Product Certification

APA – The Engineered Wood Association, its management, staff, and all others involved in its certification and inspection operations understand the importance of impartiality. Pursuant to this commitment, APA ensures that all dealings with clients or potential clients by all APA employees involved in its certification and inspection activities are, and will remain, impartial. To ensure that impartiality is maintained, APA has identified risks to impartiality regarding all relationships which might result in a conflict of interest known or perceived, or pose a threat to impartiality. All personnel are required to reveal any situation that may present them or the certification body with constraints on impartiality. APA management will investigate all customer complaints and all internal requests for review of our certification procedures, either regulatory or legal in their nature.

The APA certification and inspection program is operated without bias. APA is independent of any undue influence of a single client and conducts its business based on technical merit and evidence provided by APA audits and other evaluation data. All such data and related information are considered confidential.

Mark Tibbetts, President

Who Qualifies

APA certification is available to qualifying manufacturers and production facilities engaged in the manufacture of engineered wood products.

This includes:

• Manufacturers in North America producing engineered wood products

• South American producers of OSB and I-joists

• Manufacturers in Europe not including Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey, that produce OSB

Who Does Not Qualify

APA certification is not available to:

• Facilities that do not produce products within APA’s defined certification scope

• Organizations seeking one-time product validation without ongoing manufacturing oversight (see Product Evaluation services)

Certification Requirements

To achieve certification, manufacturers must demonstrate that both their products and manufacturing operations meet established requirements.

This includes:

• An approved quality manual defining production controls and procedures

• A facility recognition audit to verify alignment between operations and the quality system

• Verification that the mill produces the product in accordance with documented processes and standard requirements

• No critical or major nonconformities identified during the audit

• Product testing, including samples collected during audits and evaluated through independent third-party verification

• A laboratory assessment confirming that the testing equipment, methods, and personnel are capable of producing accurate and reliable results

Ready to Begin the Certification Process?

APA’s team will guide you through each step—from application to approval and ongoing surveillance.

To get started, submit an inquiry through the Contact Us form and select “Certification” as the Inquiry topic.

Contact Us to Start Certification

Eligible Products

APA’s certification activities are limited to NACE code DD (20.20 and 20.51), covering the manufacture of wood and wood products. The product scope includes engineered wood and related structural products manufactured at qualifying facilities, such as:

• Structural plywood and oriented strand board (OSB)

• Composite panels

• Glulam beams

• Laminated veneer lumber (LVL)

• Laminated strand lumber (LSL)

• Oriented strand lumber (OSL)

• Structural composite lumber (SCL)

• Mass Plywood Panels (MPP)

• Veneer-Laminated Timber (VLT)

• Cross-laminated timber (CLT)

• Wood I-joists and rim board

• Engineered bamboo and other structural wood products

• Secondary processing of certified products

Ready to Begin the Certification Process?

APA’s team will guide you through each step—from application to approval and ongoing surveillance.

To get started, submit an inquiry through the Contact Us form and select “Certification” as the Inquiry topic.

Contact Us to GET StartED

APA certification marks communicate more than compliance — they represent participation in a rigorous certification program recognized throughout the engineered wood industry.

For manufacturers, APA marks help differentiate products in the marketplace. For specifiers, distributors and builders, they provide confidence that products are manufactured under ongoing oversight and verification.

Manufacturers participating in APA certification and inspection services may apply registered APA marks to demonstrate compliance.

• APA Certification Mark—"APA" (bold initials, often within double bars) indicates compliance under APA certification services.

• APA Certification Mark (Canada–CIPO)—Available to APA member clients. Indicates compliance under APA’s certification program as a recognized Certification Body.

  

• APA Global—Available to nonmember clients. Indicates compliance under APA’s certification program.

  

Use of all marks is governed by APA policies and applicable regulations.

Path to Certification

APA certification follows a structured process to verify that both your products and manufacturing operations consistently meet applicable standards.

1. Application—The process begins with a request for certification. To get started, submit an inquiry through the Contact Us form and select “Certification” as the inquiry topic. APA will then provide an application package outlining required information, including product details, manufacturing facility information, and applicable standards.

2. Application Review—Submitted materials are reviewed to determine whether the product and manufacturing operation are suitable for certification. A decision is made to proceed based on completeness and alignment with program requirements.

3. Pre-Assessment (optional)—Manufacturers may request a pre-assessment to identify gaps and prepare for certification. This step can help streamline the formal evaluation process.

4. Quality System and Facility Evaluation—APA evaluates the manufacturing facility and reviews the quality manual to confirm that processes, controls, and documentation support consistent product manufacturing. An on-site audit is conducted to verify that production practices align with documented procedures.

5. Product Qualification and Testing—Products must meet applicable performance and standards requirements. APA may collect samples during the facility audit for independent testing and validation.

6. Certification Decision—All evaluation results—including audit findings, quality system review, and testing outcomes—are assessed. Certification is granted once requirements are met and no critical or major nonconformities remain. APA also maintains a formal appeals process for clients seeking review of certification decisions. Additional details are available upon request.

7. Ongoing Surveillance—Certification is maintained through regular surveillance audits to ensure continued compliance. These audits verify that manufacturing processes and product quality remain consistent over time.

Additional Resources

For full certification program details, requirements, and procedures, members can sign in to view QSD#57 – APA Product Certification (member access required).

Ready to Begin the Certification Process?

APA’s team will guide you through each step—from application to approval and ongoing surveillance.

To get started, request an application by submitting an inquiry through the Contact Us form and select “Certification” as the Inquiry topic.

Contact Us to REQUEST AN APPLICATION

APA operates under internationally recognized accreditation frameworks:

• Standards Council of Canada (SCC) – ISO/IEC 17065 (product certification) and CBAP requirements

• MAFF (Japan) – Product certification accreditation

• ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB)

  • ISO/IEC 17020 (inspection agency)

  • ISO/IEC 17025 (testing laboratory)

• Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation

  • Product Testing Laboratory

  • Product Certification Agency

  • Product Quality Assurance Entity

  • Product Validation Entity

Learn more about APA's accreditations 

What's the Difference?

APA offers both Product Certification and Product Evaluation services—each serving a distinct purpose:

• Product Certification—Described on this page, this is the ongoing verification of manufacturing processes, quality systems, and product compliance, supported by surveillance audits and certification marks.

• Product Evaluation—One-time technical assessment demonstrating that a product meets code requirements or performance criteria.

Learn more about Product Evaluation SERVICES