ASME UV Stamp: AIA Contract, Joint Review, and Form UV-1

ASME UV stamp certification authorizes a company to manufacture or assemble pressure relief valves for pressure vessels, and you earn it by passing an on-site Joint Review that shows your quality control system and production meet the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC). The Certificate of Authorization costs $4,250, lasts three years, and is granted only after an ASME team leader and your Authorized Inspection Agency watch you build and test a valve under your documented quality program.¹ Most of the effort happens before you apply: writing a quality manual you can defend line by line, contracting an inspection agency, and getting your people, records, and equipment ready for scrutiny.

What the UV Stamp Covers, and What It Doesn’t

The UV designation applies to pressure relief valves used on unfired pressure vessels built to Section VIII, Division 1 and Division 2. ASME places the stamp itself under Section XIII of the BPVC (Rules for Overpressure Protection).² Form UV-1 explicitly covers both manufacturers and assemblers, so if you assemble valves from components made elsewhere, this is still your stamp.

Picking the wrong stamp is a common early mistake. The related marks cover different equipment:

V is for boiler pressure relief valves on Section I power boilers.
HV is for heating boiler safety valves.
UV3 is for high-pressure vessel relief valves under Section VIII, Division 3.
UD covers pressure relief devices that aren’t valves, such as rupture disks.
TV and TD cover transport tank relief valves and devices.

All of these sit under Section XIII and follow a similar certification path, but each has its own scope. If you make rupture disks, you need UD, not UV.

Getting Your Quality Control System Ready

The quality control manual is where most applications either succeed or fall apart. It has to describe every procedure that touches valve quality: design control, material traceability, inspection and testing, calibration, and how you handle nonconformances. The review team reads it before setting foot in your plant, then holds you to every sentence during the audit.³

Write the manual to match what you actually do. If it says test gauges are calibrated every six months, your records need to prove that on the day the auditors ask. If a specific engineer reviews design calculations, that person has to be named and their qualifications documented. Everyone involved in testing and assembly needs documented proof of competence with pressure relief devices.

You also need complete technical designs for each valve model, with materials from approved ASME lists. If you use software for design calculations, be ready to demonstrate the software produces acceptable results.⁴ Everything must reflect the latest Code edition in effect when ASME receives your complete application.

Contracting an Authorized Inspection Agency

You cannot apply without a signed inspection contract with an Authorized Inspection Agency (AIA). The AIA provides third-party oversight of your operations and sits alongside the ASME team leader during the Joint Review. That contract has to stay in force for the full life of the certificate, and letting it lapse can jeopardize your authorization.⁵

AIAs are usually insurance companies or independent inspection organizations accredited by ASME. You select yours during the CA Connect application, which lists accredited agencies. Their fees for inspections, travel, and ongoing oversight are separate from what you pay ASME and can vary considerably based on your location and production volume, so build them into your budget from the start.

Applying Through CA Connect

Applications run through ASME’s CA Connect portal. You have to be logged in as your company’s Primary Contact to start one. The application walks through tabs for policies, certification selection, stamp details, travel logistics for the review team, billing, and review scheduling.⁶

A few details catch applicants out. The review dates you request must be at least three months in the future. You upload your quality control manual as part of the application. You also download, complete, and upload a supplemental application form and an agreement form. The billing section takes banking details, plus a credit card processing form that gets faxed separately to ASME.

The UV certificate fee is $4,250. Unlike most other BPV certifications, which carry an $11,000 review deposit on top of the certificate fee, UV does not require an advance review deposit.¹ The physical certification mark is another $400 plus tax and shipping. Your AIA’s inspection fees and any travel costs for the review team are separate again.

The Joint Review

After ASME processes your application, a Joint Review is scheduled. The review team, made up of an ASME team leader and your AIA inspector, reviews your manual remotely and then conducts an on-site evaluation. The on-site portion runs through the manual review findings, an entrance meeting and facility tour, the implementation demonstration, a closed team meeting, and an exit meeting.³

The Demonstration

The implementation phase decides the outcome. You have to demonstrate at least one valve fabricated within the scope of your requested certificate, showing every part of your quality control system in action. It can be from a current production order or a mock-up built for the review, but it has to reflect the latest Code edition. If welding is part of your process, you demonstrate actual welding during the review.⁴

The team watches calibration procedures, examines testing records, and verifies that valve samples function at the correct set pressures. ASME’s designated organization may require additional samples and can require those samples to undergo performance and capacity testing at an ASME-accepted test laboratory. If you’re applying for multiple stamps at once, each Code Section needs its own demonstration item with its own design calculations.

