Hello Peter, Let me add to Rich and Regan’s comments.
The question for residential installations isn’t as clear as for the workplace. Most jurisdictions in the United States have adopted the National Electrical Code which requires many electrical and electronic products to either be Listed or to be investigated and approved by the local Authority Having Jurisdiction. In practice, this typically will apply to hard-wired products or products attached to building structure. The enforcement is typically through an electrical inspection which will often not cover plug-connected devices. In the workplace, any product that has a direct connection to the mains will need NRTL approval. At the other end of the spectrum, a product like a USB mouse or remote control using alkaline batteries likely won’t need NRTL approval. In theory, I believe an OSHA inspector could enforce the NRTL requirement on any electrical product, but that won’t necessarily be what happens in practice. That being said, you can choose not to get NRTL approval for your product. However, you need to understand the risks your product may pose. If you sell products to commercial customers, are you meeting their needs? Will your products be acceptable to them? If you have a low-voltage device that isn’t mains connected, you will need to understand your customer’s needs before you make any determination about skipping NRTL approval. Let’s use the USB mouse example. If you sell a USB mouse that has no NRTL approval, you can state that you are selling a product to the general public for home use where NRTL approval for a mouse is clearly not required. You can then argue that any business that purchases it is making their own decision on whether to accept a non-NRTL product. However, it is up to you, your employer and your employer’s legal department on whether you should take this approach. Ted Eckert The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of my employer, OSHA or the U.S. Department of Labor. From: Richard Nute <ri...@ieee.org> Sent: Monday, February 17, 2020 3:52 PM To: EMC-PSTC@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [PSES] Mandatory certification Hi Peter: I can only speak to NRTL certification. If your product can be used in a workplace, then NRTL certification is mandatory. In most non-workplace locations, safety certification is mandatory. A local authority specifies the acceptable certification houses. Most local authorities specify the NRTL certification houses. Certification by a NRTL certification house is accepted almost universally in the USA. Best regards, Rich - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. 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