IECEx - FAQs from Ex Equipment Manufacturers, Purchasers and Users

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QUESTION ANSWER
The IECEx System is a set of four separate Schemes (of which
1 What is the difference between IECEx one relates to Ex Equipment) that were developed to satisfy the
and ATEX? calls from the Ex industry for international recognition and
coordination of the outputs of various certification systems and test
laboratories (house) with different practises with different levels of
expertise.

The IECEx scheme operates from the platform of

• having a single Qualification Process for the assessment and
evaluation of Certification Bodies and Test Laboratories to
ensure that they have the necessary test equipment and
facilities with staff holding the necessary level of technical
expertise to conduct testing and certification, and

• establishing a single way of conducting Ex testing and

certification - we refer to this as doing Ex certification the
"IECEx Way". As an illustration, it is acceptable under ATEX
to rely solely on a manufacturer’s declaration for Zone 2
equipment (Ex ‘n’) whereas for IECEx we do not discriminate
between Zone 0, 1, 2. All equipment under IECEx must be
independently tested and certified in order to carry the IECEx
certificate number and have an IECEx Certificate issued on the
IECEx website.

Therefore, while we have some 57 ExCBs approved by IECEx to

issue IECEx certificates, it is important to know that these bodies
may still conduct testing and certification according to their local
schemes, eg ATEX for EU based ExCBs and American for US
based etc. So to be sure that the product is covered by an IECEx
certification, the Ex equipment must carry on the marking plate the
IECEx Certificate number "IECEx XXX 18.0001" where:
‘IECEx’ shows that it is an IECEx certification
‘XXX’ identifies the ExCB that issued the IECEx certificate
‘18’ Represents the last 2 digits of the year of issue
‘0001’ represents the running certificate number issued in that year

The fundamental differences between ATEX and IECEx are:

• Targeted Jurisdiction for ATEX is the European Union but
does get used on a voluntary basis outside EU

• ATEX requires compliance with the EHSR listed in Annex II

and uses compliance with Standards as a “deemed to comply
with EHSR requirements” meaning that strict compliance with
Standards is NOT a requirement of ATEX. However most
manufacturers use standards as their means to demonstrate
compliance with the EHSRs

• Bodies offering ATEX services are known as “Notified Bodies”

(ExNB). These bodies are qualified by the official body within
their own country with the official body in the country issuing a
notification to the EU Commission.

• A certificate issued by an ExNB is called “EC Type

Examination Certificate” and is not a Certificate of Conformity.

• The assessment and testing/certification process of ATEX as

with EU Directives is risk based, meaning that for lower
[continued overpage]
QUESTION ANSWER
risk areas like previous zone 2 or Ex n, ATEX allows full
manufacturer’s declaration without involvement of an ExNB

When it comes to IECEx

• Targeted Jurisdiction is the world, all countries

• As such, IECEx is a true International Certification Scheme

where full compliance with IEC International Standards are
required

• Rather than being qualified within a certification body or Test

Lab’s own country, IECEx Certification Bodies (ExCB) and
IECEx Test Labs (ExTL) are evaluated and qualified according
to a single international process managed and approved by
the single International IECEx Management Committee. Each
ExTL and ExCB is visited and assessed by an expert team of
assessors from IECEx.

• IECEx operates a Technical Secretariat with the IECEx

Executive Secretary appointed with the Chief Executive Officer
Function of the Scheme to handle day to day matters,
reporting to the IECEx Executive and Management Committee

• ExCBs issue IECEx Certificates of Conformity that require

that samples be fully tested against the Standard regardless of
the zone of use of the product.

• IECEx Certificates are ALL publicly available for full viewing at

the IECEx Website. This provides a single central On-Line
location where Certificates issued by all IECEx approved
ExCBs are located. In effect we say if the IECEx certificate
does not appear on the website then it is not issued.

• IECEx operates separate Schemes for

o IECEx Certified Equipment Scheme
o IECEx Certified Service Facility Scheme
o IECEx Certification of Personnel Competencies
(CoPC) Scheme

• IECEx is the only Certification scheme to be formally endorsed

by the United Nations as “world’s best practise and
recommended model” for use by regulators when regulating
the use of Ex equipment and Services.

