Huanren Lab

Why does the United States require the provision of UL test reports or UL certification certificates of relevant standards?

The United States is a country that is very strict about safety. All domestic electronic product manufacturing enterprises in the United States have required relevant safety tests for many years. Nowadays, as Amazon's strategic position in global business continues to rise, electronic devices from abroad are constantly flooding into the US market through Amazon. However, the US does not have mandatory security tests for electronic products from abroad. Previously, a series of electronic product fire incidents occurred. In response to this situation, the relevant departments in the United States issued specific laws for e-commerce, requiring Amazon to be obligated to notify overseas e-commerce sellers on the Amazon platform to provide corresponding safety reports. Before submitting test reports related to UL standards or providing UL certification certificates related to UL standards, Amazon must order merchants to stop selling.

What is the difference between a UL test report and UL certification?

(1) UL standard test reports are much simpler than UL certification. There is no need for factory audits. Only qualified test reports of relevant standards issued by laboratories recognized by ISO17025/ILAC ISO17025 standards (which is referred to as CNAS laboratories in our country) are required. It is superior to UL certification in terms of cost and time, but correspondingly, it also has certain shortcomings. That is, UL test reports are only for the audits and rules on the Amazon platform and have little effect on offline sales.

(2) For UL certification, it is necessary to test the relevant products first. After the products pass the test, the factory will be audited on-site. The factory will be audited once every quarter, that is, four factory audits a year. The cost is much higher than that of the UL report. The time will also be much longer. Generally, it will go through a cycle of 6 to 8 months, and it is still based on the condition that the product testing goes smoothly.

Whether to choose a UL test report or a UL certification certificate depends on whether you use it more on the Amazon platform or offline. If you have it both offline and online, I personally suggest getting a UL certification certificate directly. This way, you can achieve two goals at once. Of course, the prerequisite is that you have the time and absolute confidence in your products and factories.

What are the common UL standards and test items on Amazon?

(1) Mobile phone batteries, notebook batteries, 18650 batteries, etc. all undergo UL2054 standard test reports

     The test content is: Electrical tests (short-circuit test, overcharge test, abuse overcharge test, over-discharge test, power source limit test), mechanical tests (compression test, impact test, acceleration test, vibration test), battery pack casing test, drop impact test, 250N static test, mold pressure release test, fire test, throw test, environmental test, high-temperature test, temperature Loop testing, etc. (I won't list them one by one.

(2) Various adapters: mobile phone chargers, laptop chargers, electric vehicle chargers, etc., can also be called adapters. The applicable standards are: UL 60950,UL62368, UL1310, etc.

The main test contents are: temperature rise, withstand voltage, insulation, etc. (Of course, not all items, only a part are listed)

Note: Different products and different regions have different safety standards. For specific details, please consult the corresponding laboratory.

Here are some common corresponding standard requirements of Amazon to share

Battery UL 2054

Battery cell UL 1642

Mobile power bank (power bank) UL 2056

Adapter (Charger) UL60950 UL62368 UL1310 (Depending on the adapter type)

Portable portable lamps (flashlights, headlamps, etc.) UL 1576

Plant lamp UL8800

Car charger UL2089

Heating element UL499

Data cable UL9990

Fan UL 507

There are many standards, so I won't list them all. (If I list them all, I guess my hands would be useless ^_^)

What impacts and consequences will there be if electronic and electrical products do not have UL standard reports or UL certification certificates?

     If electronic and electrical products do not have reports on the relevant UL standards in North America or UL certification certificates, it will lead to ASIN being "turned into a dog" (that is, being taken off the shelves) by the bald brother's brother-in-law (Amazon), and then be unable to be sold, which will affect the ranking, sales volume and planning that have been painstakingly done in the early stage. Although it can be restored after completion, However, the losses caused during the reporting period are far greater than the cost of the report. Also, when you are selling well, your competitors take notice (meaning they are going to trick you), purchase your products, directly comment on you and complain about you, and precisely your products do not have relevant UL standard test reports. Well, I'm sorry. You should be feeling very bad next.

     Your competing partner is likely to directly entrust an American lawyer to send a letter to the bald man's brother-in-law (Amazon), requesting to stop selling the relevant products under the company's name and apply for legal procedures to file a lawsuit and go to court to destroy the company's related products on Amazon. Then you will not only lose all your inventory, but also have to pay for the lawyer's letter and the cost of destroying the products. This may mean that you have basically been driven out of your brother-in-law's (Amazon's) mall in the North American market. It might even affect your European site, Japanese site, Australian site, etc. After all, does your brother-in-law (Amazon) run a chain store? O(∩_∩)O Ha ha ~

Having said so, then what is the process for obtaining a UL standard report? Of course, this is also the point I most want to say, O(∩_∩)O Haha ~

(1) The applicant submits the application to the corresponding laboratory and consults.

(2) The applicant shall fill in the application form and submit the instruction manual and technical documents to the laboratory together.

(3) The laboratory determines the testing standards and items and provides a quotation. Of course, you can also open a case and directly ask Amazon's customer service which standard they need to follow. That would be the best, because they can't possibly not recognize the standard they mentioned themselves.

(4) After the applicant confirms that there are no issues, the samples will be sent to the laboratory.

(5) Sign a contract agreement with the laboratory and determine the fees (meaning it's time to pay).

(6) After receiving the samples, the laboratory will arrange for the products to be tested.

(7) If the test is not qualified, the laboratory will inform you that the product needs to be rectified until it passes the test.

(8) After the test is qualified, the laboratory will issue a draft document report to the applicant. Once the applicant confirms that the application information and product information are correct, the official document will be issued and the laboratory will be given an English qualification certificate. (Note: The product information must be exactly the same as that on the Amazon detail page or in the backend.)

So, how much does a UL test report cost?

The specific cost depends on what product it is. Different products have different standards and items, so the cost will definitely vary.

How long does it usually take to handle a UL test report?

Generally, it takes 5 to 7 working days after receiving the samples. Of course, if the product test fails, samples need to be provided for retesting. The time will naturally be postponed.

So, how long is the validity period of the UL test report?

The validity period is basically long-term as long as the UL standard is not updated.

Then some people might say, what if I update the standard right after I start working on it? Don't worry about that. After each new standard is released, the old ones will have a 1-2 year usage period. So, you don't need to worry about this. You can do it boldly when needed.