Charger Export & Market Entry
A charger that works is not the same as a charger you are allowed to sell. This guide covers the certification, the customs paperwork and the plug strategy for each market you ship into.
Three routes, and you only need one of them
Certifying a new product, entering a specific country, and clearing a shipment that is already booked are three different jobs. Start with the one you are actually doing.
Certify a product
The approvals have to exist before the first retail shipment, and the plug kit has to match the market on the certificate.
Enter one specific country
Each market has its own regulator, its own plug and its own importer obligations. These are the ones we ship into most often.
Clear a shipment
When the goods are already on the water, the questions become classification, duty and documentation rather than product design.
What each market adds on top of the product
The electrical design is rarely the blocker. What changes between markets is the plug, the mark and the paperwork.
Europe
CE marking, the Low Voltage and EMC directives, RoHS, and the plug type used in each country. Germany and France share the same electrical requirements but not the same importer obligations.
North America
FCC for the charger electronics, and a different regulatory posture entirely — the US and Canada are close but not identical, and retail compliance adds its own layer.
Asia-Pacific and the UK
PSE in Japan, KC in Korea, and the RCM mark in Australia. The UK sits outside the EU mark and needs its own conformity route.
The paperwork is where shipments actually stop
Classification and labelling are the two items most likely to delay a first shipment, and both are decided long before the goods move.
Get the HS code right first
A charger is not classified by what it charges but by what it is. Getting the code wrong changes the duty rate, and a correction after the fact is far more expensive than a check before.
Labels that survive a border check
The rated input and output, the model number, the manufacturer or importer, and the certification marks all have to be present and match the certificate.
Duty changes the landed cost
Duty plus freight plus clearance is what the goods actually cost you. A target retail price built on the ex-works price will not survive the first shipment.
What actually decides whether a market is open to you
The plug on the shelf, not on the box
A universal travel kit is convenient for a traveller and unacceptable for a retail listing in most of Europe. The market decides the plug.
Who is the importer of record
Certification follows the entity that places the product on the market. Whether that is you or your distributor changes what you have to do.
Whether the certificate covers the brand shipped
A certificate listing the factory brand does not automatically permit your brand to be printed on the same unit. The paperwork has to match the goods.
The classification code used at export
Export and import classifications have to agree, or the shipment is held for the tariff difference rather than the product.
Where to go from here
Four guides that pick up where this one stops.
Packaging & sustainability
Retail packaging, paper options and label-ready artwork.
Open the guide →OEM & ODM programmes
Choosing the programme level and the branding route.
Open the guide →Quality & inspection
The gates that decide whether the batch passes.
Open the guide →Programme execution
Sampling, shipping and repeat-order mechanics.
Open the guide →Export and market entry questions
Do I need CE marking to sell a charger in the EU?
Yes. A mains charger placed on the EU market needs CE marking, and the technical file has to exist before the declaration is signed. The mark itself is not the requirement — the evidence behind it is.
What HS code do chargers use?
Chargers are normally classified as static converters rather than as phone accessories, which is why the classification often surprises importers. The code has to match the actual device, and the export and import codes have to agree.
Can one charger cover every market?
The electrical design usually can, and that is exactly what a multi-plug platform is for. What changes is the plug head, the label and the certification paperwork — three items that are cheap to change and expensive to get wrong.
Who is responsible for compliance when I rebrand a charger?
The entity placing the product on the market. If your brand is on the label, the obligation lands on you, even when the factory did the testing. Ask for the technical file, not just the certificate.
How long does certification take before a launch?
The testing itself is rarely the longest part; preparing the technical file and the samples usually is. Build the schedule backwards from the launch date and treat certification as a workstream, not a step.
Tell us the market and the launch date
Send the countries you are shipping into, the product or platform, and your launch date. We will come back with the certification work needed, the plug kit and the documentation each market expects.