The CB test certificate is a formal CB system document issued by the authorized NCB, and its purpose is to inform other NCBs that the tested product samples are found to meet the current requirements. The CB test certificate should not be used for advertising, but it is allowed to use the existing CB certificate as reference material.

The CB report is a standardized report, which enumerates the requirements of the relevant IEC standards in the form of an item-by-item list. The report provides the results of all required tests, measurements, verifications, inspections, and evaluations. These results should be clear and unambiguous. The report also contains photos, circuit diagrams, pictures, and product descriptions. According to the rules of the CB system, the CB test report is only valid when it is provided with the CB test certificate. If an NCB has the necessary testing equipment and technical capabilities, it can test and evaluate products based on national differences in other countries. These additional tests are attached to the CB test report as an attachment, and are usually recognized by other recognized NCBs.

National difference is the difference between a country’s standard and the corresponding international standard. All national differences of countries joining the CB system are submitted to the IECEE Secretariat and published in the CB Bulletin.

The CB system is managed by the Certification Management Committee (CMC) and reports to the Conformity Assessment Board (CAB) of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). CAB approved CMC’s recommendations on changing the principles of the CB system, appointment of officials, finance and IECEE policies. The responsibility of CMC is to operate, develop and improve the CB system in accordance with the principles of the CB system, decide to accept, reject and suspend membership, and determine the new product categories and standards of the CB system.

The members of CMC are composed of representatives from member states, including NCB representatives, CMC executives (chairman, vice-chairman, secretary and treasurer), the chairman and secretary of the Test Laboratory Committee (CTL), IEC advisory committees (such as ACOS), and safety consultants Representative of the committee, Secretary-General of IEC.

The Committee of Testing Laboratories (CTL) is composed of representatives from NCB and CB laboratories. CTL is responsible for handling test procedures and explaining technical requirements, test conditions, test equipment and comparison tests. Its main goal is to enhance technical credibility and consistency, which are the rules and procedures required for mutual recognition of test results in the CB system. The rules and procedures of the CB system are published in the following IEC publications:
IECEE 01 (Basic rules and procedures of IECEE)
IECEE 02 (rules and procedures of the CB system)
IECEE 01 describes the organization, membership, certification management committee (CMC), testing laboratory committee (CTL), appeal committee, the functions and responsibilities of these committees and their officials, and the overall management of IECEE.

IECEE 02 describes the role of the CB system, the recognition of the standards of NCB and CB laboratories and the basis for expanding their scope, the procedures for issuing and processing CB test certificates, and the requirements for using the manufacturer’s test facilities.

The CB Bulletin provides basic information about the CB system and is also the main tool for users of the CB system. The IECEE Secretariat regularly publishes CB bulletins. The bulletin contains the following information:
1) Standards used in the CB system;
2) Statistics of CB test certificates issued in the previous year;
3) Information about the member NCB, including the product category and standard of the CB certificate issued/recognized by them;
4) The national differences of each standard in each member country;
5) The name and address of the test equipment supplier required by the IEC standard.
6) Some information previously published in the CB Bulletin is now available on the website of the CB system (www.iecee.org).

The CB system can bring benefits to manufacturers who export their products to member states of the CB system.
These manufacturers can:
-Choose a suitable NCB for cooperation;
-All product tests are done by the same NCB, including tests for differences in target market countries;
-Use the CB test report and certificate issued by NCB, and obtain the national certification of other countries through the member NCB of other countries. Although the country that recognizes the CB certificate requires the manufacturer to submit an application, and may also require the submission of samples, there is usually no need for additional testing or only a small amount of testing. Most of the application processing process is some management work. Therefore, these certification applications based on CB test certificates and CB test reports will be processed prior to other certification applications, and the application cycle and application fees will be reduced.