Ex Certification by Country: ATEX, IECEx, UKCA and National Schemes Compared

No single Ex certificate is accepted worldwide. The EU requires ATEX (CE marking), Great Britain accepts CE or UKCA, the US and Canada require their own listings, and Brazil, China, South Korea, Japan, India and the Eurasian Economic Union run national schemes. Australia and New Zealand accept an IECEx certificate directly. Almost all of these schemes test to the IEC 60079 series, so an IECEx test report (ExTR) is the most reusable piece of evidence. Most national schemes still need a local certificate, a local applicant or both.

Comparison table

The table summarizes the rules as published by regulators and scheme operators, checked in September 2026. "ExTR use" means whether an IECEx test report can serve as the test basis; it almost never replaces the national certificate itself.

Europe: ATEX, UKCA and Northern Ireland

ATEX 2014/34/EU is law in the EU and EEA. Only an EU notified body can issue the EU-type examination certificate needed for category 1 and category 2 electrical equipment, and the production side needs either a quality assurance notification or supervised product testing. See ATEX Directive and ATEX vs IECEx.

Great Britain has its own copy of the rules. Since 1 October 2024 CE marking is recognized there without an end date, so an ATEX-certified product can be sold in GB without UKCA. Northern Ireland still requires CE. Details: UKCA Ex (UKEX) certification.

IECEx: what it does and does not do

An IECEx Certificate of Conformity combines a test report (ExTR) from an IECEx test laboratory and a quality assessment report (QAR) on the factory, both issued within the scheme. It has no expiry date. It stays current while surveillance audits continue, and its status (current, suspended or cancelled) is shown on the online IECEx certificate database. The IECEx website lists 37 member countries (September 2026). Its own FAQ notes that most member countries still require some form of processing to issue their own national mark. In practice this means:

• Accepted directly: Australia and New Zealand.
• Used as the basis for a national certificate: Brazil, South Korea, Japan, China (ExTR), India (PESO approval), and the EU and UK at the certification body's discretion.
• Not accepted: the United States and Canada require their own certification. The EAEU requires EAEU-accredited testing.

United States and Canada

US workplace rules (29 CFR 1910.303 and 1910.399) accept electrical equipment only if it is approved, meaning certified by an OSHA-recognized NRTL. OSHA states that equipment for explosive atmospheres "must have the specific mark of one of the NRTLs"; CE and ATEX do not count. Zone-rated equipment is marked with the "AEx" symbol, for example Class I, Zone 0, AEx ia IIC T6.

In Canada, electrical products must be certified by a certification body accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) or inspected by an accredited inspection body. Section 18 of the Canadian Electrical Code uses the Zone system; Class/Division rules are kept in Annex J for existing installations. For how the two classification systems compare, see NEC 500/505 vs ATEX/IECEx.

Brazil

Portaria INMETRO No. 115 of 21 March 2022 sets the conformity assessment requirements for electrical equipment for explosive atmospheres. It replaced Portaria No. 179/2010 from 1 April 2022. Certification is by an INMETRO-accredited product certification body (OCP). Model 5 certificates, which include a QMS audit and surveillance, are valid for 6 years. An OCP may issue its certificate based on an IECEx ExCB's certification by analyzing the ExTR and QAR, if test methods and audit procedures are equivalent. Equipment installed on offshore units built in foreign shipyards follows the classification societies' acceptance rules instead. More on Brazil: NR-10 and INMETRO.

Eurasian Economic Union

Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia apply TR CU 012/2011. Certification is mandatory: no self-declaration. It is done by bodies and laboratories in the union's unified register, and the applicant must be registered in a member state. Details: EAC Ex certification.

China, South Korea, Japan and India

China

Full guide: CCC certification for Ex equipment in China.

SAMR Announcement 2019 No. 34 moved explosion-protected electrical products from production licensing to China Compulsory Certification (CCC) from 1 October 2019. From 1 October 2020, products without a CCC certificate and mark may not leave the factory, be sold or be imported. The current rule is CNCA-C23-01:2024, in force since 1 May 2024. Since 1 May 2022 certification has been to the 2021 editions of the GB/T 3836 series. Certification is by CNCA-designated bodies such as CNEx (Nanyang, with its test center CQST), NEPSI (Shanghai), PCEC (Tianjin), JEXM, CQC and CQM, and consists of a type test, an initial factory inspection and follow-up surveillance. A 2019 Chinese report to IECEx states that IECEx ExTRs are recognized for CCC. Confirm current practice with the designated body. Products for coal mines that fall under the mine-product safety mark system also need the MA mark.

South Korea

Full guide: KCs certification for Ex equipment in Korea.

