ETL vs UL Certificates: How to Tell Them Apart on Paper

UL and ETL are the two certification marks you will see on EV charging equipment in North America, and buyers frequently assume they are interchangeable. The underlying standards are the same, which is true as far as it goes. But the documents look different, the numbering systems work differently, and the verification paths diverge. This article walks through the differences as they appear on paper, so you can tell the two apart and verify either one correctly.

The Same Standards, Different Issuers

Both marks certify against the same UL standards. A UL Listed AC charger is tested to UL 2594; an ETL Listed AC charger is tested to the same UL 2594. The difference is the certification body: UL Solutions issues the UL mark, and Intertek issues the ETL mark. A product can carry either mark and meet the same safety requirements, because the requirement documents are the same standards.

What differs is the paperwork. The two bodies issue different certificate formats, use different numbering conventions, and publish in different directories. If you know how to read one, you can read the other, but the field names and lookup paths are not identical.

How the Documents Differ on Paper

The Numbering Systems

The identifier you use to look up a certificate differs between the two bodies. UL certificates carry a certificate number with a market prefix: UL-US for the United States listing, UL-CA for Canada. The Canadian listing is a separate certificate number, because the Canadian standard is a separate document. Intertek ETL certificates carry a control number, which is the identifier used in the Intertek directory, plus a report number in the format "Certificate for Report: 100013604AHM-001."

There is a practical consequence: when a supplier hands you an ETL certificate, the number you verify is the control number; when they hand you a UL certificate, it is the certificate number. Mixing the two up sends you to the wrong lookup.

Model Scope: List vs. Rule

The biggest difference on paper is how the two bodies express the model scope. UL certificates tend to list the covered models explicitly. Our UL 2202 certificate lists exactly two: the DC550KSK01 dispenser and the DC480TFS01 power cabinet. What is listed is covered; what is not listed is not.

Intertek ETL certificates often use a structured rule instead. Our ETL certificate for the AC line covers "EVC followed by -192, -112, -070 or -OTS; followed by -SM or -CM; followed by -001 or -002; followed by -32, -40, -48 or -80." This is a compact way to cover a family of configurations, and it is precise if you read it carefully: each segment of the rule restricts the next. A configuration that falls outside any segment of the rule is not covered. When you check an ETL certificate, expand the rule against your exact SKU before concluding it is covered.

Standards on the Page

UL certificates state one standard per certificate, with the paired Canadian standard on a separate certificate. The ETL format lists both standards on a single line: "Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment [UL 2594:2022 Ed.3]" and "Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment [CSA C22.2#280:2022 Ed.3]." Both approaches cover the same ground — the US standard plus the Canadian standard — but the document layout differs, and the edition information is equally important in both.

Verification Paths

The directory for UL listings is UL Product iQ (iq.ulprospector.com), while Intertek ETL listings have their own directory. The verification method is the same in both: take the identifier from the certificate, search the directory, and confirm the entity, standard, and model scope match, and that the record is active. The difference is only which identifier you search with.

The Entity Field, on Both

The entity behind the certificate matters on both formats. On the UL certificate, the "Issued to" field names the manufacturing entity, with the factory address. On the ETL certificate, the client field names the certificate holder — in our case the Hong Kong trading entity in the group, with the models manufactured to the same standard and under the same follow-up conditions. When you buy through a distributor, the entity field on either certificate is what lets you trace the chain back to the accountable party.

Certificates Are Snapshots; Records Are Current

Neither a UL certificate nor an ETL certificate is a living document. Both are snapshots from the issue date. What keeps a certification alive is the follow-up program: periodic factory assessments for ETL, follow-up services for UL, which is why the directory records carry current status while the paper certificates carry a fixed issue date. When you are handed a certificate that is several years old, the age alone is not disqualifying — the directory status is. An active record means the certification is current; an inactive one means it is not, regardless of what the paper says.

Common Misreadings, on Both Formats

The same misreadings appear with both marks. The most common is brand-level thinking: "UL certified" or "ETL certified" applied to a company, when certification actually attaches to specific models listed in the scope. The second is treating the certificate as proof of the mark. As the UL document itself states, the certificate does not authorize applying the mark; the follow-up program does. The third is ignoring the model scope when the scope is a structured rule rather than a list, which is where ETL certificates trip buyers up: a rule reads like it covers more than it does, until you expand it against your exact SKU.

The discipline is the same for both: read the entity, expand the scope to your exact model, note the standard edition, and check the directory record. The differences are in the field names and lookup identifiers, not in the method. ## What This Means When You Are Verifying

The practical takeaway: do not treat UL and ETL as two dialects of the same document. They are two document systems built on the same standards, and each has its own identifier, its own directory, and its own model-scope format. The reading method is the same — entity, scope, standard edition, follow-up status — but the fields you look at and the numbers you search with are different. If you are checking a certificate right now, start with the identifier that matches the issuer: certificate number for UL, control number for ETL. The general reading guide covers both in one method, and the UL 2202 walkthrough works through a real UL document line by line. Our certificates are public: the UL 2202 PDF, the ETL UL 2594 PDF, and the summary on the certifications page.