The point to understand is that ATEX has been set up and works
effectively within EU where there exists EU legislation as the
overarching requirement.

As IECEx operates globally across many national and regional

jurisdictions, the IECEx rules governing acceptance of ExTLs,
ExCBs and the process of certification needs to be comprehensive
to ensure that confidence and integrity in IECEx certifications are
maintained.

So while from a legislative perspective, all that is required to sell

Ex products in EU is ATEX, customers are asking for IECEx as
well.

These and other differences are explained in more detail on our

IECEx Guidance Publication IECEx 01A available for free
download at http://iecex.com/Publications/IECExGuides/IECEx
01A
 QUESTION ANSWER
If the company has an ATEX approval If the testing under ATEX has been done and satisfies all
2 based on CENELEC standards similar to requirements of the relevant IEC Standard(s), then it is a case of
IEC, can this certificate easily be transferring the test data into the IECEx Test Report format.
converted to an IEC Ex certificate
without any additional tests, or is it only The IECEx Operational Document, OD 009 provides further
a question about paper works by any explanation
IECEx ExTL?
More information about the similarities and differences between
IECEx System and ATEX Directives can be found in
http://iecex.com/dmsdocument/464/IECEx 01A

No, an IECEx Certificate of Acceptance confirms that a testing

3 Is an IECEx Certificate of Acceptance laboratory is an accepted / approved Test Laboratory for
the same as an IECEx Certificate of conducting testing to IEC Ex Standards.
Conformity?
An IECEx Certificate of Conformity (Equipment) issued by a IECEx
Certification Body (ExCB) to a manufacturer of equipment
supplying products that satisfy the relevant requirements of
appropriate IEC Standards AND are manufactured in factories that
continue to satisfy requirements checked regularly by surveillance
audits.

IECEx Certificates of Conformity for Service Facilities and

Personnel Competencies are also issued by ExCBs to
demonstrate compliance of service facilities or individuals to
relevant requirements. The ongoing compliance is also checked by
audit.

Who do I contact if I have a question The first point of contact should be the manufacture. If for whatever
4 relating to a product covered by an reason the question relates to the specifics of the Certificate, then
IECEx Certificate? the ExCB who issued the Certificate should be contacted. The list
of ExCBs including their contact details can be found on the IECEx
website at: https://www.iecex.com/information/excbs/httpwww-
iecex-comdirectorybodiesbodies1-aspid5/
Simply click on the Identifier and this will populate the ExCB details
including email, phone, and Scope of IEC Standards they can
issue and test to.

Only approved IECEx Certification Bodies (ExCBs) can operate

5 Who can issue an IECEx Certificate of within the IECEx Certified Equipment Scheme and issue IECEx
Conformity? Test Reports (ExTRs), and IECEx Quality Assessment Reports
(QARs). The list of IECEx Certification Bodies can be accessed
from the IECEx website under Information/ExCBs:
https://www.iecex.com/
The Certified Equipment Scheme approved IECEx Certification
Bodies can be accessed from the IECEx website from the following
link:
https://www.iecex.com/information/excbs/httpwww-iecex-
comdirectorybodiesbodies1-aspid5/
The IECEx webpage provides ExCBs by Country and Identifier. By
clicking on the blue Identifier (company name) this will populate the
specific details of the ExCB including their contact details and
approved Scope of Standards they can test to.

The cost of multiple certifications in terms of both certification costs

6 Where is IECEx Certification accepted? and time to market are no longer acceptable to industry operating
in a global marketplace. This aspect is the very reason IECEx was
born in the first place.

While accepting that many established markets will require their

own national or regional certificate/approval to be issued, one must
not overlook the markets that do not have their own Ex standards
nor an Ex certification or approval scheme. These countries are
ready to accept an International Certificate of Conformity issued
 QUESTION ANSWER
under the IEC framework. Many of these are developing
economies where infrastructure is being built or upgraded.

