AMECA will give you the highest level of transparency, tracking and monitoring of parts and marketing auditing. We are your best choice for quality, reliability and performance of the parts we certify.
There is no such thing as a DOT certified automotive part.
They do not exist.
To learn the truth, keep reading!
Certification and certified are words that get thrown around the automotive industry with cheerful abandon. But what do they really mean? And is all certification the same? Who does certification and who decides who can certify a part? Lawyers, engineers and consumers can all have different answers to those questions.
Before we understand what DOT Certified is, we need some background information. From Wikipedia, certification is: “The formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person, or organization.” Basically, it’s a statement that you’re good!
Self-Certification is your own company saying’s it’s good. It’s the fastest and cheapest but it's completely buyer beware. Self-Certification is only as good as the company that made that product on that day.
Outside party testing is an excellent way to validate your own results and often those labs can do specialized tests not normally done in a manufacturing facility. But outside testing can be time consuming to schedule and eye wateringly expensive.
Outside testing is not production line testing, and most production line validation is very useful. It is an excellent way to validate your own results and often those labs can do specialized tests not normally done in a manufacturing facility.
The advantage to using a 3rd party for certification is that they can work with many laboratories and are completely independent, but it can cost time and money (1-2 weeks and $350-500 plus testing).
Accredited 3rd party certification bodies exist to make sure products on the market are tested, safe and just plain work. They have to ensure impartiality, competence and record keeping, and must have some sort of market audit.
AMECA serves the motoring public, state police and motor vehicle administrations to help prevent accidents due to substandard equipment.
ISO-Certification is for those wanting to distinguish themselves. Over 80% of consumers surveyed prefer independent certification in their products.
The international “List of Acceptable Plastics for Optical Lenses and Reflectors Used on Motor Vehicles” is also maintained by AMECA.
Many state laws regulating automotive safety equipment were promulgated by the Commission of the Vehicle Equipment Safety.
