What the two certificates actually cover, how to verify one, and where the scope limits sit.
A buyer asking for a Chinese fabricator with EN 1090 EXC3 and EN ISO 3834-2 is asking two different questions at once. EN 1090-1 is the factory production control certificate that lets a shop CE mark structural steelwork for the European market. EN ISO 3834-2 is the welding quality system that EN 1090-2 leans on once the execution class rises. The pair is common in marketing and less common in scope.
What each certificate is for
EN 1090-1 covers factory production control, issued by a notified body, and names the execution classes the works may build to. EXC3 is the class normally assigned to structures where failure carries serious consequences: heavy industrial frames, crane supporting steel, bridges and offshore structures. The execution class belongs to the structure and is set by the designer, not chosen by the fabricator.
EN ISO 3834-2 is the comprehensive level of the welding quality requirements. It covers how welding is planned, which procedures and welders are qualified, how equipment is maintained and how records are kept. EN 1090-2 expects the comprehensive level for EXC3 and EXC4 work.
What USP holds, in full
EN 1090-1 factory production control, certificate 1381-CPR-815, issued by SGS ICS Italia S.r.l., notified body 1381, for execution of steel structures to EN 1090-2 EXC3, ISO 15608 steel groups 1.1 and 1.2, carbon and carbon manganese steels, with a surveillance certificate AS-1090-815.
EN ISO 3834-2:2021, certificate 22/938-3834, issued by SGS ICS Italia S.r.l., valid to 21 November 2028, for comprehensive quality requirements for fusion welding of parts and components of steel structures.
The scope limit matters and we state it rather than leave it to be discovered at audit. Our EXC3 covers steel groups 1.1 and 1.2. Work in high strength quenched and tempered grades, stainless or aluminium sits outside that certificate, whatever the execution class. If your structure calls those up, ask us before the enquiry goes further.
How to verify any shop's claim
Ask for the certificate itself, not a line on a website. Read the number, the issuing body and the date, then check the body is a real notified body in the European NANDO database and that the number appears on its own register.
Read the scope paragraph, not the heading. It names the execution class and the material groups, and a certificate that says EXC3 while the scope lists only group 1.1 is a narrower certificate than it looks.
Check the ISO 3834 level. Part 2 is comprehensive, part 3 is standard and part 4 is elementary. A shop building EXC3 work on a part 3 certificate is working below what EN 1090-2 expects.
Check the name and address on the certificate match the works that will cut your steel, not a parent or a sister company in another province.
Then ask for the welding coordinator's qualification, the WPS and PQR for the joints on your drawings, and the welder approvals against those procedures. Certificates describe a system. Those three documents describe your weld.
What to send us to price it
Drawings with the execution class and material grades marked, the welding standard, the NDE scope, the coating specification, quantities and the delivery date. If the execution class is not marked, send the design code and the loading and we will tell you what we read from it rather than price a guess.
At USP, EXC3 structural steel is welded by direct hire welders under procedures qualified for the project, in one works 40 km from Tianjin port. Steel leaves painted, FOB or FAS Tianjin. We do not carry out site installation.
Common questions
Can a Chinese fabricator hold EN 1090 EXC3 and EN ISO 3834-2?
Yes. Both are issued by European notified bodies to works in China, and several hundred Chinese shops hold EN 1090-1. The pairing at EXC3 with a comprehensive 3834-2 certificate is less common, so read the scope rather than the heading.
How do I check an EN 1090 certificate is real?
Take the certificate number and the issuing body from the certificate itself. Confirm the body is listed as a notified body in the European NANDO database, then confirm the number on that body's own register. Check the name and address match the works that will build your steel.
Does EXC3 cover every material?
No. An EN 1090-1 certificate names the ISO 15608 steel groups it covers. USP is certified for groups 1.1 and 1.2, carbon and carbon manganese steels. High strength quenched and tempered grades, stainless and aluminium are outside that scope.
Is ISO 3834-2 the same as ISO 3834-3?
No. Part 2 is the comprehensive level, part 3 is standard and part 4 is elementary. EN 1090-2 expects the comprehensive level for EXC3 and EXC4 work.
Send your
drawings.
Drawings or BOQ, code, material, deadline.