Compliance USA
Electrical panels for machines and industrial installations: what it takes to be ready for the U.S. market.
Compliance, Safety, Approval. U.S. market ready.
The North American market is a major opportunity for machine builders and manufacturers of electrical equipment. However, the regulatory and technical framework that applies in the United States and Canada is profoundly different from the European one.
Today it is increasingly common to export to the USA relying exclusively on a Preliminary Evaluation, or on the certification of the industrial control panel to the UL 508A standard alone.
Even a UL 508A listed industrial control panel may not be accepted in the field by the AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) or by the local inspector.
It is essential to understand that this alone does not automatically guarantee full compliance with all the laws, regulations and standards that apply in the U.S. market.
Preliminary Evaluation
UL 508A certification
AHJ acceptance is not automatic
A listed panel and a preliminary evaluation alone do not guarantee acceptance in the field.
UL 508A ≠ automatic approval in the USA
The final decision on the acceptance of the equipment always rests with the AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction): the local authority, or the inspector in charge of the verification in the field. The AHJ can:
Accept the system
Require modifications
Impose a Field Evaluation
Deny the authorization
Not just the panel: compliance covers the whole machine
Being NEC Compliant does not simply mean having a compliant and/or UL 508A certified electrical panel. It means ensuring that the entire machine or installation complies with all the applicable requirements of the National Electrical Code (NEC) and related standards — including, for example:
SCCR calculation
Short Circuit Current Rating calculation, mandatory since NEC 2017.
Cybersecurity
Industrial cybersecurity aspects required by NEC 2023.
Arc Flash and NFPA 70E
Arc Flash assessment and NFPA 70E requirements, increasingly requested from machine builders and integrators, with new introductions planned in NEC 2026.
Wiring and installation methods
Wiring, conductor identification and wiring methods according to NFPA 79 and the applicable articles of NFPA 70.
Integration in the final site
Correct integration of the machine or line into the final production site.
Certified and listed components
Use of certified/listed components, compatible with the actual application.
Functional safety
Functional safety requirements, lockout/tagout, emergency stop and operator protection.
Hazardous Locations
Any Hazardous Location / Division / Class requirements specific to the installation site.
Field Evaluation
Starting from 2017, the NEC introduced the Field Evaluation procedure — also at the AHJ's request — as an alternative to NRTL certification, specifically for the approval of special, custom or tailor-made machines and installations (NEC, art. 100). The procedure is also confirmed by the latest edition of the California Electrical Code (01/01/2026).
AC&E North America is an IAS-Accredited Field Evaluation Body (FEB), authorized to assess, inspect and label electrical equipment for the U.S. market.
Faster market access
As an accredited FEB, AC&E can perform on-site inspections and tests according to the applicable standards, providing immediate technical support to meet local requirements.
Certification labels
AC&E evaluation and labelling activities are recognized across the United States and Canada, allowing the direct issuing of certification labels and reducing approval times and the critical issues linked to third parties or intermediaries.
AC&E North America
Knowing North American laws, codes and standards is now essential for manufacturers exporting machines and installations to the USA and Canada, and for technical teams who want to operate with real competence in the North American market.
Responding correctly to North American requirements means adopting a holistic, integrated view of compliance, covering every machine and installation safety requirement:
An incomplete assessment can lead to disputes in the field, start-up delays, failed AHJ approval, plant downtime and extremely high adaptation costs directly at the end customer's site.
AC&E offers a complete one-stop solution, from preliminary inspections to laboratory testing and on-site Field Evaluations:
Identification of local requirements
Technical pre-inspection
Accredited laboratory testing
On-site support
Direct contact with AHJ
Labelling & final report
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