United States

The United States compliance system represents a rigorous voluntary system with little governmental intervention. In the U.S., manufacturers are driven by marketplace and local acceptance pressures to obtain safety certification marks on their products. Safety and performance standards are primarily generated by the private sector, and most certification organisations are private, i.e. not affiliated with the government.

Who decides?

Local acceptance is determined by Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). Where public safety is primary, the AHJ may be a federal, state, local, or other regional department or an individual such as fire chief, fire marshal, chief of a fire prevention bureau, labour or health department official, building official or electrical inspector. For insurance purposes, an insurance inspection department, rating bureau, or other insurance company representative may be the AHJ. In many circumstances, the property owner or the owner’s designated agent assumes the role of the AHJ; at governmental installations, the commanding officer or departmental official may be the AHJ. In fact, there are over 44,000 AHJ’s throughout the United States, each with their own authority regarding installation of your products within their territories.

Many AHJ’s use the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) as a guideline for acceptance of products. Products that are “listed” are intended to provide a basis for the AHJ to make the judgement. The AHJ may base acceptance on compliance with appropriate codes or standards or may refer to the listings or labelling practices of an organisation handling product evaluations.

There are certain U.S. Federal Government concerns, which must be addressed in order to enter into this large marketplace. Further information on the most common can be found at:

• FCC – Federal Communication Commission – www.fcc.gov - The US governmental department regulates telecommunication devices and electrical devices radiating or emitting EMC.
• FDA – Food and Drug Administration – www.fda.gov- Regulates the medical device and in-vitro diagnostic device industries.
• FDA / CDRH – www.fda.gov/cdrh/ - A department within the FDA, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, in addition to the medical device regulatory duties, this department also regulates radiation hazards. Devices which emit or utilise lasers, x-ray or other types of hazardous radiation.

The above is not a complete list, but are a few of the most common. All device regulations are published in the US law, titled “Code of Federal Regulations”.


Services

More than 17 billion UL Marks appear on new products each year. No other certification Mark is more widely accepted throughout the United States by consumers, regulatory authorities and the insurance industry. Many insurance companies and supply retailers often require third-party testing of some products. Testing and Certification to UL standards, whether Domestic or Internationally Harmonised to an IEC / ISO standards, address the concerns of local acceptance as our standards include the specific Code and Panel safety concerns.


Listing Service

This is one of the most common UL Marks. If a product carries this Mark, it means UL found that samples of this product met UL’s safety requirements. These requirements are primarily based on UL’s own published Standards for Safety. This type of Mark is seen commonly on appliances and computer equipment, furnaces and heaters, fuses and electrical panel boards. The mark indicates compliance with both Canadian and U.S. requirements. The Canada/U.S. UL Mark is optional. UL encourages those manufacturers with products certified for both countries to use this new, combined Mark, but they may continue using separate UL Marks for the United States and Canada.


Recognition Service

These are marks consumers rarely see because they are specifically used on component parts that are part of a larger product or system. These components may have restrictions on their performance or may be incomplete in construction. The Component Recognition marking is found on a wide range of products, including some switches, power supplies, printed wiring boards, some kinds of industrial control equipment and thousands of other products. Products intended for Canada carry the Recognized Component mark "C."

UL Listing vs. Recognition. What is the difference?



Classification service

This mark appears on products, which UL has also, evaluated. Products carrying this mark have been evaluated for specific properties, a limited range of hazards, or suitability for use under limited or special conditions. Typically, products Classified by UL fall into the general categories of building materials and industrial equipment.



Maintaining the Integrity of the Mark

Mark Integrity Programme (also known as Follow Up Services (FUS)) is our factory countercheck program, which helps maintain the integrity of the UL Mark, in addition to complying with the OSHA requirements for all “listed devices”. All products authorised to use the UL Mark are covered by UL’s extensive Follow-Up Service program.

As part of the program, our inspectors monitor products that bear the UL Mark to make sure those products continue to be produced in accordance with specified safety requirements. This is completed through a series of on-site factory inspections. The frequency of these inspections is, in general, four times per year, but this may vary depending on the type of the certification and the volume of production at a specific factory.

Again, depending on the certification type, labels may either be reproduced on behalf of UL or they must be ordered from UL’s Label Center.

More information on reproducing your UL Mark and how to order UL labels from UL’s Label Centre: click here.


Testing in Latin America

There are a variety of different options available for testing conducted within Latin America:

1. Testing to UL standards can take place at one of our UL recognized laboratories. We not only offer you local testing services for North American solutions, but can also provide numerous other compliance services as well.

2. Additionally, UL participates in the IECEE CB Scheme, which allows the exchange of Test Data between participating testing institutes through out the world. It may be possible to utilise test data already developed and published in a CB Report to get UL certification and gain access to the US marketplace. The CB Scheme is an excellent method to develop data for access into multiple market locations. For more details, see our CB Scheme page.

3. Have your own lab available? Through UL’s Client Interactive Program, such as the Witness Test Data Program, a member of UL’s team witnesses the testing being conducted by your staff, at your facility. For more advanced labs, it’s possible that UL accepts test data generated by your facility under the Client Test Data Program.

UL Affiliates can assist you to enter into this market place.