For other countries with their own certification/approval system, the

IECEx Rules are very clear on those countries that are IECEx
Members. They must recognise the conformity assessment data
that is generated to achieve an IECEx Certificate.

Most of the IECEx Member Countries still require some form of

7 Will an IEC Ex Certificate of Conformity processing to issue their own national mark or certification or
be accepted into all the countries that approval however every ExCB listed in the Scheme MUST accept
are listed as IECEx Members or are the testing done by other bodies in the Scheme when issuing their
some of these countries still to adopt own national system. Thereby the IECEx Scheme provides a
fully the IEC Ex Scheme? "fast-track" process to achieving national certification in countries
where regulations still require such.

The current list of IECEx Member Countries is available at

http://iecex.com/information/countries/

Also, there are a number of other countries that are not considered
as participating members of IECEx but accept an IECEx CoC.

No, but the frequency of ongoing surveillance audits on

8 Do we need to have ISO 9001 manufacturing or service facilities is reduced (the period is 18
Certification before we can obtain IECEx months instead 12 months) if your company has ISO 9001
Certification? certification.

More information is available in Clause 5.2.2.2.2 of IECEx

Operational Document OD 025

In the IECEx System, a change of Ex Certifying Body (ExCB) to

9 My company has changed the conduct the Quality Assessment Report (QAR) surveillance is seen
certification body (ExCB) for the as a change to the Certificate and therefore the Certificate of
assessment of our QA system. What interest and any other Certificates of Conformity (CoCs) related to
consequences does this have for our the original QAR need to be updated to the next Issue number and
product certificates and the associated then show the link to the new QAR. The link to the Ex Test Report
costs? (ExTR) related to your product and supporting the CoC can remain
the same - there is no need for the new ExCB to issue a new
ExTR.

In the Field "DETAILS OF CERTIFICATE CHANGES (for issues 1

and above):" on the new Issue of the CoC, the ExCB (responsible
for issuing the CoC) will simply state: "This new Issue of the
Certificate is to cover a change in the ExCB for conducting
surveillance assessments and issuing of QARs".
To progress this, we suggest the following steps:
• you arrange for the new ExCB to conduct the surveillance
audit and issue a new QAR
• you then contact the ExCB that issued the original IECEx
Certificates of Conformity (CoC) and request a new Issue of
the CoC to link to the new QAR. The only work for the ExCB
to create a new Issue of the CoC is to confirm that the QAR
covers the same manufacturing location as already listed on
the CoC, confirm that the Ex techniques on the QAR are the
same as already listed on the CoC.

The reason for the above process is to ensure that transparency is

maintained to show that the CoC is being supported by a current
and valid QAR at all times plus as a confirmation that the correct
manufacturing locations and Ex technology match between the
CoC and QARs.

While the ExCB that needs to create the new Issue CoC to link to
the new QAR may charge a small fee, this is largely an
 QUESTION ANSWER
administrative matter, the costs would be low in addition to the cost
of Certificate fee.

Is it possible to obtain a Certificate of There are the three essential elements when achieving a product
10 Conformity using an ExTR and QAR IECEx certificate of conformity (CoC):
issued by different IECEx Certifying • a Test Report (ExTR) to the relevant Standard(s)
Bodies (ExCBs) or Ex Test Laboratories
• a Quality Assessment Report (QAR) for the facility where a
(ExTLs)?
product is manufactured or a service is provided
• the Certificate of Conformity (CoC) itself.
It is both possible and common to obtain a CoC using an ExTR
and QAR issued by different IECEx Certifying Bodies (ExCBs) or
Ex Test Laboratories (ExTLs) – the control of this situation is
provided by the IECEx Certification Body (ExCB) that issues the
CoC and has ultimate responsibility for ensuring that:
• the ExTR and QAR are complete and correct
• they both relate to same product,
• the manufacturing site listed on the QAR is the same as that
on the CoC.
• the ongoing surveillance program is carried, i.e. that annual
surveillance audits are carried out and that they review such
reports to ensure that there are no non-conformances raised.

