The same board can be labelled E1 in China, compliant with CARB Phase II in the United States and marked E1 in Europe, without any of those claims contradicting the others. Three systems, three test methods, three units — and that is where orders go wrong.
The same 18 mm MDF can leave a Chinese mill labelled E1, arrive in California compliant with CARB Phase II, and be sold in Germany marked E1 under EN 13986. None of those labels contradict each other. They are three different systems, measured three different ways, in three different units — and that is where most purchasing mistakes start.
This page sets out what each label actually commits the mill to, and how to check a certificate before you pay.
| System | Status | Grades | Limit | Test method | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China, GB 18580-2017 | Mandatory | E1 | 0.124 | 1 m³ chamber | mg/m³ |
| China, GB/T 39600-2021 | Voluntary | E1 / E0 / ENF | 0.124 / 0.050 / 0.025 | 1 m³ chamber | mg/m³ |
| USA, CARB Phase II & TSCA Title VI | Federal law | No grade names | MDF 0.11; particleboard 0.09; hardwood plywood 0.05; thin MDF 0.13 | ASTM E1333 large chamber | ppm |
| EU, EN 13986 (CE marking) | Harmonised standard | E1 | 0.124, or 8 mg/100 g by perforator | EN 717-1 chamber, or EN 120 | mg/m³ or mg/100 g |
| Japan, JIS A 1460 | Voluntary | F★★★★ | 0.3 | Desiccator | mg/L |
Limits are rounded to three decimals as published. Always read the number off the certificate in front of you rather than off this page — standards get revised, and a certificate states the revision it was issued against.
This is the point most supplier pages get wrong, and it matters because it is what a technical buyer checks first.
CARB and TSCA Title VI report in ppm, measured in a large chamber to ASTM E1333 at a defined loading ratio and air exchange rate. Chinese and European standards report in mg/m³, measured in a 1 m³ chamber at a different loading ratio. Japanese F★★★★ reports mg/L from a desiccator test, which is not a chamber test at all.
Different chamber volume, different loading ratio, different air exchange, different temperature and humidity. There is no single conversion factor that holds across all products, and a supplier who quotes one has either simplified it or copied it from somewhere.
So when a certificate says 0.11 ppm and another says 0.05 mg/m³, you cannot say which board is cleaner by comparing the numbers. You compare them by asking: which market are you selling into, what does that market's regulation actually require, and does the certificate test the right panel at the right thickness.
The short answer: the question is malformed, and that is worth understanding because it changes how you specify.
E0 is not an international grade and it is not a Chinese mandatory grade. In China, GB 18580-2017 sets E1 as the legal floor, and E0 sits in the voluntary GB/T 39600-2021 alongside ENF. In the US, CARB Phase II and TSCA Title VI are law, not a label a mill can opt into, and they are enforced at the border.
A board can carry E0 marking under the Chinese voluntary standard and still need a separate CARB test report to enter the United States, because the two are measured by different methods and neither authority accepts the other's data. The practical consequence: if your customer writes "E0" in a purchase order for a US destination, that specification is incomplete. It needs to say which scheme, which method, which limit.
What actually travels well: state the destination market, the standard number, the limit and the unit. "EN 717-1, 0.05 mg/m³, 18 mm MDF" is a specification a mill can price and a lab can test. "E0" on its own is a marketing word.
| Check | Why it fails in practice |
|---|---|
| The standard number and its revision year | "CARB certified" is not a standard. It should name 17 CCR 93120 or TSCA Title VI, and an E1 certificate should name GB 18580 or EN 13986. |
| The test method | A certificate quoting a method other than the one the regulation requires is not evidence of compliance, however official it looks. |
| The panel and the thickness | A CARB report for 18 mm MDF does not cover 2.5 mm HDF. Different product, different test, different limit. |
| The laboratory | The test has to come from a recognised or accredited lab. An in-house printout is a claim, not a certificate. |
| The date | Test reports age. We work to reports no older than twelve months and we reject undated ones outright. |
We do not hold certificates ourselves. Every certificate we send you belongs to the producing mill, and we check the five points above before the container is loaded. If a certificate does not cover what you ordered, we say so before you pay rather than after.
See the certificate requirement for your destination market →
| If you are selling into | What the paperwork has to show |
|---|---|
| United States, Canada | CARB Phase II / TSCA Title VI test report, ppm, ASTM E1333, per panel type and thickness |
| European Union | CE marking with a Declaration of Performance citing EN 13986, E1 class |
| China domestic | GB 18580-2017 E1 as the legal floor; E0 or ENF only if the contract asks for it under GB/T 39600-2021 |
| Japan | JIS A 1460 F★★★★ where the project specifies it |
| Middle East, Africa, CIS | Usually the importer's own specification or the project BOQ. State the grade and the method in the order; do not assume E1 means the same thing everywhere. |
Where a customer wants the lowest emission available, the workable answer is not to chase the strictest-sounding label. It is to specify a board that carries ENF under GB/T 39600-2021 and a CARB Phase II report for the same thickness, and to have both certificates in hand before the order is placed.
E1 is the mandatory limit in China under GB 18580-2017 at 0.124 mg/m3, measured in a 1 m3 chamber. E0 and ENF are voluntary grades in GB/T 39600-2021 at 0.050 and 0.025 mg/m3. E2 was a grade under the older standard and is no longer a compliant grade for interior use in China; boards that would once have been called E2 are now sold for non-interior or industrial use, or not at all.
They are not comparable in that way. E0 is a Chinese voluntary grade measured in mg/m3 in a 1 m3 chamber. CARB Phase II and TSCA Title VI are US federal law measured in ppm by ASTM E1333 in a large chamber. Different methods, different units, and neither authority accepts the other's data. A board needs its own CARB test report to enter the US regardless of its E0 marking.
Not with a single reliable factor. Chamber volume, loading ratio, air exchange rate, temperature and humidity all differ between the ASTM E1333 large chamber and the 1 m3 chamber used in Chinese and European standards. Any supplier offering one conversion number is simplifying. Specify the standard and the unit your market requires instead.
It is a US federal requirement, originally a California rule under 17 CCR 93120 and now enforced nationally through EPA's TSCA Title VI. It sets formaldehyde emission limits by product: MDF 0.11 ppm, particleboard 0.09 ppm, hardwood plywood 0.05 ppm and thin MDF 0.13 ppm, measured by ASTM E1333. It is law, not a voluntary label.
No. Emission testing is done per product and per thickness. A CARB report for 18 mm MDF does not cover 2.5 mm HDF, and a CE Declaration of Performance for particleboard does not cover MDF. Always check that the certificate names the panel and thickness you are actually buying.
The factory. All certificates belong to the producing mill and a copy travels with the shipping documents. We verify the standard number, the test method, the panel and thickness, the laboratory and the date before loading, and we tell you if a certificate does not cover your order.
Tell us the destination market and the grade your customer specified. We come back with the mill options, the certificate each one can actually provide, and the test method behind it.
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