Declarations of Performance & Certificates of Conformity

If you buy or sell aggregates, sand, ready-mix concrete or other bulk building materials in the UK, two documents come up again and again: the Declaration of Performance (DoP) and the Certificate of Conformity. They sound interchangeable but are not. This guide explains what each one is, the law behind them, and — practically — who is responsible for producing and keeping them.

What a Declaration of Performance is

A Declaration of Performance (DoP) is a formal statement, issued by the manufacturer of a construction product, declaring how that product performs against the essential characteristics set by its standard — for an aggregate that means things like size, grading, resistance to fragmentation and frost resistance.

In Great Britain it is required under the Construction Products Regulations 2013 (the assimilated form of EU Regulation 305/2011, usually shortened to “CPR”). Wherever a product is covered by a designated standard (the GB term for what the EU calls a harmonised standard), the manufacturer must draw up a DoP before placing it on the market, and may not apply a CE or UKCA marking without one.

The key word is manufacturer. A DoP is issued under the manufacturer’s sole responsibility — for aggregates that is the quarry or production plant, not the merchant reselling the material. It describes the product type, so one DoP covers every load of that product, not each delivery.

What’s on a DoP

The content is set by CPR Annex III. A complete declaration carries:

• A unique identification code for the product type
• The intended use(s), as defined by the standard (e.g. “aggregates for concrete”)
• The manufacturer’s name and contact address
• The system of assessment and verification of constancy of performance (AVCP) — System 2+ for most aggregates
• The designated/harmonised standard, and the Approved or Notified Body that issued the factory production control certificate
• A table of declared performance: each essential characteristic and its value, class, or “NPD” (No Performance Determined)
• A signed statement that performance conforms to what is declared, under the manufacturer’s sole responsibility

What a Certificate of Conformity is

A Certificate of Conformity is the document that ties a specific delivery back to the product’s DoP. Where the DoP describes the product type in general, the certificate confirms that the load that actually turned up — a particular batch, a weighbridge quantity, on a given date — corresponds to that declaration.

This is what a site engineer or building control officer typically asks for on delivery: not just “does this product have a DoP?” but “can you show the material I received conforms to it?”. It is a commercial and contractual assurance rather than a statutory instrument in its own right — its authority comes from the DoP it references.

On Loadbase, this certificate is generated automatically from the delivery record once the order is marked delivered: it cites each material’s DoP, the plant/batch reference the driver recorded, and the weighbridge quantity.

DoP, FPC certificate, batch test certificate — how they differ

Three documents get muddled together. They are distinct, and only one of them is the statutory declaration. The table below is the quick way to keep them straight.

CE or UKCA? The GB position in 2026

This is the question that causes the most confusion, so to be precise: for construction products, CE marking is still accepted in Great Britain. The previously legislated deadline to switch to UKCA was revoked, and CE recognition for construction products has been extended indefinitely while the government reforms the wider regime. UKCA is available but not mandatory for construction products.

In practice that means a supplier may lawfully place a CE-marked or a UKCA-marked construction product on the GB market, and a valid DoP can sit behind either mark. Northern Ireland follows EU rules, where CE (and, where relevant, UKNI) marking applies.

Because the regime is in transition, treat the marking as a fact to record rather than a hurdle to enforce — do not reject a compliant supplier for holding CE rather than UKCA. This reflects the position as at the review date below; check the primary sources if you are relying on it for a specific decision.

Which standards apply to aggregates

The designated standard on the DoP tells you what the product is assessed against. The common ones in this trade are:

• BS EN 12620 — aggregates for concrete
• BS EN 13242 — aggregates for unbound and hydraulically bound materials (sub-base, Type 1)
• BS EN 13043 — aggregates for bituminous mixtures (asphalt)
• BS EN 13139 — aggregates for mortar
• BS EN 13383 — armourstone

Aggregates are almost always assessed under AVCP System 2+, which is why a valid DoP references an Approved/Notified Body and its factory production control certificate.

How long to keep them

Under the CPR, the manufacturer must keep the DoP and its supporting technical documentation for 10 years after the product is placed on the market (a longer period can apply to products with a safety-critical role). Practically, a supplier should be able to hand over the current DoP for any product they sell, on request, without delay.

Buyers do not have the same statutory retention duty for the DoP, but keeping the DoP and the delivery’s Certificate of Conformity with your project records is standard practice — it is the evidence trail if the material is ever queried by building control, an engineer, or a client.

Who needs to do what

If you are a supplier: obtain the DoP from your production source (or issue it yourself if you are the manufacturer), publish one per product you sell, and be ready to provide a Certificate of Conformity for a delivery when asked. Having declarations on file is increasingly a condition of winning spec-led and public-sector work.

If you are a buyer: ask for the DoP for the product before you order if the specification demands it, and ask for the Certificate of Conformity on or after delivery. Check the declared performance matches your specification — for example the correct grading and, for sub-base, the right BS EN 13242 characteristics.

How Loadbase handles this

We built the paperwork into the order rather than leaving it to a phone call. A supplier authors a Declaration of Performance once per listing, mirroring the CPR Annex III fields. When a delivery is completed, the driver records the plant/batch reference alongside the weighbridge quantity, and a Certificate of Conformity is generated from that record — both documents then sit on the buyer’s order, ready to view or print.

To be clear about our role: Loadbase structures, hosts and presents these documents. We do not certify the underlying materials — a Declaration of Performance is always issued under the manufacturer’s own responsibility, and the Certificate of Conformity reflects the supplier’s delivery record. That division is deliberate, and it is why the documents carry the supplier’s identity, not ours.

Frequently asked

Is a Declaration of Performance a legal requirement?

Yes. In Great Britain, where a construction product is covered by a designated standard, the manufacturer must draw up a DoP under the Construction Products Regulations 2013 before placing it on the market, and cannot CE or UKCA mark it without one.

What’s the difference between a DoP and a Certificate of Conformity?

The DoP is the manufacturer’s statutory declaration about the product type in general. The Certificate of Conformity ties a specific delivery — a batch and quantity on a date — back to that DoP. The DoP is the legal instrument; the certificate is the delivery-level assurance that references it.

Do I need UKCA marking, or is CE still valid in the UK?

For construction products, CE marking is still accepted in Great Britain and UKCA is not mandatory — the switch-over deadline was revoked and CE recognition extended indefinitely. Either mark, backed by a valid DoP, is acceptable in GB. Northern Ireland follows EU rules (CE, and UKNI where relevant).

Is a batch test certificate the same as a DoP?

No. A batch or test certificate (such as a BS EN 10204 2.1 or 2.2 certificate) records that a specific batch met stated test values. It is a useful quality record but is not a substitute for the statutory Declaration of Performance.

Who should I ask for these documents?

Ask your supplier. They obtain the DoP from the production source (or issue it themselves if they manufacture), and can provide a Certificate of Conformity for your delivery. On Loadbase both are attached to the order automatically where the supplier has published a declaration.