a. Information displayed on CoC

(1)   In addition to the information stipulated in Cl.11.3.5b., the CoC shall display the following information:

(a)   CoC reference number;

(b)   Date of issue for the present CoC (i.e. date of the latest renewal of the CoC);

(c)   Date of expiry for the present CoC;

(d)   In the case of revisions made to a CoC, a summary of the key changes shall be reflected in the appendix of the CoC; and

(e)   In the case of renewed CoCs, the reference number of the CoC immediately prior to the present one (i.e. “Previous CoC number”) shall be indicated on the new CoC, in brackets under the new number.

(2)   Notwithstanding Cl.11.4.1a.(1), the following information shall not be displayed on the CoC:

(a)   Full names of the company directors, or equivalent, of the CoC holder and local representative;

(b)   Contact number and email address of the CoC holder and local representative;

(c)   Proof of partnership between the local representative and foreign CoC holder;

(d)   Manufacturer’s name, address, contact number and email address; and

(e)   Latest product catalogue stipulating the specifications and user instructions.

b. Information displayed on CB online directory

(1)   The following information relating to all CoCs that have been issued and are still valid; and CoCs which were terminated, withdrawn or which expired in the past 5 years, shall be displayed on the CBs’ online directories that are accessible by the general public:

(a)   CoC reference number;

(b)   The reference number of the CoC immediately prior to the present one (i.e., “Previous CoC number”);

(c)   Date of issue for the present CoC (date of the latest renewal of the CoC);

(d)   Date of expiry for the present CoC;

(e)   CoC holder details, including:

(i)  Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) Company Unique Entity Number (UEN), or foreign equivalent, where applicable;

(ii)  Company name and address; and

(iii)  Where the applicant is a foreign company, the details of the appointed local representative, for parts (i) and (ii) shall also be included.

(f)    Country of manufacture;

(g)   Product category;

(h)   Certification scheme, according to Cl.11.2.10 – Cl.11.2.12;

(i)     Brand and model, as determined by the manufacturer;

(j)     Product description as printed on the CoC;

(k)   Test reference number(s), as printed on the CoC;

(l)     Test standard (incl. year) the product is tested to; and

(m) Product’s fire performance (e.g., 60 min integrity and 60 min insulation), where applicable; and

(n)   The present status of CoCs certified by CBs shall be published on CBs’ online directories, with the following information:

(i)   The statuses shall reflect one of the following classifications: “valid”; “suspended (fire safety reasons)” (e.g., non-completion of surveillance regime); “suspended (not fire safety reasons)” (e.g., non-payment of fees); “terminated”; “expired” or “withdrawn”;

(ii)   the effective date of the present status shall be indicated; and

(iii)  any changes in status of CoCs shall be updated within 5 working days.

(2)   The online directories shall be accessible at all times; in the event of downtime such as server error, the CB shall write to SCDF and SAC within 24 hours, to

(a)   Notify the authorities of the downtime; and

(b)   Detail the actions being taken to rectify the issue.

The following requirements apply for the renewal of a CoC:

a. Prior to expiry of the CoC, a recertification review shall be conducted before CB can renew the CoC.

b. The renewed CoC is valid for 5 years, commencing the day after the expiry date of the previous CoC. For illustration, a CoC with expiry date on 15 Oct 2020, when renewed, would have a new issue date of 16 Oct 2020, and an expiry date of 15 Oct 2025.

a. Transfer of CoC between CBs is only allowed for CoCs that are still valid. Valid CoCs are those that are not expired, withdrawn, terminated or suspended.

b. In addition to the requirements in Cl.11.3.5, subject to Cl.11.4.3c., the following documents shall be submitted to the new CB:

(1)    Present CoC;

(2)   Declaration from the CoC holder that the current CoC is valid;

(3)    Signed declaration from the previous CB that there are no outstanding issues that require rectification (e.g., failed/ missed surveillance tests, pending investigations by SCDF, etc.);

(4)     Type test reports;

(5)     Additional test reports (if applicable); and

(6)    All records of surveillance regime reports for testing and inspections that have been completed for the currently valid CoC.

