Hi,
Which boards are CE certified? And how can I find out what configuration is certified?
Normally a board needs to be tested in a way it is intended to be used. I assume with some connected IO. So where can I find out what the test configuration for a particular board was?
Hi @mechamania.
They are listed on this page:
https://docs.arduino.cc/certifications/
(click the 
icon to the right of "CE" to expand the list of boards)
Each of the items on the list is a download link for the declaration of conformity of that board. However, I'm not sure that your question will be answered by the additional information provided in that document.
Thanks for the answer. There seems to be no information about how a board is tested. Which configuration is used.
We would like to know this in case we want to use these boards in a product that we need to certify.
How can I get this information?
You can ask for a copy of the certficate of conformity from the supplier of manufacturer , as the Arduino team have said - that will show which standards the board meets ( those are shown on the link)
There is no obligation for them to show you how it was was tested ,what configuartion, who did it etc. You need a very good reason to see the technical file (An individual cant really do that) . I very much doubt the board would be tested with anything connected to it, unless required by a particular clause. Approval is for the board only (you can't say with 50cm of wire on D2, or 75cm on D4 etc)
If you build a device incorporating a CE approved board , that does not mean your device still complies.
i.e Part A of device approved and CE marked ( say your UNO)
Part B of device approved and CE marked. ( say power supplier)
Device C , which comprises A&B plus a few wires connectors etc still needs to be assessed for conformity (and that will include having your own CE documents, assessment against appropiate Directives and their, associeed standards, labels , production controls and a Technical design file (usually about 5cm thick ).
BTW if you import and sell stuff , you are responsible for it meeting standards.
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A CE certification tells consumers that it is safe to use some product. And that it will not unintentional interfere with other products. But only if used as specified and tested by the manufacturer. So it seems logical to me that the information how the board is tested (e.g. which configuration is used) is available to the consumer.
The board test is irrelevant to your product, as pointed out. Before you have something ready for testing, please contact a testing lab for what they want from you for their testing. The testing of your product does not care about what you have in it, only the results of the test of your production product matters. By the way, that includes your production software running, so that will include any attached other devices that are necessary.
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Have look at the listed standards on the CE certificates, that will tell you what the boards have been tested to.
Most of it will be about material used to make, EMC compatabilty and electrical safety ,as is the case. It WILL BE for the bare board, powered via its socket.
- Hazardous substances .
- The low voltage directive (electrical safety) - really for this I'm guessing instructions for proper safe use ( dont swallow it)
- Electromagnetic compatability (does it affect your telly!).
You are NOT going to get the answer you want I'm afraid - it is NOT possible to certify the equipment for a range of added on parts - for example if you wrapped a piece of wire connected to D1 around a pencil it might then not pass EMC .
There is no short cut in this , get your wallet out.
It would be better to understand how conformity works -read some of the directives
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I do not agree that this is irrelevant for me. I know I have to retest my own configuration. But if I need a MCU board with for instance sensor A and B attachted and a board is certifified with 2 times A, a B and C sensor (just saying something), then I know that the chance I will pass CE certification with only one A and B connected will be very likely.
It will give me some confidence about what can be connected and still passing CE certification.
You mean without anything connected to the IOs?
I think the CE standard says that it must be tested ass it is intended to be used. A board will always have something connected. So a bare-board test is useless and I think wrong.
Have you discussed this with your testing lab?
Have you counted how many possible permutations there are? All the different sensors, displays etc, possibly connected to all kinds of different pin combinations.
It's not going to happen.
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Yes I know, the connection possibilities are endless. But that is what (if I'm correct) the standard says. You should test as it is intended to be used. And I think someone told me a board like Arduino should be tested with the maximum amount of connection that is likely.
I don't know either how this should work in practice.
The information from that person seems to be incorrect.
Be aware that some boards may have a CE alike sign which stands for China Export.
I assume the Arduino boards do have the real CE marking.
I'm glad about that. Because that would not be a workable situation.
This whole discussion can be easily settled. The program in the memory of a newly purchased Arduino board IS the program that was used in the CE test environment. So what is that program? From many posts on this forum, it is the "blink" program. What is attached to the Arduino board for that program to run? That is exactly what was attached to the board during the CE testing.
I would recommend OP to contact Arduino Support for the question if Arduino would support third party certification activities for systems using Arduino components.
I feel it would be out of the scope of a hobby forum to discuss commercial certification issues or possible obligations of certificate holders to support third party system integrators.
Just think about buying a mains extension lead .
Do you think it has been tested with a lamp, vacuum cleaner , electric drill or what ?
So … if you use the wrong appliance it’s no longer certified ??
After all it is intended for this purpose ( or one of them ) .
@bfobferer yep , not really the place to discuss , he needs to go to a company that does approvals - I’ve had training and done a few in conjunction with third party EMC testers , I don’t want to do any more !
Or indeed a power supply powering a UNO, MEGA, Nano .......