Item 8.1.1 of IECEx 02 Rules of Procedure requires that new

11 Must IECEx Certificates be issued to the Certificates only be issued against the current edition of the
current version of the relevant IEC Standard or one edition prior.
Standard(s)?
Note also that:
• There is an exemption for IECEx Unit Verification Certificates
which can be issued to any edition of the Standard
• At present there is NO requirement to upgrade a previously
issued Certificate to a later edition of the Standard
• Changes may be made to previously issued certificates (the
issuing of a New Issue of a Certificate) and the older editions of
the Standard maybe used, that is, there is no need to upgrade
the product to later editions of Standards when seeking a new
issue of the Certificate.

The main rationale for the above is that in general, when a

certificate number is issued, noting that IEC 60079-0 requires that
the year of issue is to be incorporated into a certificate reference
number, hence there is an expectation that a certificate number
say "IECEx XX 18.0001" then the certificate would relate to an
edition of the Standard or, to take the words of ATEX, reflect ‘state
of the art as at 2018’.

When a new edition of a relevant The publication of a new Edition of a Standard does not require a
12 Standard is published what happens to new or supplementary issue of the certificate of equipment covered
the current CoC? by IECEx Certificates of Conformity as a Certificate attests that the
specified equipment satisfied the requirements of the previous
Edition(s) of the Standard and this may be sufficient for the
requirements of certain customers or users.

How is the manufacturer affected by a The applicant or manufacturer may however choose to request the
13 Standards change in relationship to the ExCB to test and certify the equipment to the later Edition of the
“CoC” for their IECEx certified product? Standard by issuing an “up-issue” or “supplementary issue’ of the
original Certificate. The later issue of the Certificate will list the
newer Edition of the Standard. The issue of an “up-issued” or
“supplementary issue” Certificate does not cancel or supersede
previous issues (that remain Current until Cancelled or
Suspended)

The publication of a new Edition of a Standard does not

necessarily mean that equipment certified to earlier Editions is not
 QUESTION ANSWER
safe and it is recommended that manufacturers, customers and
users of equipment consider the impact of the changes in the new
Edition of the Standard on the suitability of equipment certified to
earlier Editions of the Standard.

The role of the IECEx On-Line Certificate System on the IECEx

14 Is it required for the CoC to be signed for Official Website is to provide a controlled and publicly available
it to be valid? I have seen a couple of Master version of IECEx Certificates.
online CoC’s without signatures.
Using the website version as the current and Master version
provides industry with a tool to combat fake certificates. This way
there is no doubt – if the certificate is not available on the system it
does not exist.

When reading an IECEx Certificate you will note the “Status” field
in upper left of page 1 of every certificate – if the Status is listed as
“Current” the certificate is valid and current.

Further, clicking your mouse on the red text “important information”

in the top right the screen displaying an On-line certificate provides
a statement regarding signatures on the certificate.

If you have printed a ‘hard copy” or hold a “pdf” format electronic

copy of the website Master version, you are in possession of what
we call an uncontrolled copy. As the content of this may have
changed or been superseded you should consult the IECEx On-
Line Certificate System to confirm that it is still current and valid.

When reading a printed “hard copy” certificate you will see that
space for a signature and date has been added to the certificate
near the bottom of page 1 to accommodate the situation where
there is a need to have the Certification Body sign the copy to
prove it is a legitimate copy – this field only appears when printing
a certificate or creating a pdf format copy.

The role of the IECEx On-Line Certificate System is that the

15 Is there a “life span” on the validity of version you see on the IECEx Official Website, is the Master and
IECEx Certificates of Conformity Controlled version. In viewing an IECEx CoC you will see, towards
(CoCs)? If not, how would we know if a top left of page 1 of every certificate the “Status” field – as long as
CoC submitted to us is still valid? the certificate status remains “Current” the Certificate is valid and
current.

As IECEx CoCs are considered living documents with a clearly

defined status of Current / Suspended / Cancelled, there is no
expiry date and the status can change at any time.

For a manufacturer to keep their CoC current they must abide by

the IECEx rules which include the successful auditing of their
factories by an IECEx certification body every 12-18 months. So
one can consider that the CoC is reconfirmed every 12-18 months.

