This article provides manufacturers with information on the Moroccan Cم (CMIM) mark and lists some digital sources where they can stay updated with the changes in the local legislation.
I. What is the Cم (CMIM) mark?
The Cم (CMIM) mark certifies the regulatory conformity of products offered for sale on the market in Morocco. The certification marking is mainly used to ensure the safety of industrial goods on the Moroccan market. Its operative texts set out the legal requirements for those products.
Once obtained, the CMIM mark approval doesn’t need to be renewed as long as the following two conditions are met:
- the company (e.g. manufacturer) has the appropriate means and controls in place to ensure ongoing conformity with the applicable regulations
- the relevant regulations allow for it and don’t state otherwise.
II. What is the scope of the CMIM mark?
The scope of the Cم (CMIM) mark includes industrial products covered by Law 24-09 and some specific technical regulations. Overall, there are three product groups that are concerned by this certification marking and are the subject of certain Ministerial Orders:
- electrical equipment intended for use within certain low voltage limits (Decree No. 2573-14)
- electrical products subject to electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) testing (Decree No 2574-14)
- and toys (Decree 2575-14).
Please note that not all electrical products and toys should comply with the Cم mark regulations. So please check the scope of application of the relevant Ministerial Order before placing the logo on your product.
Exclusions in the regulations can be found in, as follows:
- Article 3 of the Ministerial Order relating to Electromagnetic Compatibility of Electrical Equipment.
- Appendix 1 of the Ministerial Order concerning products designed to be used within certain low voltage limits,
- Annexe 1 of the Ministerial Order on toy safety.
These orders are identical to the following European directives – Low Voltage Directive, EMC Directive, and Toy Safety Directive.
III. What are the documentation requirements?
You must compile a technical file and create a Declaration of Conformity to comply with the Moroccan regulations and affix the Cم (CMIM) mark to your products.
The technical documentation must show that all relevant conformity assessments have been carried out successfully and provide information about the product itself. In this regard, the documentation should include at least the following information:
- A general description of the product in question
- Conceptual product design
- Manufacturing drawings and schemes of safety-critical components, circuits and sub-assemblies
- A list of all components and materials used
- Descriptions and explanations required for the understanding of the above-stated drawings and schemes and the operation of the product
- A list of the harmonised (EN) standards applied in full or in part
- Descriptions of the solutions used to meet the safety objectives of the Ministerial Order if harmonised standards haven’t been applied
- Results of any design calculations made and examinations carried out.
Although not obligatory, it’s recommended that you include a photo of the product in the technical file. Otherwise, you need to use other appropriate means allowing the product’s identification.
As mentioned above, you can apply EN standards to prove conformity. That’s because the Moroccan standards (NM) are often identical to the EU harmonised standards (EN). Please note that the Declaration of Conformity should mention the NM standards instead of the EN standards. Additionally, a cross-reference table of the EN/NM standards should be added to the technical documentation. If you don’t fulfil the latter condition, ensure that the technical documentation shows the product’s conformity with the Moroccan standards. For references to the NM standards, check the Moroccan institute of standardisation (IMANOR).
The technical documentation must be written in either Arabic, French or English, while the Declaration of Conformity must be in Arabic or French. All information meant for end-users (e.g. instructions for use) must be in Arabic, at a minimum, according to Article 31 of Law 24-09.
IV. Who can affix the Cم (CMIM) mark to a product?
From January 2020, the responsibility of placing the Cم (CMIM) mark on a product’s surface is solely given to the manufacturer. This means that products must be fully compliant and adequately labelled before entering Morocco.
Until December 31st, 2019, importers could also label products as long as they were authorised to do so.
V. How to affix the Cم (CMIM) mark to products?
When affixing the CMIM mark to products, you must comply with the following label requirements:
- The product marking must be displayed in a visible, legible and indelible way on the product’s surface
- It should include the initials (C) and (م) and respect the conditions of form, appearance and presentation defined in the specific technical regulation.
- No other markings should affect the visibility, legibility or meaning of the Cم (CMIM) mark
- The vertical dimension of the letter initial “C” must be no less than 6 mm.
- The logo must be displayed on the product’s surface. Where the nature of the product doesn’t allow for that, the Cم (CMIM) mark may be placed on the packaging and in the accompanying documents.
VI. Can you use CE marking instead of the Cم mark?
The short answer is “No, you cannot”.
CE marking is a European product certification marking that is mandatory for various products sold on the EU single market, and it cannot replace the Moroccan Cم mark. Thus, your products need to be Cم mark compliant to be sold on the market in Morocco.
However, please note that if your goods are already CE compliant, the Moroccan regulatory process is simplified. In such a case, the following should be done:
- perform a study to identify the Moroccan regulations and standards that correspond to the European regulations and EN standards relevant to your product,
- ensure compliance with any requirements that aren’t covered by the European legislation.
VII. Where to check for regulatory updates?
For information on recent changes in product regulations and safety standards, you can check the following sources:
- Moroccan Institute of Standardisation (IMANOR) – Information on recent updates and changes in national standards, an up-to-date list of NM standards and other information concerning compliance with technical requirements for products.
- Kingdom of Morocco: Ministry of Industry & Trade – Information on the Moroccan product regulatory framework, market surveillance procedures and conformity assessment labs for product evaluation.
- Moroccan Customs & Excise Administration – Information on import and export procedures, prerequisites for customs clearance, prohibited imports, customs clearance procedures and documentation control.
