Avoid getting arrested by not electrocuting your customers. We teach you how to get your products CE/UKCA/UL certified
Avoid getting arrested by not electrocuting your customers. We teach you how to get your products CE/UKCA/UL certified
CE/UKCA/UL. Product conformity, what’s the bid deal?!
Table of Contents
If your product does not conform to safety standards, you are personally legally liable, not your business, you!
If you’re happy with your product electrocuting someone and having to go to court to explain why you didn’t get it safety tested, then no need to read on.
Your manufacturer or supplier do not care about your legal obligations. Do not rely on them, they are not the ones who have to wear a suit and explain why a child choked on your Lego rip off.
CE/UKCA/UL
CE is the European standard
UL is the American standard
UKCA is the new UK standard replacing CE in the UK
Be aware, all products in the UK must be UKCA compliant by the end of 2022.
We’re addressing this post to UKCA and CE
If a product is UKCA or CE certified, it does not mean it legally conforms.
Hair Dryer Example
A hairdryer is required to;
- Not cause harm to persons, animals, or property (LVD)
- Not interact with other electronic products (EMC)
- Not use too much energy to run (ERP)
- Not poison the planet when you are done with it (RoHS & WEEE)
Damn it, that’s 5 tests for a hair dryer!
If a product has EMC (a very cheap and easy certificate to obtain) then it can bare the CE mark, but it still does not conform.
I’m going to be honest; they are all legal obligations but some more than others.
Electrocuting someone is more severe than making your neighbours TV flicker, however, if you are selling hospital beds and your motor affects other electrical equipment (HR monitors) then this is a big deal.
We all care about the environment but not as much as we care about hospital patients on a HR monitor. So if you don’t happen to have RoHS or WEEE, we’re not saying it’s not important, we’re just saying you probably won’t go to prison
Low Voltage Directive (LVD)
Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)
Energy-related Products (ErP)
Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS)
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
Can I still import it if it does not conform?
You’re importing hair dryers not cocaine. Thy are not on the look out for you. They do not have the resources to check every product in every shipment.
Well, what about the shop, do they not check?
Amazon cares a bit, but not that much. eBay not much at all. Don’t think because these platforms allow you to sell the product, that it is ok, again, the responsibility is yours, not your company’s, yours.
What's the solution?
First off, try not to kill anyone or blow up someone’s living room. The way you do this is;
Ask your manufacturer/supplier for the test report, not just the CE certificate.
EMC (not make the TV flicker) can get CE but does not cover LVD (blow someone up), WEEE, RoHS (poison the planet), ERP (use too much power).
You need the test report. It’s a long, boring confusing document, but it has a picture of the product at the end, and it’s a good indicator of conformity. Samples linked bellow.
Real Test Report Downloads
I have those, is that enough?
Not quite, you also need to contact the lab to check they issued the report.
Done that, surely, that’s enough…?
Almost! One final thing, you have to check the lab is accredited to to test for that standard. For UKCA you need to check the UKAS website, but if the lab is outside on the UK and in China then you need to check on the CNAS website.
https://www.ukas.com/find-an-organisation/
https://las.cnas.org.cn/LAS_FQ/publish/externalQueryL1En.jsp
This can be a real pain!
We do this all the time, send us your product, we’ll tell you what certification it requires, if it has it and if not, how much it will cost to get it.
Who you gonna call?
Not the Ghost Busters! You need a lab that can do the tests. You can go for a fancy lab like TUV, who are a huge player in the conformity industry, they’ve been in business since the tulip boom.
However, if you are not trying to get an oil rig certified, we’d suggest someone smaller (but still very large) like HQTS, SGS, or CCIC.
Though if you contact individual certified labs, that are still very professional, such as Shenzhen HUAK Testing Technology Co., Ltd., you’ll get it for half or one third of the price.
Use the contact form below to get in touch and tell us about your product.
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