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 to the test report. Based upon this certificate and report, other CB members will issue licenses for their national level. Consequently, the complete approval test need not be repeated for each country.

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) establishes the CB Scheme to reduce obstacles to international trade for certain types of electrical and electronic equipment. Before the CB Scheme, manufacturers had their products tested and certified by many different national testing laboratories/certification bodies - a difficult, time-consuming and expensive process.

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, 34 countries, such as North America, Canada, China, Japanese, 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 following categories cover approximately 180 products:

· Cables and Cords
· Capacitors as components
· Switches for appliances and automatic controls for electrical household appliances
· Household equipment and similar equipment
· Installation accessories and connection devices
· Lighting
· Measuring instruments
· Electrical equipment for medical use
· IT and office equipment
· Low voltage and high power switching equipment
· Installation protective equipment
· Safety transformers and similar equipment
· Portable tools
· Electronic 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 piece of equipment is modified after the CB Test Certificate was issued, an appendix to the test report may 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 and a certificate form.

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 also became an NCB in 1996. Our testing laboratories in both countries are accredited as CB testing laboratories. Since then, we have issued more than 1,000 CB certificates & reports for various products.