Type approval or certificate of conformity is granted to a product that meets a minimum set of regulatory, technical and safety requirements.
Processes and certifications known as type approval in English are often called homologation, or some cognate expression, in other European languages.
[1][2] Compliance with type approval requirements can be denoted by a third-party marking on the back of the product (e.g. ABS, TÜV, UL, CSA, KIWA), or by a type-approval certificate obtained by a manufacturer and kept on file.
The CE mark found on the back of many electronic devices does not mean that the product has obtained type approval in the European Union.
The CE mark is the manufacturer's declaration that the system/assembly meets the minimum safety requirements of all the directives (laws) applicable to it, and of itself, does not signify any third party involvement in the design or testing of a system/assembly.
The new Framework Directive (Directive 2007/46/EC establishing a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles)[5] rules the approval schemes of the new motor vehicles and their trailers in the European Union:[6] Each jurisdiction that regulates communications requires all types of equipment, and especially radio communications equipment, that are not specifically exempted (by reason of low power output, for instance) to be tested for conformance to local regulations before it is approved for use in that jurisdiction.
A certificate of conformance is defined in American commerce Archived 18 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine as a document certified by a competent authority that the supplied good or service meets the required specifications.
This directive aims at the clarification of the type approval procedure for motor vehicles, separate technical units (i.e., trailers), and components.
In March 1992, the EU Council formally adopted the few remaining pieces of component-related legislation that are necessary to make the whole-vehicle type approval a reality for passenger cars.
Legislation established an EU type approval system to replace the national schemes of the twelve member states.