What are those UL, CSA. FCC, ETL, etc. logo on everyday stuff?

[Vince]

You've probably seen them a few times at least. Some are weird and maybe you don't know what they stand for. If indeed you don't, this article is for you!  

The UL, or Underwriter laboratories



This is probably the most common logo on many electrical and electronic products. The Underwriter Laboratories evalues the safety of electrical products that are marketed in the US. The Underwriter Laboratories of Canada covers the canadian territory.

the Canadian Standard Association



This canadian association is in the same domain than the UL. It is a canadian organization, but is not exclusive to canadian market. This logo can be seen on US products, a little bit less than UL though.

The ETL logo



Another logo that can sometimes be seen on electrical and electronic devices. It is another independant certification association that evaluates what CSA and UL does.

How to recognize them?

These logos can help us to choose devices that are safe use. However, we must be careful when looking for them. Many companies won't hesitate to make counterfeit of unauthorized logos. This happened with numerous CFLs and extension cord. The printed paper label near the plug is NOT enough. Be sure that one of the following features is present on your extension cord:

- A certification logo etched on the plug. Companies can make counterfeit labels, but can never etch the logo if they're not allowed to.

- For the UL, look for a metallic label with holograms in it. These holograms are very colorful when exposed to a light source and these can never be counterfeit, the UL only send them to companies when products comply with safety codes. This label is not only restricted to extension cords. Several devices have one.

For CFLs, it is harder to tell. The only UL mark can easily be fake. Fortunately, this is rarely seen, especially if you only buy CFLs from well-known companies, such as GE, Sylvania, Philips, etc.

Links for further informations

Here are some links if you want to know more about what is treated in this article:

Underwriter Laboratories (of Canada)

CSA International

ETL - Intertek

* This article is not completed, I'll add "100% completed" right here when I'm done. ;-)

[Medved]

Why do you think the etched logo could not be counterfeited? What i often see with lot of (mostly, bot not only China) manufacturers they send a prototype for certification testing to get the logo (and required records and numbers), but then "cut cost" (remove components, simplify design, etc) and sell finally something different, that is far from safe, but wave with certificates and logos obtained for the prototype.  For normal people this is nearly impossible to catch, so it is very frequent form of certificate counterfeit.

[rjluna2]

[Medved]

And ESC for former Czechoslovakia and present Czech Republic

[Vince]

I began this article last night and didn't have much time, I'm going to add as many certification logos as I can. ;-)