A Seller's Inside Look: Understanding Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) in the United States (Part 3)

17 Nov 2011

On November 3, this blog took a look at several key components related to the OSHA Safety Regulations. Specifically, that entry explored the process OSHA follows when recognizing an NRTL, along with the product safety standards NRTLs use during product certification evaluation process. But how does a manufacturer or seller determine whether an NRTL has certified a product?

Each NRTL uses its own unique, registered certification mark(s) to designate product conformance to the required product safety test standards. Each NRTL must register its certification mark(s). In the US, this registration is done with the US Patent and Trademark Office. But what about other marks – like the “CE” mark? Is this accepted by OSHA?

The CE mark is unrelated to the requirements for product safety in the US. It is a generic mark used in the European Union (EU) to indicate that a manufacturer has declared that the product meets requirements in the EU for product safety. In the US, under OSHA's NRTL requirements, the product must have the specific mark of one of the NRTLs recognized to test and certify these types of products.

To speak with an Intertek expert on this subject matter, e-mail us at EVNews@intertek.com.