In more detail, see the following extract from of IECEx 02 Rules of

Procedure Item 5.1 :
“…...The certificate will attest that the equipment’s design
conforms to the relevant IEC Standards and that the manufacturer
is manufacturing the product under a quality system and
associated quality plan(s), meeting the requirements of this
Scheme and under the surveillance of an ExCB…....”:

Item 9.11 of IECEx 02 details the rules regarding the suspension

or cancellation of Certificates. One common reason for
suspension or cancellation is when “the manufacturer’s quality
system and associated quality plan no longer provides adequate
confidence that Ex equipment will be produced in conformity with
the design of the certified equipment”.
 QUESTION ANSWER
A Certificate may also be temporarily “Suspended” so that the
manufacturer can rectify matters identified by the ExCB as
requiring attention before the Certificate is restored to “Current”
after which manufacture of certified equipment can recommence.
The date of suspension of a Certificate will be specified on the
Suspended status Certificate and equipment manufactured prior to
this date is not affected by the suspension.

Therefore, there is no expiry to a certificate, providing that the

certificate holder (manufacturer) continues to allow the ExCB to
enter their manufacturing premises and that surveillance audits are
successful in enabling the ExCB to gain objective evidence that
the quality management system first meets the requirements of
IECEx (see IECEx Operational Documents OD 005 and OD 025)
and that the Ex product maintains compliance with the IEC
Standards to which it was originally tested.

So, by default, providing the manufacturer continues to comply

with the IECEx rules his certificate does not expire, as there is on-
going assessments of the manufacturer. The fact that the original
master of the IECEx certificates are electronic and on-line, means
that if suspended or cancelled then this is immediately noted on
the website.

What is the process that the If the manufacture chooses to cease manufacture of equipment to
16 manufacturer shall follow if they decide the previous design they could elect to cancel Certificates that
to cease manufacture of the apply to the previous design.
equipment/device permanently?
If the manufacturer makes a change to If a manufacturer makes changes to the design of IECEx Certified
17 the equipment/device from that listed on Equipment they are required to advise the ExCB that issued the
an “original Certificate of Conformity” is IECEx Certificate(s) covering that equipment – the ExCB will
there a new “CoC” required? advise if an “up-issue” of the Certificate(s) is required to include the
design changes that could impact on the ability of the equipment to
satisfy the requirements of the IEC Standard listed on the
Certificate.
The up-issued (issue x) CoC will include a note in the “Details of
Certificate Changes” (from issues 1 and above) describing the
changes from the previous issue to the new “up-issued” version.

As the IECEx On-Line database is the All CoCs remain visible on the www.iecex.com website to all users
18 “Controlled Version” of the Certificate of and can be viewed by selecting Certificate/ExTR/QAR number @
Conformity (CoC), how do I search the http://iecex.iec.ch/iecex/exs.nsf/ex_eq.xsp?v=e
database to ensure the CoC I have is Please note that the top menu bar shows the 4 IECEx Schemes. If
current and valid? you are searching for Equipment, then ensure that Certified
Equipment tab is selected.
The Search menu is pretty intuitive but please note that you have
click on the Search button as hitting Enter on your keyboard does
initiate the Search. There is a link on this page to document OD-
011-1, (Click here for a link to the INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE)
which provides more detailed instructions on the Search features.
Please also note that you can search by ExTRs or ExQARs (under
IECEx documents). If you already have the Certificate number,
then simply type the number under the heading,
Certificate/ExTR/QAR number and simple type in the CoC # as,
‘Certifying Body Identifier <space> CoC number’, Example: CSA
18.0001, then click on the Search button. The Certificate details
will appear below, and you now have the option to click on the
Certificate no. to open the document or you can click on the PDF
icon to download the PDF version of the Certificate.

