AFNOR e-liquid | who holds the French certification

The AFNOR logo turns up on product pages, retailer banners and bottle labels across the French vaping market. Seen that often, it looks like a mark shared by most liquid makers. The official list kept by AFNOR Certification tells a different story. Who actually produces an AFNOR e-liquid in 2026, in which formats, and what does such a short list reveal about the market behind it?

AFNOR e-liquid, six certified makers in March 2026

An AFNOR e-liquid, in the strict sense, is a product that appears on the list of certified products kept by AFNOR Certification, the certification arm of the French standards body, under the reference CDP001. In its edition dated 24 March 2026, that 46-page document names only six companies holding the right to use the NF mark, plus two distributors.

The six makers are VDLV in Cestas, D’Lice in Brive-la-Gaillarde, The Fuu in Paris, Liquidarom Distribution in Brignoles, Tevap in Agen and Cefop in Boissy-Saint-Léger. The two distributors are Le Petit Vapoteur, based in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, and Vapostore, based in Collégien. Every one of them is registered in France.

The picture is clear. Certification covers a small circle of French manufacturers, while the AFNOR name travels much further, on retail pages that do not always separate a certified product from one merely described as meeting the standard.

A voluntary scheme that came before the law

Reading the list properly means placing it on a timeline. Certification was never a legal duty. It came ahead of much of today’s framework and it remains optional.

A series of standards dating back to 2015

The XP D90-300 series dates from March 2015 for its first two parts, covering electronic cigarettes and e-liquids, and from July 2016 for the third, on emissions. Revised in January 2022, it is still listed as current by AFNOR’s standards shop. For a maker, claiming to follow it involves no outside checks, while appearing on the list means passing the certification checks.

Certification and European law

AFNOR Certification describes its scheme as the world’s first certification for e-liquids. It links it to the European rules on tobacco products, written into French law in May 2016, which cap nicotine refill bottles at 10 ml and nicotine strength at 20 mg per ml.

Makers joined gradually. The Fuu states on its own blog that it gained certification in 2018, for part of its ranges only.

What the CDP001 list shows, line by line

The list reads like a market survey. Each line pairs a holder with a brand, a product reference, an indicative PG/VG ratio, nicotine strengths and one or more bottle sizes.

Whole ranges rather than single products

Holders put complete ranges through the process, not one showcase bottle. VDLV lists its Vincent dans les Vapes and Cirkus brands, D’Lice lists recipes in several ratios, The Fuu lists several ranges including Minimal, and Liquidarom lists classic blends in 70/30.

A single recipe can appear in 70/30, 60/40, 50/50 and 20/80. For a maker, every extra ratio and strength widens the scope of what has to be tested, which hints at the investment involved.

Formats that follow demand

Most listed sizes sit around 10 ml and 50 ml, with a few 40 ml references. The list also carries bulk formats, several Bobble references from Cefop in 1,000 ml and a DIY base from The Fuu offered up to 5,000 ml.

Two families of nicotine steps sit side by side. Some ranges come in 0, 3, 6, 12 and 16 mg per ml, others only in 0, 10 and 20 mg per ml, a tighter set found in particular on distributed references and on part of The Fuu’s range.

Distributors working under licence

The second part of the list covers distributed products, made by a certified holder and sold under another company’s name. Le Petit Vapoteur and Vapostore appear there with their own references.

That arrangement lets a retailer offer an AFNOR e-liquid under its own name without making it, provided the matching line appears on the list.

What the map says about the market after disposables

How concentrated certification is matters. It points to a French e-liquid market built around a few large domestic makers, at a time when refillable hardware is back at the centre of nicotine vaping.

The UK has followed a similar path to France on single-use devices, as our account of the disposable vape ban in the UK sets out. In both markets, legal nicotine vaping now runs through refillable kits filled from bottles of 10 ml or less, which is exactly the segment where certification is most visible on the French list.

Tax adds to the pressure. The Vaping Products Duty timetable shows that the refill bottle remains a focus for regulators, which gives weight to any scheme able to document how it is made.

For the Observatoire, the CDP001 list therefore works as an indicator. The number of holders, and who joins or leaves from one edition to the next, says more about the state of French manufacturers than any promotional banner.

European standards, the other front

The French standard no longer stands alone. In 2022 three European documents joined AFNOR’s collection, and they set out common ground for makers across the European Union.

NF EN 17647, published in July 2022, lays down general principles for manufacturing, filling and holding e-liquids. NF EN 17648, published in August 2022, covers ingredients. XP CEN/TS 17633, issued in September 2022, describes the quality and nicotine level tests applied to finished e-liquid at the production site.

These texts are meant to be read together, as the XP CEN/TS 17633 listing points out. They weaken the French head start, since a maker elsewhere can now describe its quality against a European reference without going through French certification.

A map of holders concentrated in three regions

On a map, the list draws a very tight geography. Three of the six makers are in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south-west France, VDLV in Cestas (Gironde), D’Lice in Brive-la-Gaillarde (Corrèze) and Tevap in Agen (Lot-et-Garonne). Two are in the Paris region, The Fuu in Paris and Cefop in Boissy-Saint-Léger, and the last is in Provence, Liquidarom Distribution in Brignoles.

The two distributors add to that outline without widening it much, one in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin in Normandy, the other in Collégien, east of Paris. No other region appears in the March 2026 edition.

For a British reader, the mark is French and voluntary, and it does not replace UK law. A nicotine e-liquid sold in the UK still has to meet the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016, including notification before sale, the 10 ml bottle limit and the 20 mg per ml ceiling. The French map is therefore a market signal, not a UK compliance check.

FAQ

These questions come up when placing a certified bottle within the wider market. The answers rely on documents published by AFNOR.

How can changes to the list be tracked over time?

By comparing edition dates, which appear at the top of every page. The list states that it is updated each quarter, or sooner when something changes, so joiners and leavers can be spotted from one version to the next.

Are all the holders manufacturers?

No. Six companies make the certified liquids, and two distributors sell, under their own brand, references made by a holder. Their lines sit in a separate part of the list.

Does certification cover vaping hardware too?

No. The CDP001 list covers e-liquids only. Hardware falls under part 1 of the XP D90-300 standard, which sets requirements and test methods for electronic cigarettes.

Can unflavoured bases be certified?

Yes. The list includes neutral bases, such as 100 per cent propylene glycol and 100 per cent vegetable glycerine references from Cefop in 1,000 ml.

What happens when a holder leaves the scheme?

The list only records products certified on its edition date, so those references no longer belong on it. Comparing two consecutive editions is therefore a way to spot makers joining or leaving.

AFNOR e-liquid, an indicator to follow edition by edition

Certification remains voluntary, carried in 2026 by six makers and two distributors, all based in France. That short list contrasts with how common the logo is in retail, and shows that the name spreads faster than the certification itself.

To follow the market, the best source is not the banner but the quarterly list. The Observatoire will keep comparing its editions to see who joins and who leaves the circle of AFNOR e-liquid makers, and what those moves say about French liquid makers in a market now led by refillable hardware.

On the same subject

Editorial content for adult readers only. Vaping products can contain nicotine, a substance that causes addiction, and nicotine vaping products are not for sale to anyone under 18 in the UK. This article is not a buying recommendation.