CE mark recognition in the USA and Canada

In the US and Canada is the CE mark or certification of equipment by foreign testing organisations accepted? It is not comparable with the NRTL listing as required by OSHA and the local jurisdictions!

In the USA and Canada is the CE mark or certification of equipment by foreign testing organisations accepted? In the USA there are over 4000 local jurisdictions responsible for the safety of equipment.

These jurisdictions may operate at state, county or city level and are known as AHJ.

The knowledge of the AHJ vary from state to state and from city to city and increasingly they are relying upon evidence of listing or labeling by a third party to ensure they are not subject to lawsuits.

Often, jurisdictions and contractors are confronted with equipment that bears a CE-Mark.

Some wonder what the CE-mark stands for and if it is acceptable as a proof that the equipment is listed or labeled by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) such as TUV Rheinland, UL or others.

Since the CE marking is a European requirement based upon self-declaration to European requirements, it is not comparable with the NRTL listing as required by OSHA and the local jurisdictions (AHJ).

CE-marked equipment will not comply with the National Electric Code (NEC) requirement for listed or labeled equipment in accordance with sections 110.2 and 110.3.

Additionally rule 2-024 of the Canadian Electrical Code (CEC) requires items to be approved by a body accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC).

The US and Canadian requirements are for the following.

1 Third-Party Safety Certification by an independent and OSHA/SCC accredited testing lab instead of a voluntary self-certification by the manufacturer.

2 Evaluation to an approved US or Canadian standard for safety of electrical equipment instead of compliance to a European standard.

The AHJ-Inspectors are becoming more vigilant when approving the installation of electric systems.

If AHJ-Inspectors see any CE-marked equipment, they are likely to red-tag the equipment and seek an NRTL listing or a Third-Party field inspection by a capable NRTL.

Since approval of non-compliant equipment that is unsafe to operate may cause hazards, litigation related costs can cause significant problems for the owners and the local jurisdiction, all are well advised to seek a Third-Party Field Evaluation of the CE-marked Equipment by a qualified NRTL such as TUV Rheinland.

TUV Rheinland have well trained engineers that are experienced with European and other internationally manufactured equipment.

We provide the jurisdictions with advice and answers to questions.

TUV Rheinland will provide customers with competitive pricing and a fast turn-around time, a globally respected field label and pre- and post-evaluation advice and guidance.

We provide a unique service where equipment can be assessed at its source in Europe and a preliminary field evaluation label can be applied, in exceptional circumstances the field label may also be applied at source without the need for a further visit at the installation site.

This saves costs (testing costs are lower in Europe, than the USA and Canada and modifications can be made at the manufacturing site), finds problems at an early stage, and improves timescales once the equipment has been installed.

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