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CB Scheme
CB is the abbreviation for "Certification Body". The CB Scheme is based on the mutual recognition of tests and certificates among several National Certification Bodies (NCBs). The document of reference is the CB Test Certificate in conjunction with the relevant test report. The members of the CB scheme issue a CB Test Certificate in connection with the CB test report. Based upon this certificate and report, other CB members will issue licenses for their national certification marks. Consequently, the complete approval test need not be repeated for each country.
The NCB that issues a license to use a national mark of conformity on grounds of a CB Test Certificate will check the product for compliance with the results of the test report. The NCB will also examine whether deviations from the national standards have been considered. A CB Test Certificate as such does not entitle the holder to use a mark of conformity, rather it simplifies the procurement of national marks of conformity within the other CB member countries. Currently, 50 countries, such as North America, Canada, China, Japan, Singapore, Russia, Australia, and European countries, etc. are members of this scheme.
The CB Scheme applies to electrical and electronic equipment covered by IEC standards.
The equipments are categorized as follows:
- Batteries
- Cables and Cords
- Capacitors as components
- Switches for appliances and automatic controls for electrical household appliances
- Electromagnetic Compatibility
- Household and similar equipment
- Installation accessories and connection devices
- Luminaires
- Measurement, Contril and Laboratory equipment
- Electrical equipment for medical use
- Miscellaneous
- IT and office equipment
- Low voltage and high power switching equipment
- Installation protective equipment
- Safety transformers and similar equipment
- Portable tools
- Electric Toys
- Electronics, entertainment
Issuing and recognition of CB Test Certificates
In the early days of the CB Scheme, only applicants manufacturing their products in a CB member country were accepted. Moreover, a manufacturer had to apply with the NCB of his own country. However, recently rules have been modified and currently manufacturers from a non-member country can also apply for a CB Certificate.
Today manufacturers can submit their application to any NCB (not only to the NCB of their own country, but anywhere in the world) and the manufacturer may be represented by an applicant who acts on behalf of the manufacturer.
An application may cover one or more factories in one or more countries where the product is manufactured.
If a product is modified after the CB Test Certificate was issued, an appendix to the test report will be drafted instead of a new complete test report. This appendix contains those pages of the test report, which are relevant for the modified equipment. The CB Test Certificate will be re-issued with this additional test report.
Who can benefit from the scheme?
Manufacturing equipment for export, you can save time and expenses by not having to go through the process of conformity testing for each national market again and again. Generally the product needs to be tested only once against international standards in order to obtain the necessary national certification in various countries.
Your equipment will be included in the "List of CB Test Certificates", where new certificates are published each year as a guide for wholesalers who can procure equipment conforming to integral international safety standards from manufacturers in many countries in the world.
If additional procedures are necessary to comply with national differences, the user of this scheme can save time by applying for additional tests that cover only the national deviations from the relevant international safety standards. If the manufacturer knows to which countries he wants to export his product, this can even be done at the first testing. All CB testing laboratories have information available on national conditions in the various countries.
TÜV Rheinland (Cologne) was accepted as a National Certification Body (NCB) in 1994, TÜV Rheinland of North America became an NCB in 1996 and TÜV Rheinland Japan Ltd. followed in 1998. Our Testing Laboratories are "accredited" as CB testing laboratories (CBTL). Since then, TÜV Rheinland Japan Ltd. has issued more than 20,000 of CB Test Certificates & CB Test Reports for various products.
