How to Look Up a UL or ETL Listing for LED Strip and Its Driver

A UL logo on a reel shows that someone printed a UL logo. The listing directory shows whether this model, from this listing holder, is covered for this use. To check a UL or ETL listing for LED strip, read the file number and model from the label, search the lab’s directory, and match every field to the product.

Do it twice on every strip job: once for the strip and once for the driver. They are separate products with separate listings, and an inspector looks at both.

Read the Label First

Everything starts with the label on the product, not the box, the website or the datasheet. Write down:

• The lab. UL, Intertek (ETL), CSA or another lab. Each runs its own directory.
• The mark type. A Listing mark, a Recognized Component mark, or a Classification mark. They mean different things, as our guide to UL Listed, UL Recognized and ETL Listed explains.
• The file number. On UL products it is usually an E followed by six digits, according to EngineerFix.
• The control or issue number. A short code tied to the file; EngineerFix notes that control numbers appear on Type R marks and issue numbers on Type L marks.
• The model number exactly as printed, including suffixes.
• The company name printed on the product.

In the recordMismatch means

File numberRecord headerWrong file or unauthorized mark

Company nameHolder or listed brandAsk for the authorization

Model and suffixModel listVariant not covered

CategoryProduct categoryCovered for another use

StatusLive directoryWithdrawn or out of date

According to IAEI’s article on counterfeit marks, a genuine UL Listing Mark carries four things together: the UL symbol in a circle, the word LISTED, a product identity, and a control number. A label missing any of them is the first warning.

Checkpoint: if the strip has no label on the product itself, only on the reel or the bag, photograph the reel label and ask the supplier where the marking is on the product. SupplyHT lists “UL on the carton but not on the product” as a red flag.

Search UL Product iQ

UL’s public database is Product iQ. According to IAEI, it is free to use, with a registration.

1. Search by file number first. It is the most reliable key.
2. Open the record and read the company name, the product category and the list of models.
3. Find the model, including its suffix. Model families often use suffixes for voltage, IP rating or length; check that yours is covered.
4. Read the category. The category tells you what the listing covers: a dry-location product is not a wet-location product, even with the same model root.
5. Save the record as a PDF or a dated screenshot for the submittal.

Two cautions from the sources. EngineerFix notes that a record may not show every model, so a missing model is a reason to ask, not proof of anything. And IAEI’s UL column says that a company or product name appearing in Product iQ does not by itself mean that the product is covered: coverage depends on the product carrying the authorized mark. The record and the label have to agree.

Search the Intertek Directory

ETL-listed products are in Intertek’s Directory of Listed Products, which Intertek describes as the place where clients and authorities having jurisdiction can find certification details.

1. Search by the model number or the company name from the label.
2. Check the mark type the directory shows, ETL Listed or ETL Verified, against the mark on the product.
3. Match the standard the directory lists to the product type.
4. Check that the record is current. Intertek’s own guidance says a Listing Mark Verification letter is not an Authorization to Mark and is valid only on its issue date. The live directory is the current record.

The Wake Technical Community College verification sheet sums up the method for any lab: note the lab, the item description and the model or ID on the label, find the listing, and verify that all information in the listing matches the label.

Match the Record to the Product

Use this table for each product in the submittal. A mismatch in any line is a question for the supplier before the product is approved.

Label field	Where it is in the record	A mismatch means
File number	Record header	Wrong file, or a mark used without authorization
Company name	Listing holder or a listed brand name	Rebranded product; ask for the holder’s authorization
Model and suffix	Model list	Not covered, or a different variant is covered
Category	Product category	Covered for a different use, such as dry vs wet
Standard	Standard field	Listed to a different product standard
Mark type	Listed vs Recognized	A component recognized for use inside other equipment
Status	Active record in the live directory	Withdrawn, or the letter is out of date

The company name line causes the most confusion. Many products are made by one company and sold under another brand. A directory record can show the listing holder and, in some cases, other brand names authorized to use the listing. If the name on the product is not in the record, ask the supplier for the documentation that links the two; do not assume.

Our own product pages use the same principle: UL Listed options are available, certification is held by the original manufacturing partner, coverage varies by model, and the listing for each model is confirmed at quote.

Strip and Driver Are Two Searches

On strip jobs the driver and the strip are two products. Search both, and check each against its use:

• The strip. Listing category, model and suffix, and the location it is covered for. Our guide to which listing an LED strip needs covers the standards most often seen on strip.
• The driver. Listing, model, and whether its marking matches what the design relies on, such as a Class 2 output or a damp or wet location rating.
• Connectors and end caps on wet-location work, where the system rating depends on the weakest part. Our wet location guide explains why the IP code alone does not answer it.

A listed strip on an unlisted driver, or a listed driver feeding a strip with no marking, gives the inspector a reason to stop the walkthrough.

When the Search Comes Up Empty

An empty search is common and does not always mean the product is unlisted. Work through the usual reasons before rejecting it:

• Wrong key. Searching a control number in a field that expects a file number, or a model typed without its suffix. Search the file number alone first.
• Wrong lab. The mark on the product belongs to a different lab than the one you searched. Each lab keeps its own directory.
• Different name. The record lists the manufacturer that holds the listing, not the brand on the box. Search the file number, then look for the brand among any authorized names.
• Component, not product. A Recognized Component appears in a different part of the directory from listed end products, and covers use inside other equipment.

If none of these explains it, send the supplier the label photo and ask for the record. Give them a deadline that leaves time for a resubmittal, and do not approve the product on a promise.

Letters, Certificates and Logos Are Not the Record

Suppliers send documents. Some help, some do not prove anything about the product in your hands.

• A logo on a datasheet or website is marketing.
• A test report shows that a sample passed tests on a date. It does not show that production is under the lab’s follow-up program.
• A certificate or a verification letter is dated. Intertek states that its verification letters are valid only on their issue date and are not an authorization to mark.
• The live directory record plus the mark on the product is the evidence.

Ask for the file number and the exact model up front, and check them yourself. A supplier with a real listing will send both without hesitation.

Put It in the Submittal

For each strip and driver in the package, include:

1. A photo of the label on the product.
2. The directory record, dated, with the model highlighted.
3. One line stating the listing category and the location it covers.
4. Any brand authorization document where the name on the product differs from the listing holder.

That page answers the inspector’s first questions before the walkthrough, and it saves a resubmittal. Our guide to the LED strip submittal package shows where it sits among the other documents.

The certification section on each of our category pages, such as drivers, controllers and connectors, states what is available, and the listing for each model is confirmed at quote.