What is the EAC Ex certificate and is it needed for Russia and Kazakhstan?

Yes. In the five member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, equipment for explosive atmospheres must be certified under the common technical regulation TR CU 012/2011 before it is placed on the market. The "EAC Ex certificate" is that certificate of conformity, issued by a certification body accredited in the union; the equipment then carries the EAC mark and the special Ex sign of the regulation.

Short answer

• Legal basis: TR CU 012/2011 "On safety of equipment for work in explosive atmospheres", adopted by Customs Union Commission Decision No. 825 of 18 October 2011, in force since 15 February 2013.
• Scope: electrical equipment including Ex components, and non-electrical equipment, for gas and dust atmospheres and for mines.
• Form: mandatory certification. A declaration by the manufacturer is not enough.
• Who certifies: an accredited certification body and test laboratory listed in the union's register.
• Applicant: a company or sole trader registered in a member state. For serial production (scheme 1c) it must be the manufacturer or a party acting for the foreign manufacturer under contract; for a batch or a single unit a seller may also apply.
• Validity: a certificate for serial production runs for at most 5 years; one for a batch or a single unit has no fixed term.

What the regulation requires

The regulation says that conformity of Ex equipment is mandatory and takes the form of certification. It defines three schemes:

The applicant hands the certification body a technical file: operating documents, the list of standards applied from the official lists linked to the regulation, an explanatory note with the technical solutions and risk assessment where no standard was applied, the quality management certificate if there is one, and for a batch the supply contract or shipping documents. The test report must list the drawings of the explosion protection features, so the certified design is fixed in the file.

The standards are interstate (GOST) standards, largely adoptions of the IEC 60079 series. Their lists are set by the Eurasian Economic Commission, currently by Board Decision No. 158 of 1 December 2020, so the edition used may differ from the latest IEC edition.

Documents must stay available in the union: the manufacturer or its authorised representative keeps the file for at least 10 years after production stops, and for a batch the importer, manufacturer or representative keeps it for at least 10 years after the last item is sold.

Marking: EAC and the special Ex sign

Certified equipment carries:

• the EAC mark (the single mark of circulation of the union), on each unit and in the documentation; it may go on the packaging only where the design makes marking the unit impossible;
• the special explosion safety sign: the letters "Ex" in a rectangle, as drawn in Annex 2 of the regulation, with a basic rectangle height of at least 10 mm;
• the explosion protection marking: the codes defined in Annex 1 of the regulation and the standards, such as the level of protection, type of protection, group and temperature class.

An ATEX or IECEx marking on the same nameplate has no legal effect in the union.

Does an ATEX or IECEx certificate help?

Not as a substitute. The regulation requires testing in an accredited laboratory included in the union register and a certificate from an accredited union body. Existing test reports may help to prepare the file, but whether they reduce the testing, and how far, is decided by that body, not by the applicant. Plan for the time needed to appoint a local applicant, arrange testing and, for serial production, the analysis of production at the factory.

Common mistakes

• Using an EAC declaration. Other EAEU regulations allow declarations; TR CU 012/2011 does not for Ex equipment.
• Assuming a Russian certificate is only for Russia. A certificate under TR CU 012/2011 is issued under the common regulation of the union and is valid in all member states, whichever member state the issuing body is in.
• Forgetting the expiry date. Serial certificates last at most 5 years and depend on surveillance.
• Ignoring trade restrictions. Certification says nothing about sanctions or export controls, which exporters must check separately.

Related on excodex

• Ex certification in other markets: UKEX, EAC, INMETRO, CCC, PESO and others
• Which countries accept IECEx certificates directly?
• Is IECEx certification a legal requirement anywhere?
• Standards space: TR CU 012/2011; tool: Ex marking check

Standards and further reading

• TR CU 012/2011, technical regulation of the Customs Union on safety of equipment for work in explosive atmospheres, adopted by Customs Union Commission Decision No. 825 of 18 October 2011 (text in Russian on the official EAEU legal portal, linked from the Commission page below).
• Eurasian Economic Commission, page on TR CU 012/2011 with the regulation, its entry into force and the decision on the lists of standards (No. 158 of 1 December 2020): eec.eaeunion.org
• Eurasian Economic Union, member states: eaeunion.org
• Interstate GOST standards for explosive atmospheres (largely based on IEC 60079), as listed by the Eurasian Economic Commission.

This article is general technical information prepared by the excodex editorial team. It does not replace the applicable standards, the equipment certificates and instructions, national regulations or the assessment of a competent person.