| 1. Confirm the supplier’s legal identity and production source | Business registration details, manufacturing-site address, quotation, and a written statement identifying the manufacturer and exporter where they differ. | Check that the legal entity, factory, and product description are consistent across documents. Verify registration information through the relevant official registry where available. | Keep the verified supplier and factory details with the purchase order; clarify in writing if production may be subcontracted. |
| 2. Check the testing laboratory’s accreditation and scope | Full fire-test report and the laboratory’s accreditation details, including its current scope of accreditation. | Confirm that the laboratory is accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 for the relevant test method and that the method is within its accredited scope. Accreditation by itself does not prove that a product meets a particular fire class. | Check the laboratory and accreditation scope with the relevant accreditation body; do not rely only on a logo or an accreditation claim in a brochure. |
| 3. Match the fire classification to the intended market and use | Classification report, underlying test reports, and details of the product’s intended end use. | For European projects, EN 13501-1 classifications should be supported by the applicable test evidence. Confirm the tested board’s thickness, construction, mounting, substrate, joints, and other conditions match the proposed application. | Ask the project designer or local authority which classification and end-use conditions apply. Results from different test systems are not automatically interchangeable. |
| 4. Check that the report describes the board you are buying | Complete test report, sample description, product specification, report date, and any amendments or supporting classification documents. | Compare the report’s product type, thickness, density or density range, finish, and manufacturer details with the quotation and technical data sheet. A report for a different product or construction may not apply. | Request written confirmation of the tested-product match and keep the approved specification with the order records. |
| 5. Verify market-specific conformity documents | Where applicable, a Declaration of Performance, CE-marking information, or other documents required by the destination market. | For construction products in the European Economic Area, CE marking and a Declaration of Performance apply when the product is covered by the relevant harmonised technical specification or has an applicable European Technical Assessment. Check the product type and intended use stated in the documents. | Confirm requirements for the destination country and project before ordering; a document used in one market may not establish compliance in another. |
| 6. Distinguish surface-burning results from fire-resistance ratings | For US projects, request the applicable test report and any required product or assembly documentation. | ASTM E84 reports surface-burning characteristics, including flame-spread and smoke-developed indices under the test method. It is not, by itself, a fire-resistance rating for a wall, door, or other assembly. | Check whether the specification requires a surface-burning result or a tested fire-resistance-rated assembly, and obtain evidence appropriate to that requirement. |
| 7. Set batch traceability and routine quality requirements | Approved technical data sheet, order specification, batch or lot identification, inspection records, and applicable emissions or other regulatory test documents. | Define the ordered thickness, dimensions, tolerances, finish, and identification method. Check formaldehyde-emission requirements against the destination market’s rules; requirements and test methods can vary. | Agree on pre-shipment inspection, sample approval, packaging, and document delivery before production. Ensure delivered boards can be linked to the specified product and batch. |
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