A General Approval/Laboratory Approval is valid for one year from the approval date.
Can I expedite the review process?
Expedite fee pursuant to Section 98.0433 of the Los Angeles City Municipal Code may be paid by the applicant to reduce the time it takes to assign the application to an LADBS-MTL engineer.
Does electrical equipment require approval by the City of Los Angeles Building and Safety Electrical Testing Laboratory (LADBS-ETL)?
What are different approvals I can obtain from LADBS-ETL?
The LADBS-ETL offers three different types of approvals:
How do I obtain an application form for equipment (or conductor) approval by LADBS-ETL?
There is one application form that is used for each type of submittal (New, Renewal, Technical and Clerical Modifications, for Laboratory, General, and One-time Approvals). You can obtain this form as follows:
How long does it take to obtain LADBS-ETL approval for a product?
Depending upon the labs backlog, it would take about 10 to 15 days for a lab application, and 15 to 20 days for a General Approval (Research Report) to be assigned. After assignment, it would generally take about one to two weeks to get a response.
Who can apply for approval?
Equipment manufacturer or equipment distributor (for general or one-time approval) and end user of the equipment (for one-time approval) can apply for equipment approval.
How long is the approval good for, and where do I find it?
The general and laboratory approval is good for 12 months. The product approval letter indicates the duration and expiration date of the approved product.
Can I expedite the review process?
Yes. Pursuant to section 98.0422 of the Los Angeles City Municipal Code, expedite review process is available for the amount of the fee equal to one-half of the review fee, in addition to the normal review fee.
How can an approval be renewed?
Only products that have either a Laboratory or General Approval (no one-time approvals) may be subject to annual renewal. About 60 days before an approval expires, the original applicant needs to take the following actions:
Is approved equipment or conductor required to have an approval label, and if so, how one can get one?
All equipment approved by LADBS-ETL, with some exceptions for some of the equipment that have General Approvals, are required to bear the approval label of LADBS-ETL. This approval label would be different from equipment that is approved under Laboratory or General Approval vs.
How do I know if the equipment is still approved?
Make sure that the equipment approval has not expired by checking the equipment approval letter. Each letter has an approval and expiration date that is indicated on the top right hand of the letter.
How do I know what models of equipment are approved?
Check the equipment approval letter. Every approval letter indicates the models that are included. You may check the approval letters on the "LA Research Reports" page.
What is an approved recognized electrical testing agency? And what testing agencies are approved?
An approved recognized electrical testing agency is a testing agency that obtains approval from the Department of Building and Safety to perform testing and listing and field evaluation.
Can I use testing conducted within our testing facility (in-house test lab) to obtain equipment approval?
No. Unless it is part of equipment approval by the LADBS-ETL with prior approval, provided that the testing is witnessed by the LADBS-ETL and the test program and equipment have already been approved by the LADBS-ETL.
What I need to do to add other models to my approval?
Addition of a model to an existing approval requires submittal of Technical Modification. You need to perform the following steps:
What I need to do to maintain my approval if I modify my equipment during the approval period?
The steps are the same as regular approval, as follows:
Submit the following:
Who can apply to the City to become a recognized electrical test lab?