A claim such as "API certified valve manufacturer in India", "ASME certified" or "PED certified" is only worth something if it names a specific licence, a specific product range and a body you can check. The labels are easy to print and hard to verify unless you ask the right question.
Each of these systems works differently, and the legal responsibility for compliance in your market stays with you as importer or with the manufacturer, depending on the rule. Confirm the details with the relevant authority or your customs broker.
What does an API licence actually cover?
The American Petroleum Institute publishes product specifications, such as API 6D for pipeline valves, and runs a licensing programme under which a manufacturer can use the API Monogram on products made to a given specification. The licence is granted for a particular specification and a particular site.
Ask for the licence number and the specification it covers, then check it against the API's public list of licensees. A licence for one specification does not extend to a different valve. Valve standards: API, ANSI and DIN explains how the specifications differ.
What does "ASME certified" mean?
ASME publishes the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code and standards such as ASME B16.34 for valves. A manufacturer of pressure vessels, boilers or similar items can hold an ASME Certificate of Authorization, which allows it to apply a code stamp such as the U stamp for pressure vessels.
The stamp is tied to a scope and a site, and it needs an authorised inspection arrangement. A valve maker saying that its valves are "ASME" may only mean that dimensions follow an ASME standard. That is a design reference, not a certification. Ask which of the two is claimed, and ask for the certificate number to confirm with ASME.
What does the Pressure Equipment Directive require?
The Pressure Equipment Directive (PED), Directive 2014/68/EU, applies to pressure equipment placed on the EU market with a maximum allowable pressure above 0.5 bar. Equipment is placed in categories by pressure, volume or size, and fluid hazard, and the higher the category, the more conformity assessment is needed.
In practice that means:
- Lower categories can be assessed by the manufacturer's own procedure, while higher ones involve a notified body.
- CE marking on such equipment shows the notified body's number where one was involved.
- A declaration of conformity and technical documentation should be available.
- Equipment too small for any category must still follow sound engineering practice.
How do you check a PED or AD 2000 claim?
Ask for the declaration of conformity, the category, the conformity assessment module used, and the notified body's name and number. Verify the notified body in the European Commission's NANDO database, which lists notified bodies and their scope. The AD 2000 Merkblatt is a German set of technical rules for pressure vessels that manufacturers can apply as part of showing compliance, but it is not a certificate by itself.
If you import into the UK, the rules differ after Brexit, so check the current UK requirement separately. See CE marking for machinery for who carries responsibility, and hydrostatic pressure tests for valves for the factory test that supports the claim.
Next step
We check certificates against the scope of what a plant makes, audit the factory, and arrange witnessed testing. To verify a pressure-equipment supplier before you order, book a free sourcing review.