What Is an E-Mark?

An E-mark is the approval mark for vehicle parts approved under the UN vehicle regulations: a capital E followed by a number, inside a circle, with an approval number printed or moulded next to it. It shows that a sample of the part passed the tests in a specific UN regulation and that the manufacturer’s production is checked to keep matching that sample.

The regulations are agreed by the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29), hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), under the 1958 Agreement. Each country or region that signs the agreement chooses which regulations to apply. An approval granted by any one of them is then accepted by all the others applying the same regulation, which is why a lamp approved in Germany can be fitted in Britain or Japan without a second test.

The number inside the circle identifies the approving country, not the country where the part was made or where it may be sold. E1 is Germany, E4 the Netherlands, E11 the United Kingdom, E13 Luxembourg and E24 Ireland, for example. The approval number nearby is the useful part when you check a product, because it leads to the certificate that names the regulation, its version and the exact models covered.

Each kind of part has its own regulation, so the same E-mark symbol can mean very different tests. The parts below are the ones most people meet.

On lamps, tyres and glass the mark is usually moulded into the part. On electronics it is normally on the label, with the regulation number written beside it, such as “10R” for Regulation 10.

Several similar-looking marks are easy to confuse:

The United Kingdom stayed a party to the 1958 Agreement after leaving the EU, and the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) continues to grant E11 approvals. GB type approval for whole vehicles also refers to the UN regulations, so E-marked parts from any approving country remain acceptable on British vehicles.

For replacement parts, UK construction and lighting rules generally expect approved parts, and an approval mark is the usual evidence. Lamps are the common example: UK lighting regulations require many types of lamp to carry an approval mark, which is why aftermarket light bars and LED indicators are sold as “E-marked”. A listing that claims an E-mark is not the same as a mark on the part, so check the part itself and, for anything important, the certificate.

Outside the 1958 Agreement the E-mark has no legal standing. The United States, for instance, uses self-certification to its Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and marks such as DOT on lamps and tyres.

For electronic equipment the relevant regulation is UN R10, which limits the interference a device emits and sets how much interference it must withstand on a vehicle, including transients on the supply line defined in ISO 7637-2. Vehicle builders, fleets and transport authorities normally specify an R10 E-mark for anything fitted to a road vehicle, from telematics boxes and cameras to driver displays and computers.

An E-mark on a computer covers electromagnetic compatibility only. It says nothing about vibration, temperature or water, which have their own tests. Our white paper on E-mark certification for automotive computers explains how R10 approval works, how to read the full approval number and when a computer needs one.

Many of our in-vehicle computers list E-mark in their specifications, several with an E24 approval, alongside wide DC input and ignition control. Our vehicle mount computers cover screens fitted in cabs and on forklifts.

We supply in-vehicle computers and displays whose specifications list E-mark, and as standard we can provide the manufacturer’s approval details for your vehicle file before the system ships.