Underwriters Laboratories

"UL approved" is not a valid term used to refer to a UL Listed, UL Recognized or UL Classified product under any circumstances. There are a number of requirements and guidelines that should be followed to accurately communicate a product's UL certification. To learn more about these guidelines, please access our marks pages.

LISTING SERVICE - A service whereby Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) determines that a manufacturer has demonstrated the ability to produce a product that complies with UL requirements with respect to reasonably foreseeable risks associated with the product. As part of the service, UL authorizes the manufacturer to use the UL Listing Mark on products that comply with UL requirements and establishes Follow-Up Service conducted by UL as a check of the means the manufacturer exercises to determine compliance with UL requirements.

RECOGNITION SERVICE - A service whereby UL determines that a manufacturer has demonstrated the ability to produce a component for use in an end product that complies with UL requirements. It takes into account the performance and constructional characteristics of such end product insofar as this can be determined and the areas that require additional consideration for application of the component to the product. UL authorizes the manufacturer to use the UL Recognized Marking.

CLASSIFICATION SERVICE - A service whereby UL determines that a manufacturer has demonstrated the ability to produce a product that complies with UL requirements for the purpose of classification or evaluation with respect to one or more of the following: (1) specific risks only, e.g., casualty, fire or shock, (2) performance under specified conditions, (3) regulatory codes, (4) other standards, including international standards, or (5) such other conditions as UL may consider desirable. UL authorizes the manufacturer to use the Classification Mark on products that comply with UL requirements and establishes follow-up service as a check of the means the manufacturer exercises to maintain compliance with UL requirements.

A UL evaluation of a complete product to the applicable UL Standard is needed to determine how these components function as a system in your end product. The use of Recognized Components reduces the complexity of the evaluation and can save you time and money.

The numbers on the UL Label are reference numbers assigned by UL and allow UL to control who the specific labels have been assigned to and for what type of products. This information is considered proprietary between UL and our customer to whom the UL label numbers were assigned.

APPLICANT - The company or individual who applies to UL for the certification of a component, product or system. This party contractually assumes the financial responsibility for the cost of the product investigation and Follow-Up Service, and thereby exercises the rights to information obtained as a result of the investigation. The applicant has the legal authority to withdraw a file and to specify whom the listee and manufacturer entities for the listed product will be. UL contacts the applicant when performing industry file reviews.

MANUFACTURER - A company or individual specified by the applicant that is authorized to produce the listed products associated with a particular volume. Entities designated as a manufacturer on an active file will receive a Follow-Up Service (FUS) visit from a UL field representative.

LISTEE - The company or individual whose name is used on, or in conjunction with, a product and appears under a product category in one of UL product directories, on the Online Certifications Directory and on LIS. The terms Classified Company or Recognized Company are equivalent to listee and used in relation to the other types of UL services. The listee generally has no authority over the file. It is common for the applicant and the listee to be the same entity, in which case the listee is referred to as a basic listee. Within a file-volume structure, a listee is referenced at the volume level. New work safety projects must share the same listee in order to be grouped together under the same volume.