Closing Out the Audit

Before the team leaves, you provide a corrected copy of your quality manual that incorporates any changes the team required. If the facility demonstrates compliance, the team recommends issuance of the Certificate of Authorization. The final certificate typically arrives within several weeks of a successful review while ASME completes its internal verification.

Stamping, Form UV-1, and Records

With the certificate in hand, you can apply the UV symbol to valve nameplates. The marking has to be permanent, either etched, stamped, or placed on a plate attached to the valve body. For valves NPS 1/2 (DN 15) and larger, the nameplate carries the manufacturer or assembler name, design or type number, NPS size, set pressure (and cold differential test pressure where applicable), certified capacity in units appropriate to the service medium, year built or a traceable code, and the ASME UV mark. Valves smaller than NPS 1/2 can carry these markings on a metal tag attached by wire or by adhesive suitable for the service conditions.

Every valve produced under the authorization goes out with Form UV-1, the Manufacturer’s or Assembler’s Certificate of Conformance for Pressure Relief Valves. It records the valve type, size, set pressure, capacity, test fluid, the Certified Individual’s signature, and the UV Certificate of Authorization number, and stands as legal proof of Section VIII, Division 1 conformance.⁷

You must retain these records for at least three years under Section VIII, Division 1.⁸ National Board registration of the records is strongly recommended and is mandatory in most North American jurisdictions.

Capacity Certification Is a Separate Step

The UV stamp lets you make the valve. Marking a certified flow capacity on it requires a separate certification through the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors, involving design review, initial testing to set certified ratings, and ongoing production testing.⁹

The National Board reviews your valve design for mechanical and material compliance before any testing. You then run initial tests, with the number, sizes, and set pressures agreed between you and the Board, to establish the certified capacity rating. Once the design passes and your quality system meets Board requirements, you receive permission to apply the “NB” mark. That permission runs six years and can be renewed for additional six-year periods if you successfully repeat the required tests within the six months before expiration.

All capacity testing has to happen at a facility accepted by the National Board and follow ASME PTC-25 procedures. The capacity marked on each valve must match the value certified by the Board and calculated according to the construction code. Companies that only perform testing (without disassembly or repair) may also need a separate “T/O” (Test Only) Certificate of Authorization from the National Board.¹⁰

Keeping and Renewing the Certificate

The UV Certificate of Authorization is valid for three years.¹¹ Renewal applications and fees go through CA Connect and must be submitted at least three months before the expiration date printed on your certificate. Miss that deadline and you can lose your certificate number and have to start over.¹²

Renewal means another Joint Review. ASME evaluates your quality system and its implementation the same way it did the first time. Your AIA contract has to stay active the whole time, and any lapse can complicate renewal. If you relocate your manufacturing facility during the certificate period, ASME requires your designated organization to audit the new location and verify that two pressure relief devices per test medium manufactured at the new shop meet all applicable Code requirements.¹³

1
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. ASME Certification Process – Price Guide
2
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Boiler and Pressure Vessel Certification
3
ASME. Information and Description of the ASME Joint Review Process for Applicants
4
ASME. Guide for ASME Review Teams for Review of Applicants for ASME Certificates of Authorization
5
ASME. Policy on Authorized Inspection Agency of Record
6
ASME. ASME CA Connect Customer User Guide
7
ASME. Form UV-1 Manufacturers or Assemblers Certificate of Conformance for Pressure Relief Valves
8
ASME. The National Board and ASME Guide
9
National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors. Pressure Relief Device Certification Administrative Requirements
10
The National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors. Accreditation of Test Only Organizations NB-528
11
ASME. Boiler and Pressure Vessel Certificates of Authorization and the Certification Mark
12
ASME. Frequently Asked Questions
13
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Frequently Asked Questions