Underwriters Laboratories

Most countries have regulations for products entering into their country. Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) provides a high level of knowledge and experience to assist manufacturers in meeting the regulations for specific countries. Regulations present many different conformity assessment options. Some options may allow self-declaration, others may require a manufacturer to obtain third-party certification in order to be accepted into the marketplace. UL's Global Market Access department can assist customers in understanding the regulations and identifying the appropriate conformity assessment option available for their products.

The CE Marking is a marking which signifies declaration by the responsible party that a product is compliant with all appropriate European Union New Approach Directives, such as the Low Voltage, EMC and Machinery Directives. UL's Global Market Access (GMA) department offers clients a variety of customizable programs to assist in the CE Marking process. These programs can:

1. help identify the European directives which apply to the product
2. identify any critical elements contained in the directives
3. describe the methods of conformity assessment available under each directive (for example, self-declaration, third party testing involvement, etc.)
4. list any published European Norm Standards that can be used to verify compliance with each directive

In addition, GMA can identify the requirements for documentation and provide other consultation regarding preparation of necessary documentation. UL can also assist with testing the product to applicable requirements. A test report which can be used as part of the documentation needed to verify compliance with the directives can be provided. Contact GMA for more information on these services.

The "D" Mark is not a replacement for the CE Marking. Rather, the "D" Mark is a value-added, voluntary third-party certification marking. The "D" Mark sends the message to all consumers and relevant authorities that an independent third party agency has tested and found that the product complies with the relevant safety standard. The "D" Mark has been in use for more than 70 years and is a familiar symbol to consumers as well as retailers and manufacturers in Europe.

The CB (Certification Body) Scheme is a system designed to facilitate international trade by establishing mutual acceptance of test reports among participating safety certification organizations (the CB's) in more than 30 countries. The CB Scheme was established by the International Electrotechnical Committee for Conformity Testing to Standards for Electrical Equipment (IECEE)

UL has gained full acceptance by the IECEE as a National Certification Body for the following Standards:

• IEC 65 for Household Audio/Video Equipment
• IEC 601 for Medical Electrical Equipment
• IEC 730 for Automatic Electrical Controls
• IEC 745 for Hand-Held Electric Tools
• IEC 950 for information Technology and Business Equipment

IEC 1010 for Electrical Equipment for Measurement, Control and Laboratory Use

Underwriters Laboratories has a reciprocal agreement with JET to accept each other's test data for many product categories. However, the products will have to be submitted to UL for construction evaluation and UL has the option of conducting some tests on random samples. Since some UL requirements are different it may be necessary to conduct additional tests that have not been covered by the Japanese requirements.

UL's Danish subsidiary, DEMKO has begun testing electrical products to Russian standards. DEMKO is one of the first non-Russian, accredited testing organizations to complete a direct agreement with with GOSSTANDART, the State Committee of the Russian Federation for Standardization and Metrology, and VNIIS, the Executive Board of the Russian national certification body (NCB) for electrical equipment known as GOST Re.