UL 891 General Coverage Program

Leverage UL 891 General Coverage Program to help reduce testing requirements and gain increased switchboard design flexibility.

Bring custom switchboard designs to market

UL Solutions’ General Coverage Program allows approved manufacturers that custom build or mass produce certain products to apply the UL Mark at their factories without having to submit samples of the complete product for testing at UL Solutions. This option provides greater efficiency in the certification process, allowing manufacturers to apply the UL Mark to their products more quickly.

General Coverage requires a manufacturer to design products within the scope of specific requirements in the relevant Standards and use a combination of Listed or Recognized components along with designated design parameters and quality control processes.

Our General Coverage program for UL 891, the Standard for Switchboards, aims to assist manufacturers in bringing innovative, quality products to the market. UL Solutions supports you through the process with expert insight, support and services.

Benefits of the UL 891 General Coverage Program

When manufacturers leverage the UL 891 General Coverage Program guidelines at the outset for general build designs, their switchboard products may not be required to undergo extensive testing, especially for short circuit and temperature checks.

General coverage under UL 891 can also mean minimal to no testing and increased flexibility in design. And custom designs which meet UL 891 Annex G requirements may be easier and cheaper to build. The UL 891 General Coverage Program can provide a broader range of overcurrent protection devices, the most compact equipment configurations and potentially lower costs.

Provide more design flexibility for your customers

UL 891 General Coverage also helps facilitate custom designs by allowing manufacturers to build onto reoccurring designs, and maintain proprietary designs and materials, helping to satisfy end user’s requirements.

When a custom design does not meet Annex G design requirements, customers can easily arrange remote witnessed or in-person testing at our UL Solutions-designated laboratories.

Our ability to provide testing and expertise within Europe makes local delivery easier for our European customers, while our global reach makes our solutions accessible around the globe.

Understanding switchboard design standards

UL 891 is the most common standard for switchboards, broadly recognized and applied in North America.

UL Standards are published by our nonprofit parent organization, Underwriters Laboratories, and developed through a consensus process by a balanced panel of subject matter experts including manufacturers, governing bodies, and consumers.