authority

A national authority designated by a Member State to monitor and enforce the compliance of products with digital elements with the CRA on the market. Market surveillance authorities can request technical documentation, carry out audits and testing, and order corrective measures or market withdrawal for non-compliant products.

Source citations

Regulation text

Article 3(33) of Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 defines market surveillance authority as:

"an authority as defined in Article 3, point (26), of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020"

Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (the Market Surveillance Regulation) defines a market surveillance authority as a national authority designated to carry out market surveillance.

How CRA market surveillance works

Proactive market surveillance (Art. 53)

  • Authorities may carry out spot checks, request documentation, purchase test samples, and conduct technical testing
  • Where possible, authorities should use non-destructive methods

Powers on detection of non-compliance (Arts. 55–62)

  1. Require the manufacturer to bring the product into compliance (corrective action)
  2. Require the manufacturer to withdraw the product from the market
  3. Prohibit or restrict making the product available
  4. Require recall of products already supplied to users
  5. Impose financial penalties (Art. 64)

Information and documentation requests

Market surveillance authorities may request, among other things:

  • Technical documentation and EU DoC
  • SBOM (on reasoned request)
  • Test reports from the manufacturer or notified body
  • Supply chain traceability records (name/address of supplier and customer, Art. 23)

Cross-border cooperation

  • The European Market Surveillance Network (AMSN) coordinates market surveillance activities across Member States
  • ENISA supports authorities by maintaining the EU vulnerability database and the joint notification platform

Confidentiality

Information obtained during market surveillance is subject to confidentiality obligations and the authorities must respect professional secrecy (Art. 55(2)).

Market surveillance authority — CRA Compliance Hub