Personal protective equipment

Every day firefighters, hazardous material response teams and other emergency responders rely on their training and their personal protective equipment (PPE) to guard against the hazards associated with their work. For the last two decades, many of the products they wear have been tested and Classified by UL.

UL Classified personal protective equipment is equipment that has been tested to the appropriate levels of safety as determined by NFPA PPE Standards for firefighters, hazardous materials response teams and other emergency responders.

UL offers compliance testing, evaluation and certification for a wide range of personal protective equipment products such as gloves, safety shoes, helmets, garments, protective eyewear and other PPE. In order to be compliant with NFPA requirements third party certification is necessary.

Test standards

UL tests PPE for compliance with the current editions of the applicable ANSI/NFPA, ASTM, CAN/CSA and CAN/CGSB standards. Third party certification is necessary to achieve compliance with NFPA requirements. Please look for the UL Mark to determine compliance with the appropriate NFPA standards, and other PPE industry standards.

View the list of PPE Standards.

Component Recognition Program

The Component Recognition Program helps end product manufacturers identify component manufacturers that have demonstrated an ability to produce components that comply with NFPA requirements, making them suitable for use in end products. This helps save the end product manufacturer time and money.

Management registration services

An increasing number of NFPA standards for PPE require that all manufacturers of certified products be ISO 9001 registered. UL offers a broad portfolio of services to help manufacturers meet ISO requirements.

The UL advantage

• UL has more than 100 years of expertise in fire safety and has established a reputation for highly respected product testing within the fire community
• UL's specialized testing facilities provide the confidence that your personal protective equipment will be tested with the highest levels of efficiency and reliability
• UL Certificate of Compliance helps demonstrate product compliance to industry requirements
• Products that carry the UL Mark gain a decisive competitive edge through the recognition the Mark provides
• Listing in UL's Mechanical Equipment and Online Certification directories allows for applicable PPE equipment to be referenced by over 2,500 North American AHJ and code officials annually
• UL's Component Recognition program helps determine components that comply with NFPA requirements
• Management system registrations services help organizations achieve ISO registration