That's kind of iffy thing because it really all depends on the market that you want to sell into. In my case it was the petro/chemical industry and they want UL and users have a "it's just because" attitude. We got quotes from UL and CSA and both were close with CSA being a little cheaper but, because the petro/chemical industry has a stigma about UL we went with UL. = I want to mention that the category we wanted is the most expensive and toughest to get. As I mentioned; I would contact the company that wants to use your product and find out how and where they will be using your product= .. If it's just to be used in a regular construction environment and is not a safety item then they may not even need it to be certified. Their liability insurance company should be able to help out there. If it is a modified drill then only the part/s that you modified should need to be certified but, as I mentioned if you are going to use OTS (Off The Shelf) stuff and they are certified then you should only need to use their documentation as part of your documentation. I would also see if there are any products like yours on the market and check to see what certification they are using. Als= o if you are making or modifying a product for your customer and they plan to sell them then they should be the ones to pay for the certification because they are the ones that are the offering it for sale. But they are the ones that need to tell you what level of certification it needs to be and you should design for it. Remember that UL and CSA are companies and as such they are in the business of making money from you. They won't answer any questions until you have an account with them, they will just point out the standards they sell. I spent about $6,000 just on resource materials like standards, testing, publications, and from the NFPA the NEC (National Electrical Code). IMHO everything starts with the NEC and they have a free on-line version, page-by-page only so you can't just download it for free http://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/free-access. The Canadian Electrica= l Code is almost a mirror copy of the US NEC so that's a big benefit. I think that should get you started. Ray Ray Richter UniMatrix Technologies rrichter@unimatrixtech.com Winnipeg, MB, Canada > -----Original Message----- > From: piclist-bounces@mit.edu [mailto:piclist-bounces@mit.edu] On > Behalf Of Denny Esterline > Sent: Friday, April 04, 2014 9:59 AM > To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public. > Subject: Re: [EE] CSA certification >=20 > On Fri, Apr 4, 2014 at 4:53 AM, Ray Richter > wrote: >=20 > > Whether or not you need to be CSA approved depends on how, where, > > when, and by whom the device will be used. >=20 >=20 > >=20 > This was my suspicion. Any suggestions on where to start looking for > the guidelines of "how, where, when, and by whom"? > And perhaps more relevantly, who/what is the authoritative body that > will decide if my product falls into such a category? >=20 > >=20 >=20 > > documentation for free, also CSA and UL keep a database. My last > > device is used in areas with explosive gases present and the UL > > certification cost > > $34,000 dollars and took 18 months. So I would ask your customer if > > they need CSA certification for insurance purposes. > > > > Ray >=20 >=20 >=20 > That's about what I expected. For me, I suspect the 18 months would be > more painful than the money. >=20 > Thanks > -Denny > -- > http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .