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Certification Marks on plugs and sockets |
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Certification Marks on plugs and sockets |
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Plugs usually have one ore more certification marks. They show that the plug meets the safety standards as specified in the given country/countries. In particular Euro- and Schuko plugs (left) may have many marks when the manufacturer has certified its products throughout Europe. Nowadays certification in one of the countries of the European Union applies to each of the EU states, but national regulations may prevent the use of a specific devices despite being certified in other EU countries. Some plugs have a
CE mark, that suggest certification, but has in fact no significance. |
| European certification marks |
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| 1 | Germany: VDE = Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker. |
| 2 | Netherlands: KEMA = Keuring van Elektrotechnische Materialen te Arnhem. |
| 3 | Belgium: CEBEC, division of SGS Belgium (SGS = Société générale de surveillance). |
| 4 | France: product meets standards of NF = Norme Française. |
| 5 | France: LCIE = Laboratoire Central des Industries Électrique (certification numbers differ per device). |
| 6 | Italy: IMQ = Istituto Italiano del Marchio di Qualitŕ |
| 7 | Austria: ÖVE = Österreichischer Verband für Elektrotechnik. |
| 8 | Denmark: DEMKO mark (Danmarks Elektriske Materielkontrol). |
| 9 | Finland: FIMKO mark (marking of SFS = Suomen Standardisoimisliitto). |
| 10 | Norway: NEMKO mark (Norges Elektriske Materiellkontroll). |
| 11 | Sweden: SEMKO mark (Svenska Elektriska Materielkontrollanstaiten). |
| 12 | Switzerland: ESTI mark = Electrosuisse (Schweizerischen Elektrotechnischer Verein, SEV). |
| 13 | United Kingdom: Kitemark, owned and operated by the British Standards Institution (BSI). |
| 14 | United
Kingdom: ASTA mark (independent testing and certification centre). |
| 15 | Ireland: NSAI mark = National Standards Institute. |
| 16 | Luxemburg: SNCH mark = Société Nationale de Contrôle Technique. |
| 17 | Spain: AENOR = Asociación Espagńola de Normalización y Certificación. |
| 18 | Portugal: CERTIF mark = Associaçăo para a Certicaçăo. |
| 19 | Czech Republic: EZU mark = Elektrotechnický zkuební ústav (Electrotechnical Testing Institute). |
| 20 | Slovakia: EVPU mark = Elektrotechnický výskumný ústav a projektový (Electrotechnical Research Company). |
| 21 | Poland: B mark = Polskie Centrum Badan I Certyfikacji (Polish Centre for Testing and Certification). |
| 22 | Hungary: MEEI mark = Magyar Elektrotechnikai Ellenörzö Intézet (Hungarian Institute for Testing Electrical Equipment). |
| 23 | Russia: GOST-R mark = Gosudarstvennyi Standarty Rossiiskoi Federatsii (Federal Agency on Technical Regulating and Metrology). |
| Selection of non-European certification marks |
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| 24 | United States of America: UL mark = Underwriters Laboratories Inc. |
| 25 | Canada: CSA mark = Canadian Standards Association. |
| 26 | Mexico: NOM mark = Normas Officiales Mexicanas - Asociación de Normalización y Certificación. |
| 27 | Australia and New Zealand: RCM mark = Regulatory Compliance (trademark owned by Australian and New Zealand regulators). |
| 28 | Japan: PSE mark = Product Safety Electric Appliance and Materials. |
| 29 | Peoples Republic of China: CCC mark = China Compulsory Certification. |
| 30 | Malaysia: MS mark = SIRIM Berhad (Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia). |
| 31 | Israel: SII mark = Standards Institution of Israel. |
| 32 | Turkey: TSE mark = Türk Standardlari Enstitüsü (Turkish Standards Institution). |
| 33 | South Africa: SABS mark: South African Bureau of Standards. |
| 34 | Brazil: INMETRO mark (Brazilian National Institute of Metrology).
Either INMETRO, CEPEL or both marks can be found on plugs. CEPEL mark (Centro de Pesquisas de Energia Elétrica = Research Centre for Electrical Energy). |
| 35 | Uruguay: UNIT mark (Instituto Uruguayo de Normas Técnicas). |
| 36 | Argentina: IRAM and
S-mark
(Instituto Argentino de Normalización y Certificación); an IRAM and/or
S- mark can be found on plugs. |
| 37 | Chile: SEC mark (Superintendencia de
Electricidad y Combustibles = Superintendence of Eletricity and Fuels). |
| 38 | India: ISI mark (Indian Standards Institute). |
| 39 | Thailand: TISI mark (Thai Industrial Standards Institute). |
 Lookalike Chinese Export mark:  note different spacing between C and E |
CE
mark (Conformité
Européenne / European Conformity). EU regulations allow company-internal self-certification processes. The results of tests that show that the product meets the relevant requirements on safety, health and environmental issues must be documented. Moreover, the company has to take responsibility for the safety of the product. This self-certification system applies to many electrical and electronic products, but domestic plugs and sockets are specifically excluded from the scheme (source). Domestic plugs and sockets are subject to national standards and regulations. Note that a lookalike Chinese Export mark is not a European Conformity mark ! ENEC
mark (European Norms
Electrical Certification). Products that have received ENEC approval
comply with applicable European safety standards. You may find this mark
among others on household appliances, consumer electronics, batteries
and portable tools.
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