This advice is provided based on my experiences and is not meant to be legal advice.

Just wanted to clarify some information that I have read in here. Hopefully this will help at least one person out there to avoid making mistakes. I have worked at a test lab for six years and in industry doing compliance for over eight years. I have been on both sides of the testing.

Currently to CE mark a product you will need to meet ALL applicable directives a stated by ponthirmike. Previously you could just meet the EMC directive for instance and apply the CE mark. (I have tried to find the date of this transition and will post it here once I do.)

For the Low Voltage Directive (LVD) there are a just a few standards that cover a majority of products. Some of these standards have a part 2 (especially medical) which may apply specifically to your product so don't neglect to check any part two standards.

EN 60335-1 for Household Equipment
EN 60950-1 for Information Technology Equipment
EN 60601-1 for Medical Equipment
EN 60065-1 for Audio Visual Equipment

Note: these standards are "harmonized" with US and Canadian equivalents i.e. UL 60950-1, so you can do the testing once with a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) with the country specific deviations and obtain approval for US, CAN, and EU. If you need more counties investigate obtaining a CB scheme approval at the same time.

Complete list http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/polic...s/low-voltage/

For EMC Directive standards are listed here:http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/polic...y/index_en.htm

If you are doing testing for the EMC directive, for a little bit extra the labs should be able to do your FCC Part 15, and Industry Canada testing at the same time. If you have a radio transmitter in your product, seek the advice of a testing lab if you are not familiar with the requirements.

If you do not know which standards to use contact a local lab. Ask for a quote to meet the applicable directives for your device. You may want to get a quote from a few labs to make sure they agree on the testing that needs to be done. If you don't agree work with the lab ask for explanations.

Intertek (ETL), UL, and CSA have labs all over. If you are in Europe, TUV, Semko, Nemko, Demko etc. A helpful lab I have used is ACS ACStestlab.com they do EMC testing and are an agent for some NRTLs.

Directives are free to view and download. However, the standards that you must comply with to meet the directives cost money. I agree these should be provided free or at cost to manufacturers, but usually a couple of hundred dollars spent on standards could save thousands (or more) if you avoid costly redesigns. Having the applicable standards that apply to your products is important to have during the design phase. Safety standards contain information like spacings required between mains voltage parts and low voltage parts, temperature limits, protection requirements are all included. If you make a mistake during your initial design, delays re-spinning a board or changing your enclosure material because you chose the wrong flammability of plastic could cost a lot in sales in the time you are making these changes.

Most labs will allow you to come in and view their copy of standards especially if they expect you to bring your business to them.