All Cancelled and Suspended CoCs remain visible on the

19 www.iecex.com website to all users and can be viewed by
 QUESTION ANSWER
Is there somewhere on the IECEx selecting Status plus Cancelled or Suspended in the Status field of
website that shows the date of all the search page @
cancelled and suspended certificates? http://iecex.iec.ch/iecex/exs.nsf/ex_eq.xsp?v=e
The actual date of the Cancellation or Suspension appears in the
Note that the IECEx Secretariat adds to the “Equipment” field of
the particular CoC at the time of suspension or cancellation.

Certification is a means of verifying manufacturing capability - that

20 What happens when an Ex Equipment is, when the products were originally produced the manufacturer
Certificate of Conformity is suspended or had confirmed their capability to an ExCB against the requirements
cancelled? of the IECEx Certified Ex Equipment Scheme.

A Certificate may be cancelled on request from the manufacturer

for a number of reasons (for example, that they may no longer
manufacture the product) OR they may be suspended by an ExCB
because it has found that the manufacturer cannot be confirmed
as having the capability to produce complying product. Product
manufactured before the date of suspension or cancellation may
be offered for sale IF it can be shown that these items were
produced when the certificate was still current.

Guidance on the definitions of these and other terms in common

21 What are the differences between: use in the IECEx Schemes may be found at:
• Approval • Section 3 of IECEx OD 025
• Certification • Section 3 of IECEx 02
• Accreditation
• Acceptance
• Recognition

The IECEx Rules of Procedure, IECEx 02 for the Ex Certified

22 What Responsibilities does the Equipment Scheme, define the responsibilities for parties to an
APPLICANT detailed on an IECEx IECEx Certificate. These state that (also in accordance with
Equipment Certificate of Conformity ISO/IEC 17065 and ISO/IEC 17067) the certificate remains the
have? ownership and responsibility of the Certification Body with the
applicant having responsibilities to the Certifier according to the
Certifiers own terms and conditions via a contract between the two
parties.

What responsibilities does the The roles and activities of “applicant’” and “manufacturer” are
MANUFACTURER(S) listed on the defined in Sections 3 and 9 of IECEx 02
Certificate have?
Further information for applicants can be found in IECEx Guidance
Publication 02A

Who is considered to be the Owner of an IECEx Certificates are issued and controlled by the issuing
IEC Ex COC? Is it the issuing Body, the Certification Body – in this respect they are ‘owned’ by that
Applicant or the Manufacturer? Certification Body and can be cancelled or suspended on request
to the IECEx Secretariat by that Certification Body following their
consultation with the Applicant.

Who is responsible for ensuring that the As per Item 3.17 of IECEx 02 it is the manufacturer “that carries
Product complies? out or controls such stages in the manufacture, assessment,
handling and storage of a product that enables it to accept
responsibility for continued compliance of the product with the
relevant requirements and undertakes all obligations in that
connection.”

What role does the IEC (as represented The IECEx System management structure confirms that an IECEx
by IECEx) play in this process? Certification body has been judged to meet the requirements of the
IECEx Rules, which include compliance with ISO/IEC 17065, BUT
the IECEx does not warrant the decision taken by an Ex
 QUESTION ANSWER
Certification Body when they issue the certificate (refer to the IEC
Harmonised Basic Rules, and IECEx 01-S, Section 10, Clause
10.3)
http://iecex.com/publications/iecex-rules/

23 Can an approved IECEx ExCBs issue Yes, as long as the ExCB hold ISO/IEC 80079-36 and ISO/IEC
Certification for non-electrical equipment 80079-37 within their Scope of Standards as listed on the IECEx
that operates in a hazardous area? website.
https://www.iecex.com/information/excbs/httpwww-iecex-
comdirectorybodiesbodies1-aspid5/

24 Who can use the IECEx Logo? The IECEx Logo shall only be used in accordance with instructions
provided as published in IECEx 01B. It shall not be used in such a
manner that it compromises the integrity of the IEC, IECEx or its
members.
Who may use the IECEx Logo
The IECEx Logo may be used by the following:
• IECEx Member Bodies
• IECEx Certification Bodies (ExCBs) and Testing Labs (ExTLs)
• IECEx Certified Equipment manufacturers
• IECEx Service providers (e.g. Repair facilities)
• IECEx Certified personnel
• IECEX Recognised Training Providers