Explosion-protected electrical equipment is subject to safety certification under Article 84 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The certification bodies are KOSHA, KTL and KGS. For IECEx-certified products, the enforcement rule gives a partial exemption: the factory capability audit is replaced by review of the IECEx QAR and the product examination is a review of test reports. Surveillance checks every two years still apply. ATEX certificates are not accepted directly. Test results from foreign bodies that have an MOU with a Korean certification body can be used, but those routes include an on-site factory audit. Products carry the KCs mark, at least 5 mm high.

Japan

Full guide: Ex type examination in Japan.

Explosion-protected electrical equipment must pass type examination (kentei) under Article 44-2 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act; equipment without the pass mark may not be used. As of July 2026 the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare lists eight registered examination bodies for this equipment, including TIIS and several bodies outside Japan. Since a January 2017 ministry notice, an IECEx ExTR can be submitted as the applicant's prior test results. A 2020 notice extended this to ATEX test reports from notified bodies that are also ExCBs. Certificates are valid for three years. Equipment can be assessed to the classic Japanese structure standard or to the internationally harmonized technical guideline, but only one of them per application. "Japan Ex" and "JPEx" are commercial names for this system, not legal terms.

India

PESO approval by the Chief Controller of Explosives is required for Ex electrical apparatus at petroleum, gas-cylinder and pressure-vessel premises. The July 2025 SOP accepts IECEx CoC plus ExTR for all manufacturers and EU-type examination certificates for EU-based manufacturers. Imports are applied for by an Indian service provider or distributor. Details: PESO approval in India.

Australia and New Zealand

AS/NZS 60079.14 requires proof of compliance for equipment in hazardous areas, and state and New Zealand regulations call up that standard. For example, New Zealand's Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 cite AS/NZS 60079.14:2022, and Queensland's Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 took effect on 1 September 2026. The ANZEx scheme, owned by JAS-ANZ since August 2016, states that either an ANZEx or an IECEx Certificate of Conformity is deemed to comply. Queensland's resources safety regulator notes that equipment without ANZEx or IECEx certification needs a documented conformity assessment by a qualified assessor, and that North American certified equipment needs a Conformity Assessment Document for each device type.

Planning a multi-country certification

1. Design and test once to current IEC 60079 editions through an IECEx ExCB that is also an EU notified body. The ExTR, QAR, IECEx CoC and ATEX certificate can then often come from one test program.
2. Check each target market's edition requirements (for example PESO's accepted-edition list, GB/T 3836-2021 in China, the GOST list in the EAEU) before testing.
3. Set up local applicants early where required: EAEU, India (for imports), and a domestic agent for Korea.
4. Budget separate programs for the US and Canada, where IECEx results do not transfer automatically.
5. Keep one master nameplate drawing, with the marking for each scheme reviewed by the relevant body. See Ex markings explained.

For a country-by-country overview, see the interactive World Ex Certification Map.

Frequently asked questions

Which countries accept IECEx certificates directly?

Australia and New Zealand accept an IECEx Certificate of Conformity directly as proof of compliance. Most other IECEx member countries use the IECEx test report and quality report as the basis for their own national certificate or approval.

Is ATEX accepted outside the EU?

CE marked ATEX equipment is accepted in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. India accepts EU-type examination certificates only from manufacturers based in the EU. Japan accepts some ATEX test reports from notified bodies that are also IECEx certification bodies. The US, Canada, China and the Eurasian Economic Union do not accept ATEX certificates.

Do I need separate certification for the US and Canada?

Yes. The US requires a mark from an OSHA-recognized NRTL, and Canada requires certification by a body accredited by the Standards Council of Canada. IECEx or ATEX certificates are not accepted in place of these.

Does an IECEx certificate expire?

No. An IECEx Certificate of Conformity has no expiry date. It stays current as long as the ExCB's surveillance audits of the factory continue successfully, and its status can be checked in the online IECEx database.

Which Ex schemes need a local applicant or representative?

The Eurasian Economic Union requires an applicant registered in a member state, India requires an Indian service provider or distributor to apply for imported equipment, and Korea allows foreign manufacturers to act through a domestic agent. The EU, UK and IECEx do not require a local certificate holder.

Sources

1. IECEx: FAQs, Certified Equipment Scheme
2. OSHA: Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory Program, FAQ
3. Standards Council of Canada: Recognized Canadian electrical product and equipment approval marks
4. INMETRO: Electrical equipment for explosive atmospheres (Portaria No. 115/2022), FAQ
5. SAMR / State Council of China: Announcement 2019 No. 34 on CCC for explosion-protected electrical products
6. KOSHA: Explosion-protected equipment certification (Korean)
7. MHLW Japan: Notice on use of IECEx test reports in type examination (Kihatsu 0106 No. 3, 2017, Japanese)
8. ANZEx (JAS-ANZ): Equipment certification