For most sales in the US, listing is more a recommended marketing and liability tool than a requirement.
To sell to the US government, or to many state and local government agencies, or within the boundaries of a few cities, listing by a Nationally Recognized Test Laboratory (NRTL) is required. UL is one of many NRTL's, as are CSA in Canada, Factory Mutual (FM), ETL, and some other test labs. Your choice of NRTL depends on expertise in your product type, market value of the mark in your industry, how willing the test lab is to work with you, and lastly, price. The listing covers about the same area as the Low Voltage Directive (LVD), and usually versions of the same standard can be used for both. There is generally a periodic product reevaluation (followup) at your factory, which, outside North America is sometimes contracted out to a test house in the local area. You'll pay for the inspector's time, typically 1 to 4 hours, 4 times per year. In Canada, certifications are mandatory for electrical (and many other) devices. This can be from CSA or from another approved test house, very similarly to the NRTL Listing. Most of the above-mentioned NRTL+s are also approved for Canada, so you can get one-stop shopping. If you choose your test house carefully, you can cover European LVD testing, US Listing, and Canadian Certification with one set of tests at one test house, using one standard (plus national deviations), minimizing cost and time. [standard disclaimer] --------------------- From: Juan Pedro Pena ... how is the situation in USA. I know if you have UL mark, you can sell in any state, but that means you only can use the UL associated laboratories and you have to pay the certification fee every year. Much more expensive than the EU system. Is it that true?...