Note: Items (3) and (6) shall be provided directly from one CB to another.

c. For transfer of CoCs, type test reports submitted as stipulated in Cl 11.4.3b. can be the same test report that was submitted when applying for the present CoC, unless otherwise directed by the CB.

d. For transfer of CoCs, the new CB may permit CoCs previously certified to Scheme 5 to be changed to Scheme 1b, provided the surveillance regime requirements (i.e., surveillance tests over multiple years and current surveillance window) have been fulfilled.

e. If the surveillance regime for that surveillance window has not been completed, transfer of CoCs are not allowed:

(1) Within the final 6 months of a surveillance window, or

(2) If there is at least 6 months left to the end of the surveillance window, but the new CB determines there is insufficient time to complete the surveillance regime prior to the lapse of the surveillance window.

f. Once the intention to transfer CoC has been indicated to the current CB, the said CB shall stop issuing labels or DoCs for the product.

g. The validity of the transferred CoC shall be limited to the remaining lifespan of the recently-valid CoC.

h. The new CB with which the CoC is held shall comply with the following, in addition to the certification requirements as stipulated in Cl 11.3.5:

(1)           The new CB shall ensure the brand, model, manufacturing site and test standards of the regulated fire safety product is the same as that of the previous CoC; and

(2)           The surveillance window for the transferred CoC shall be determined with reference to the CoC’s original issue date.

a. Where a CoC holder wishes to list their product with multiple CBs, the applicant shall declare the status of certification held with the present CB(s), for verification by the new CB.

b. For regulated fire safety products with existing valid CoC(s) with other CB(s), application for a CoC from a new CB shall be treated as a new application, and comply with requirements in Cl 11.3.5. The existence of CoCs for the same products (valid or otherwise) issued by other CBs does not change how the new CB should certify the product, similar to how it would certify any new regulated fire safety product.

c. The results from surveillance tests conducted by a CB shall not be used by another CB to fulfil the surveillance regime requirements for the same product. However, the same surveillance test results may be used by another CB to fulfil the surveillance regime requirements for the same product, provided all of the following minimum requirements are complied with:

(1)   The surveillance test is conducted within the surveillance window for all the CoCs the test is intended to fulfil;

(2)   The product manufacturer, composition, fire seal, design and fire rating are identical;

(3)    Each of the CBs which had issued a CoC for the product -  

(a)   are agreeable to the terms and methodology of the sampling, including the choice of sample and test laboratory, sampling location, sampling methodology; and

(b)   witness the sampling of the product, and ensure the chain-of-custody when delivering the product to the test laboratory.

a. The CB shall remind the CoC holders to complete their surveillance tests, if yet to be completed, 6 months and 3 months prior to the end of the surveillance window.

b. Where sampling is required, the CB shall select the sample for the surveillance test/inspection.

c. The CB shall take all reasonable measures to ensure the chain-of-custody of samples meant for surveillance testing. This may include, but not limited to, signing on the sample, ensuring it cannot be tampered with, and verifying the sample has reached the test laboratory.

d. The CB shall immediately suspend the CoC if the necessary surveillance tests/ inspections are not completed within the surveillance window.

e. Surveillance tests are only considered to be completed after the CB has received the surveillance test report, indicating a ‘pass’ result, or a result meeting the intended performance of the product, as stated in the CoC, from an accredited test laboratory. CoC holders are thus advised not to wait till the last minute to arrange for their surveillance tests.

f. For avoidance of doubt, where surveillance tests are required in Table 11A, the first surveillance window commences from the date of issue of the CoC. Test reports submitted for the CoC application do not exempt the product from having to undergo surveillance testing for the first window.

Note: The above table is applicable for products with 1-year surveillance windows. For products with multiple-year windows, this would apply to the final year of the surveillance window.

g. In the case of CoC holders who are sole proprietors, the CB shall verify against the annual submission of ACRA records provided by the CoC holder to ensure that the business licence is renewed. In the event the licence is not renewed, the CoC shall be suspended.