An ATEX Trade Agent is an organisation who places a product on the market under their own name but is not the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of the product. The name and address of the trade agent (and not the OEM) is included on the product-marking label.

Trade Agent certificates are issued by the same Notified Body who issued the OEM’s certificate. They enable a product to be sold into different markets via different companies; an advantage if you have partnerships with companies who are already established in certain markets, or want to add to your product portfolio without the need for costly product design resources.

The Trade Agent Approach

From a certification viewpoint, issuing a Trade Agent Certificate is a relatively straightforward exercise, and additional testing is not normally necessary.

The below provides some of the typical documentation we need to see to approve a trade agent:

Quality Assurance Notification

As well as the Trade Agent’s certificate, Quality Assurance Notification (QAN) may also apply. An audit of the Trade Agent’s premises will be needed, and information about QAN can be found in the ATEX section of our website.