By Nicole · product development, Dongguan Mingmei · updated November 2026 · 10 min read

"We have CE" is the most over-used sentence in this industry. On a battery scale it usually means one EMC report for one model, and nothing else. Here is what each market actually asks for, what a report covers, and how to check one before you commit to a container.

Start with the market, not the certificate

EU: three common misunderstandings

1. LVD usually does not apply to a battery scale. The Low Voltage Directive covers equipment rated 50–1000 V AC. A scale running on AAA cells or 5 V USB sits outside that range, so an LVD report for the scale itself is often unnecessary — while the mains adapter you ship with it needs its own approval. If a supplier sells you "CE-LVD" on a battery product, ask what it was tested against.

2. CE for a Bluetooth model is RED, not EMC. Once you add 2.4 GHz radio, the Radio Equipment Directive applies, with EMC and radio spectrum tests inside it. An EMC-only report does not cover a Bluetooth scale, and marketplaces increasingly know the difference.

3. Someone in the EU has to be named. Since the General Product Safety Regulation took effect in December 2024, consumer products need an economic operator established in the EU, named on the product or its packaging. If you are the brand owner outside the EU, that is a service you buy (or your importer provides) — not something a Chinese factory can supply for you.

USA: FCC, and why it matters more than it used to

FCC Part 15 Subpart B applies to any digital device that can emit radio frequency energy — which includes every scale with a microcontroller. It is a self-declaration route with test evidence, not a certificate, which is why the paperwork varies so much between suppliers.

• No radio: Part 15B test report from an accredited lab, plus a Supplier's Declaration of Conformity.
• Bluetooth or Wi-Fi: Part 15C certification through a Telecommunication Certification Body, which issues the FCC ID. This is a longer and more expensive path.
• Food contact: FDA 21 CFR for materials touching food — relevant for a kitchen or coffee scale platform, not for a jewelry scale.
• Why it bites: US marketplaces and retail buyers ask for documentation before listing. A scale without FCC paperwork is not illegal to import in every case, but it is hard to sell at scale — and one enforcement action costs more than the test.

What a test report actually covers

A report is a photograph of one product on one day. Read the first page carefully:

• Applicant — whose name is on it. If it is another factory, the report may describe a different product.
• Model list — the exact model, and whether the report covers a family or a single variant.
• Standard and version — EN IEC 61326-1 for measuring equipment, for example. A report against an obsolete version is a problem at the border, not in the email thread.
• Laboratory — an accredited lab (ISO/IEC 17025, CNAS, or a notified body) and a report number the lab can confirm.
• Date — older than a design change means it does not cover your goods.

Check a certificate in five minutes

1. Does the model on the report match the model you are buying — not the family name, the model?
2. Does the standard match your destination market's requirement?
3. Is the lab accredited for that test, and is the report number traceable?
4. Is the test date after the last design change you know about?
5. Does the report cover the variant you ordered — capacity, power, radio?

If any answer is "probably", treat the certificate as absent and price the test into your order. Retesting one model in one market is a modest, predictable cost; discovering the gap at customs is not.

The one nobody mentions: legal-for-trade

Everything above is about safety and electromagnetic compliance. If your scale is sold to weigh goods for payment — a café charging by weight, a shop, a market — the EU requires metrological approval under the Measuring Instruments Directive, and other markets have equivalents (OIML certificates, NTEP in the US). A consumer kitchen scale does not need it. A scale positioned as a commercial trade instrument does, and no EMC report substitutes for it.

Cost and timing: what drives them

• Number of models. Reports are per model. A family with four capacities is four reports unless the lab accepts a family submission.
• Radio. Bluetooth multiplies both cost and lead time, and adds an FCC ID or IC number per model.
• Design changes. New housing or new electronics can invalidate an existing report.
• Market count. EU, UK and US each need their own evidence; they are not interchangeable.

What we hold, and what we quote

Being precise here saves both sides a week:

Reports are issued for a specific model and a specific market. Full copies go out with every quotation, and we do not send them without the model name on them.

Related: the reports we hold · how to vet a factory · what drives the price inside a scale