“China Compulsory Certification”, abbreviated as CCC or 3C. The CCC certification mark is“CCC”, which was formulated by the National Certification and Accreditation Administration Committee in accordance with the “Compulsory Product Certification Management Regulations” (Order No. 5 of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China).
China Compulsory Certification (CCC) is similar to other certifications for product quality standardization–such as the European CE system–but there are important differences. The CCC certificate was introduced in 2002 and applies to imported goods as well as to Chinese products. Products which require certification may only be imported, sold and/or used in business activities in China, after a China Compulsory Certification has been obtained. Since October 2019 there is a CCC-Self-Declaration or a voluntary certification for certain product groups.
The new compulsory product certification system came into force since May 1, 2002. To ensure the smooth transition between the new and the old system, the original product safety certification system and import safety and quality licensing system would be abolished from 1 May 2003.
According to relevant documents concerning the national compulsory product certification (hereinafter referred to as “3C Certification”), since May 1, 2003, if products that were included in the first directory of 3C Certifications (namely, of the 19 categories of 132 kinds of products) failed to obtain 3C logo, they cannot be for sale, import, and used in business activities. But for exceptional cases in production, import and business activities, Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China issued Notice No. 8 of 2002 and stipulated that some products can apply for exemption from 3C certification.
Here are some key questions related:
What products need to apply for compulsory product certification?
The First Catalogue of Products Subject to Compulsory Certification (hereinafter referred to as “the catalogue)”, which refers to the attachments in General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China Announcement (2OO1, No.33 ) and 132 products divided into 19 categories jointly announced by China Certification and Accreditation Administration Commission.
1 ) Wire & Cable (5 types in total ); 2 ) Circuit switching and protection or electrical device connections( 6 types in total ); 3 ) Low Voltage electric apparatus (9 types in total); 4 ) Fractional electric motor (1 type only ); 5 ) Power tools (16 types in total ); 6 ) Electric welder (15 types in total ); 7 ) Household and similar appliances and equipment (18 types in total ); 8 ) Audio and video equipments ( not including audio equipment for broadcasting purpose and car audio equipment ) (16 types in total ); 9 ) IT equipment (12 types in total ) ;1O) Lighting equipment ( not including lighting equipment whose voltage is below 36V) ( 2 types in total); 11 ) Telecommunications Terminal Equipment (9 types in total );12 )Motor vehicles and safety parts (4 types in total); 13 ) Motor vehicle tires (5 types in total ); 14 ) Safety glass (5 types in total );15 ) Agricultural machinery ( 1 type in total ); 16 ) Latex products ( 1 type in total ); 17 ) Medical Devices (7 types in total ); 18 ) Fire control products (3 types in total) 19 ) Security and Protection products (1 type in total)
For more informatio related, please check it on: https://www.cqc.com.cn/www/chinese/cprz/CCCcprz/
What are the procedures for CCC?
The certification procedures include all or part of the following steps; 1 ) Certification Application and Acceptance; 2 ) Type test; 3 ) Factory inspection; 4 ) Sampling; 5 ) Evaluation of certification results and approval; 6 ) Supervision after obtaining certification.
You can also apply CCC via a qualified agent in China, for more informatio related, please check it on: https://www.cqc.com.cn/www/chinese/cprz/CCCcprz/
What technical materials should be provided by enterprises in the application?
The following documents are generally required. 1) general assembly drawing, electrical schematic diagram, circuit diagram. 2) key components and/or list of main raw materials. 3) the difference descriptions of the products of all sizes in the same application unit. 4) other required documents. 5) CB Certificate and report (if available), for more information please refer to the Implementation Rules for Compulsory Certification for the products.
How long is the certification cycle?
In general, CQC will identify the certification and inform the applicants in one to three months since its formal acceptance of the application.
What is the cost of CCC?
In accordance with national standards, the fee for CCC shall be collected by CQC. The applicant should submit the required fee for CCC to CQC according to the items, amount and back account listed by the CQC. The certification fee shall be slightly different with different certification bodies.
Here is the an example CCC certificate for your reference:
