Crowdfunding and approvals

[pcblearner]

Hello

I am interested in setting up a crowdfunding page for a product I am working on. I designed the PCBs myself and it sits in an enclosure. It is powered by a 5VDC 50W external AC-DC adaptor power supply (this means the device itself has no real power circuitry, it just takes 5VDC in). It's basically just a box that sits on a table.

My question is - should I get UL approval and include this within the cost of the project? I already know I need FCC and CE and required by law, but UL is not required by law. I don't want to be held liable if something goes wrong, but also the cost of actually getting these approvals completely overshadows the development cost which is really minor in comparison.

Thanks for the advice

[lutkeveld]

Was wondering about this too. Me and my friend are looking into doing a kickstarter but are worried about liability.
Our projects main object is a battery powered PCB. Short circuits, exploding/leaking batteries etc are things that could bring you in major trouble.
Can you share some info you already found regarding certifications?

We calculated our needed capital te be around 10k euro. Needing multiple certificates in the range of a couple 1000 euros would render our project infeasible.

[Richard Crowley]

Since we have no clue what it is, nobody can really offer any kind of informed response.
Is this a commercial product for sale to the general public at retail?  Or is it a hobby gadget?
How do you know that you need FCC approval?  Does it emit RF energy?  Do you understand how remarkably expensive that is?
How do you know that you need CE approval?  In many (most?) cases that would tend to imply that it needs UL also.