The Medical Devices Regulations 2002
UK Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 618 — creates 1 criminal offence.
- Made
- 20 May 2002
- In force from
- 13 June 2002
- Extent
- Not stated
- Subject
- Food, consumer protection, trading standards, product safety and age-restricted sales
- Made under
- Consumer Protection Act 1987, European Communities Act 1972, Finance Act 1973
Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Regulations) — published with the instrument by the department that made it. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
These Regulations contain the legislative measures necessary for the implementation of three European Community Directives: Council Directive 90/385/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to active implantable medical devices, as amended; Council Directive 93/42/EEC concerning medical devices, as amended; and Directive 98/79/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on in vitro diagnostic medical devices (“the Medical Devices Directives”). They also contain the legislative measures necessary for the implementation, in relation to medical devices, of the agreements on mutual recognition between the European Community and Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States of America—and of the Association Agreement between the European Communities, and their Member States, and Hungary. Part I contains introductory provisions. These include an interpretation provision (regulation 2), and provisions both limiting the scope of the application of the Regulations so that they only apply to products covered by the Medical Devices Directives (regulation 3) and delaying the application of provisions of the Regulations in relation to specific categories of medical devices, to take account of the transitional arrangements in the Medical Devices Directives (regulation 4). Part II deals with the marketing of medical devices generally, but not with active implantable medical devices or in vitro diagnostic medical devices. Medical devices covered by this Part must generally meet the essential requirements set out in Annex I to Directive 93/42/EEC (regulations 8 and 9), and must be CE-marked according to the conformity assessment procedures set out in that Directive (regulations 10 and 13). There are exemptions for certain products (regulation 12), and special arrangements for products covered by more than one European Community Directive (regulation 11). There are also specific arrangements for systems and procedure packs, custom-made devices and devices intended for clinical investigations (regulations 14 to 16). Arising out of the conformity assessment procedures, there are specific obligations placed on manufacturers of devices or their authorised representatives (regulation 17), and on the notified bodies involved in carrying out assessments in respect of devices (regulation 18). Manufacturers of certain medical devices, or their authorised representatives, must register with the Secretary of State (regulation 19). Part III deals with active implantable medical devices. Again, these can only be marketed if they meet specified essential requirements, set out in Directive 90/385/EEC (regulations 22 and 23), and are assessed under conformity assessment procedures (regulations 24 and 27). There are special arrangements for devices that come under more than one European Community Directive (regulation 25), and some exemptions from the scheme (regulation 26). Again, there are different procedures for custom-made devices and devices for clinical investigation (regulations 28 and 29). Specific obligations are imposed on manufacturers or their authorised representatives (regulation 30), and on notified bodies carrying out assessments in respect of the devices (regulation 31). Part IV deals with in vitro diagnostic medical devices. These also must conform to the essential requirements set out in Directive 98/79/EC (regulations 33 and 34), and must be CE-marked according to one of the conformity assessment procedures set out in the Directive (regulations 36 and 40). There are again exemptions (regulation 39), and special arrangements for products caught by more than one European Community Directive (regulation 37). There are also special arrangements for devices for performance evaluation (regulation 43). Manufacturers or their authorised representatives have specific obligations relating to the conformity assessment procedures (regulation 41), and generally have to register (regulation 44). Notified bodies also have specific obligations relating to the conformity assessment procedures (regulation 42). Part V contains general provisions relating to the designation of notified bodies within the United Kingdom (regulation 45). Companies may apply to any European Community notified body or third country conformity assessment body (the equivalent body under a Mutual Recognition Agreement) to carry out tasks under a conformity assessment procedure, if the task is within the framework of tasks that the body is designated to carry out (regulation 46). There are also provisions for designating conformity assessment bodies to carry out conformity assessment work for other Parties to Mutual Recognition Agreements (regulation 48). This Part also contains prohibitions on marking products with CE marks or with notified body or conformity assessment body numbers if they are not entitled to bear those markings (regulations 50 and 51). Part VI sets out the fees charged by the Secretary of State in relation to work done pursuant to the Regulations. These include charges in connection with the registration of devices and changes to registration details (regulation 53), charges to UK notified bodies and EC Conformity Assessment Bodies (regulations 54 and 55), and fees payable in connection with clinical investigation notices (regulation 56). There are also arrangements for unpaid fees, waivers, reductions and refunds (regulations 57 and 58). Part VII includes general matters, including the provisions relating to designation of authorised representatives and enforcement (regulations 60 to 64), and requirements to keep a centralised system of records (regulation 65). This Part also contains revocations of provisions that are superseded as a result of the coming into force of these Regulations (regulation 66). A Regulatory Impact Appraisal and a Transposition Note in relation to the implementation of Directives 2000/70/EC and 2001/104/EC (the two most recent Directives amending Council Directive 93/42/EEC), have been placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament, and copies can be obtained from the Medical Devices Agency, Hannibal House, Elephant and Castle, London SE1 6TQ.
