Can an iecex case be sold in the EU on the certificate alone?

A: No. The IECEx certificate shows conformity with IEC standards; the EU market asks for an EU-type examination and a declaration under 2014/34/EU. The technical content overlaps, the administration does not.

Can the manufacturer write the ExTR?

A: No. The report records sample condition, instrument numbers and raw readings, and only an accepted laboratory signs it. The manufacturer prepares samples and drawings.

What happens if a compound supplier changes mid-cycle?

A: Treat it as a change and notify the issuing body. Same grade, new supplier, usually means documents only; a new grade means new samples and a new certificate.

Does ATEX expire after five years?

A: No. There is no uniform five-year term; validity rests on the 10-year file and re-assessment when standards move.

Which parts of the 30 to 60 page file are mandatory?

A: Drawings, bill of materials, critical component certificates, test reports, risk assessment and the declaration. Page count follows the calculations and drawings.

How long can an edition 6 report still be used?

A: Most projects accept it for 2 to 3 years after the changeover, usually with a mapping note. New projects start on edition 7.

Iecex Case: IECEx vs ATEX Recognition

Quick answer: An iecex case ships as three documents, the certificate, the ExTR report and the QAR; ATEX asks for an EU-type examination plus a 10-year file.

Three documents, one chain
IEC 60079-0: editions 6 and 7
What ATEX asks for instead
The four gaps when you switch
Three clocks: 5, 3 and 10 years
FAQ

1. Three documents, one chain

Send a complete IECEx pack to a European notified body and it usually comes back once. The reason is rarely the shell; it is an ExTR that cites IEC 60079-0 edition 6 while the examination was run to edition 7.

The certificate states the conclusion: model, type of protection, environment. The ExTR states the process: which sample, which test, which reading. The QAR states the foundation: that the plant can build the same case again next year without supervision.

Document	Issued by	Covers	Validity
IECEx certificate	Accepted certification body	Model, type, environment	5 years
ExTR test report	Accepted laboratory	Sample, tests, readings	Follows certificate
QAR quality report	Accepted certification body	Plant quality system	Reviewed every 3 years
ATEX technical file	Manufacturer, retained	Design, drawings, tests	Kept 10 years

The three reference numbers must point at each other. A certificate quoting an ExTR number that does not match the report cover is rejected at the desk, and a four-week correction will miss the shipment.

Buyers think they pay for a certificate; auditors read the ExTR first, because model, compound grade and wall thickness all sit in it.

2. IEC 60079-0: editions 6 and 7

Edition 6 appeared in 2011, edition 7 in 2017. Between them the clause numbering and the layout of definitions moved, so a cross-edition citation has to be mapped line by line.

iecex case samples on four white wood-grain shelves in green, grey and olive, one open black case holding a laptop

In documents the difference shows up as a broken citation chain. An ExTR issued in 2017 that still points to edition 6 test methods will draw a request for a mapping note: which clauses were carried over, which were repeated to the newer edition.

Three questions come up most often, and all three are about wording rather than the shell: how the marking block is written, how the ambient range is declared, and which edition the assessment of non-metallic parts refers to.

Edition changeover usually overlaps for 2 to 3 years. During that window one case can hold reports to both editions, and handing the wrong one to a tender is common.

The check is one line: the basis field on the ExTR cover says 2011 for edition 6, 2017 for edition 7. If it misses the customer requirement, better data below does not rescue the file.

3. What ATEX asks for instead

Directive 2014/34/EU governs equipment placed on the EU market. The case travels as the enclosure of a device, so an empty shell on its own is usually outside the directive's scope.

There is one route in: an EU-type examination by a notified body, a declaration of conformity from the manufacturer, and the CE plus Ex marking on the product.

The marking carries six items — CE, the Ex hexagon, equipment group and category, EPL, temperature class, and the certificate number that embeds the notified body's four-digit code.

The technical file is retained for 10 years from the last unit shipped, a duty in the directive rather than a recommendation.

ATEX has no five-year certificate clock. The EU-type examination stays valid while the file is maintained, but a standard revision, a design change or a new supplier for a critical part triggers a re-assessment, and that record is filed into the same 10-year set.

4. The four gaps when you switch

An IECEx pack saves testing when you move to ATEX. It does not save paperwork, and the gaps fall into four groups.

iecex case display wall running along a wood floor, blue, orange and yellow shells in white cubbies

Gap	What has to be added	Typical lead time
Directive conformity	EU declaration, authorised representative details	1 to 2 weeks
Marking system	CE, Ex hexagon, four-digit body number	1 week
Technical file	Restructured to the directive, in member state language	3 to 6 weeks
System evidence	QAR not accepted alone, plant audit records needed	4 to 8 weeks

The first gap is pure paperwork and still the one that stalls projects. A declaration needs a named signatory with a title, and that person has to be traceable inside the EU.

The second reaches the tool. Marking is moulded or printed on the case, so a change to the six items means a new pad print plate or insert, and that is 2 weeks.

The third takes longest. The technical file is not a translation of the ExTR; it is a rebuild in the directive's order: drawings, bill of materials, calculations, test reports and risk assessment, 30 to 60 pages in total.

The fourth is underestimated. A QAR proves the plant can repeat production, while ATEX wants the notified body to have walked the line itself. The two do not substitute for each other.

5. Three clocks: 5, 3 and 10 years

Clock	Applies to	Action
5 years	IECEx certificate	Renew, start 6 months ahead
3 years	QAR	On-site review, certificate lapses if it fails
10 years	ATEX technical file	Update on any change

The three run out of step, which is where files go wrong: a certificate renewed on time with a QAR two months overdue still stops a shipment at customs.

Keep one register with all three dates and a 90-day reminder. The register should carry model and change history, not only dates.

Conclusion

Recognition between an iecex case and ATEX covers standards and technical content, not stamps. Three documents prove the product was tested; four gaps still have to be closed before it enters the EU, and the 5, 3 and 10 year clocks have to be tracked in one place. A tidy file turns a switch into added pages; a scattered one turns it into a rebuild.

This article covers case-side specifications only and does not address any handling, loading or use of the contents.