E-Cert

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Manufacturers of motor vehicles and engines must show compliance with California emission requirements before their products are legal for sale, use, or registration in the State. To show compliance, manufacturers must apply to CARB for certification of their vehicles and engines. Traditionally, manufacturers have submitted these applications in paper format. They are reviewed by certification staff and stored at CARB. To improve the process for certification, CARB has introduced E-Cert, an electronic application submittal system. E-Cert loads files and allows for staff review of an application. Manufacturers receive an electronic notification when their application has been loaded into E-Cert.

Usage of E-Cert will be required for all manufacturers seeking certification of new motor vehicles and engines: passenger cars, light-duty trucks, medium-duty vehicles, on-road and off-road motorcycles, all terrain vehicles, heavy-duty engines and vehicles, off-road compression ignition engines, small off-road engines, large spark ignition engines, and spark-ignition marine engines.

Heavy-Duty

Development of the E-Cert system (CIHD E-Cert) for compression-ignition and heavy-duty engines and vehicles (including GHG vehicle families and electric and fuel cell vehicles) and powertrains is nearly complete.  Applications will be submitted as Extended Markup Language (XML) files via the E-Cert web interface and subsequently imported into the E-Cert database system for review by CARB staff.  Each application XML file will validated against an official XML schema document and business rules before it will be accepted.  The E-Cert system will include a webform for creating XML documents which adhere to the data requirements and business rules.  Further information on use of this webform will be presented later.  Manufacturers are welcome to develop their own custom process for creating properly-formed XML files for submittal.

It is anticipated that internal development of the remaining components of the E-Cert system will be complete and ready for manufacturer testing by March 1, 2023.

The following documents are the current official documentation.  The Data Requirements, Field Lookup Options, and Business Rules documents describe the data expected in application submittals and the certification review process.  There are some known issues with the current documentation.  CARB is requesting manufacturers to begin preparing to use the data requirements and business rules, as described, and to submit any comments on issues encountered via an email to cihd@arb.ca.gov.  Project staff will review all feedback and will address problems as needed and within resource limits. 

Version B Revision 1.050 (Official - August 15, 2022)

Several workshops have been held to present the Data Requirements while being developed

  • A public workshop was held on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 to present updates to the data requirements
  • A public workshop was held on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 to present updates to the data requirements.
  • A public workshop was held on Thursday, November 6, 2008 to present new data requirements.

Light-Duty

The Light-Duty vehicle category is the next category being phased into E-Cert. CARB has developed a website for manufacturer's to submit XML formatted certification applications directly to E-Cert. The certification applications should be formatted using the Light-Duty Vehicle XML Schema.

  • Light-Duty Vehicle InfoPath Form (October 17, 2019) To download and save the file for use, right-click and choose "Save Link As"
    • Based on the comments that CARB received during the workshop held on January 23, 2008, CARB created a user-friendly form for manufacturers to enter data. The form, which was created with Microsoft InfoPath 2003, will provide manufacturers with a means of entering and saving data as an XML file. The only requirement to use this form is that you must have Microsoft InfoPath 2003 or greater, which is part of Microsoft Office Professional Edition.
    • InfoPath 2.0.4.0 to 2.0.5.0 Conversion Instructions
  • Light-Duty Vehicle Data Requirements (October 24, 2019)
    • Database field details and information pertaining to a field names, descriptions, sizes, and domains.
  • Light-Duty Vehicle XML Schema (October 17, 2019)
    • The XML schema is a guideline for describing how to form a valid XML document. Formatting the applications based on the schema will ensure that the applications will be processed by E-Cert. Applications not formatted correctly, will not be loaded into E-Cert.
    • The Light-Duty Vehicle XML schema changes are listed in the data requirements.
  • User Guides (October 9, 2019)
    • User guides illustrating which fields are required for each vehicle fuel category and operating fuel combinations. The ZIP file includes the PDF user guides and the XML files which were used to create them.
  • E-Cert Business Rules (May 27, 2014)
    • Rules regarding manufacturer and user registration, XML file submissions, and the E-Cert Application Loader.
  • Past Workshops

Submitting Applications

Manufacturers that want to submit applications for the Motorcycle and All-Terrain Vehicle (MC/ATV) category must first register with CARB and then submit XML files to E-Cert using the U.S. EPA's Verify system. If you do not have an account and are interested in submitting an application for certification of MC/ATV by CARB then contact U.S. EPA and request a CDX account.

Manufacturers who want to submit applications for the Light-Duty (LDV) category must first register with CARB. After registration, manufacturers will be able to submit XML files to E-Cert through the E-Cert Application Loader.

  • Note: Please use Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome with the E-Cert Application Loader.
  • E-Cert Application Loader User Guide: Instructions for uploading applications (XML files) into the E-Cert system using the E-Cert Application Loader.

Registering with CARB

It is important to register prior to submitting an application. Failure to do so will result in a delay in processing your application. Registration serves two purposes: first, it provides a way our certification staff can contact you regarding the application, and second it ensures that the Executive Order is sent to the correct person. If you receive an email indicating that you need to register in E-Cert before your application can be accepted, please contact your certification representative below for assistance.

E-Cert Application Loader Computer Requirements

  • Google Chrome
  • Mozilla Firefox

Acceptable Document Formats

  • XML

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