Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt: Basically, there are two types of certification: UL (safety) and FCC (emissions). The FCC normally does NOT make equipment tests, but they license well-qualified engineering companies to perform the tests. I use Timco Eng Inc 1-888-472-2424 PO Box 370 849 SR 45 Newberry, FL 32669 1-352-472-2030 fax Sid Sanders Budget about $1800 for an FCC certification. The FCC wants to verify that your product will not interfere with other products, nor interfere with public radio or telephone networks. The FCC number needs to be prominently displayed in the product or on the PCB. Each PCB revision technically requires another test, so make sure you are done with the design before testing. Warning! Emission standards in the European Union are stricter than FCC's. If your product is powered by a certified wallwart (be careful here, there are MANY bogus fakes being sold), and if the voltage is below 15V, and if the current being used is kess than 8A, no UL testing is REQUIRED**. A UL certification is like getting a smallpox vaccination against lawyers. If you have one, you will have few (read, NO) frivolous lawsuits. **Products sold in Los Angeles must have UL certification regardless. UL performs its own testing, but also licenses certain qualified people to perform these safety tests. These tests are usually tests for flammability, NOT function, which surprises newbies- UL cares not one whit whether the widget actually works, they just want to make sure nobody is harmed by buying and using it. One learns to expect that its beautiful product is returned in a box, a heap of melted plastic and ashes. These safety tests will vary in cost from $1500 TO $4000. Generally speaking, retail centers (WalMart, Sears) will not distribute your products unless you can prove that your products are safe and don't radiate emissions. Then they will perform their own tests for function and merchandising ideas. At 04:55 PM 5/30/2003 -0400, you wrote: >I was wondering if someone could explain the rules of getting a product >certified so it can be sold commercially. > >If I'm making a PIC-based product that will use a simple wall-wart adapter, >what do I need to do to sell it even in small quantities in the U.S. and >outside the U.S.? > >Thanks... > >-- N > >-- >http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! >email listserv@mitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body -------------------------- -- http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! email listserv@mitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body