Offences created by this instrument
- Contravention of The Medical Devices Regulations 2002 the instrument as a whole · Status not determined · Strict liability
What Parliament said about it
Contributions, debates and written statements mentioning this instrument by name. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.
- Coronavirus Test Device Approval Update
Commons · Written Statements · 18 October 2021 · The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
The UK is developing one of the most rigorous regulatory regimes in the world for coronavirus tests. The CTDA regulations have set high bars of specificity and sensitivity to ensure only high quality tests are available on the UK market. The CTDA regulations have set high bars of specificity and sensitivity to ensure only high quality tests are available on the UK market. The Secretary of State and I have been impressed by the number of applications the regulator has received. This is a testament to the willingness of businesses to rise to the public health challenges set by this pandemic.…
- Coronavirus Test Device Approval
Commons · Written Statements · 24 February 2022 · The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
The UK is developing one of the most rigorous regulatory regimes in the world for coronavirus tests. The coronavirus test device approval regulations set high bars of specificity and sensitivity to ensure only high-quality tests are available on the UK market. I have been impressed by the number of applications that the validation process has received to date. This figure currently stands at 212 applications across all antigen and molecular test devices. This is a testament to the willingness of businesses to rise to the public health challenges set by this pandemic. However, some…
- Draft Medical Devices (Fees Amendment) Regulations 2026
Commons · General Committees · 21 January 2026 · The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Dr Zubir Ahmed)
I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Medical Devices (Fees Amendment) Regulations 2026. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I am grateful for the opportunity to open the debate on these regulations, which were laid before Parliament on 16 December 2025 and are due to come into force on 1 April 2026. The purpose of the regulations is to amend the Medical Devices Regulations 2002 and the Medical Devices (Northern Ireland Protocol) Regulations 2021 to update their fee structure. They do that by introducing a new medical devices registration fee,…
- Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
Lords · Lords Chamber · 13 March 2026 · Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
I hope that noble Lords can listen to what I have to say. The clinical trial processes for approved substances are, of course, an essential part as we move forward. Amendment 703, also tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, would not be workable in its current form. It would require a clinical trial process that would delay implementation. The effect of the amendment is unpredictable as it is unclear whether the intention of proposed new paragraph (d) is to regulate the substances themselves, the approval process or the body responsible for oversight. Amendments 704, 705, 698, 708…
- Software Medical Devices
Commons · Written Statements · 7 July 2026 · The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Preet Kaur Gill)
This Government are committed to ensuring the safe, reliable and effective operation of our critical national infrastructure and our national health service. Under the Medical Devices Regulations 2002, NHS England is currently the legal manufacturer for software medical devices that underpin essential national services, including systems supporting urgent and emergency care such as NHS 111 and 999. These tools play a vital role in delivering care to patients and supporting the day-to-day functioning of our health system. Following the planned abolition of NHS England, responsibility for…
- Health Bill (Thirteenth sitting)
Commons · Public Bill Committees · 7 July 2026 · Karin Smyth
I thank the hon. Lady for her comments. The purpose of the new clauses is to support our life sciences and medicine sector, in order to make that more streamlined. She will be aware of the proposals about the negative and affirmative procedure. If there were particular issues of scrutiny, normal parliamentary rules and processes would apply if Members wanted to raise any particular issue. Question put and agreed to. New clause 91 accordingly read a Second time, and added to the Bill. New Clause 92 Medical Devices Regulations 2002: mutual recognition agreements “(1) The Medical Devices…
- Health Bill (Seventeenth sitting)
Commons · Public Bill Committees · 16 July 2026 · Helen Morgan
May I associate myself with the Minister’s comments and thanks to everybody who has been involved in working on the Bill? I have also enjoyed my time on the Committee, despite the heat. I hope that the Minister remains in place when we come back on Report, because she is a hard-working and thoughtful Minister and it is a pleasure to stand opposite her in the House in my place as my party’s spokesman. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Clause 68 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 69 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 70 Extent Amendment…
How Parliament handled it
Parliament's Statutory Instruments service records procedure from May 2017 onwards, and this instrument predates it. That is a limit of the source, not a statement that nothing happened.
Check the source
- This instrument on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text, including amendments made since
- Other instruments from 2002