California MAEDbS charger lookup: match the model and read its status

What the public MAEDbS record tells a buyer

The California Energy Commission lets anyone search approved models without a login. Quick Search can use a model number, brand, company or appliance type; archived records can also be selected when reviewing historical entries. CEC describes an Approved model as currently compliant with the applicable Title 20 requirements and says no additional certificate or document is needed to show that model’s compliance status.

That is a useful regulatory record, but it is not the same object as a laboratory report. CEC says a regulated model is tested first and then submitted to MAEDbS; manufacturers enter specified performance data, while a complete test report is not required to be filed in the database. A buyer can therefore use the public record to confirm the listed model’s status without assuming that the search result contains the underlying test file or identifies a shipment.

• The public search supports model, brand, company and appliance-type queries.
• Approved is the current Title 20 status for an applicable model listing.
• The public record is not a substitute for identifying the product being quoted or shipped.

Product scope comes before the database search

Title 20 applies to regulated appliance types, not automatically to every item sold as a charger or power supply. California’s rules define battery-charger systems broadly, including certain products with rechargeable batteries charged through internal or external supplies, while section 1601 also lists exclusions. The product’s function and configuration therefore matter: a standalone adapter is not automatically a regulated battery-charger model merely because it has a USB port.

For federally regulated consumer battery chargers, CEC says models manufactured on or after 13 June 2018 must meet the nationwide efficiency and disclosure requirements, and from 1 January 2019 those models must be certified in MAEDbS and appear as Approved to be eligible for sale in California. Some older state-regulated small charger records have a specific historical sell-through treatment; that limited rule is not a general permission to treat every Archived entry as currently approved.

A buyer-side sequence for matching the record

Start with the quoted product’s exact model number, including suffixes, the charging function, whether the battery is inside the end product, and the intended California sales route. Search MAEDbS by the model and then cross-check the manufacturer or brand and appliance type shown in the result. If the first search returns nothing, try the full model and reasonable formatting variants, then search by brand or appliance type before concluding that no record exists.

For an Archived result, note when the model was certified and whether CEC identifies an updated standard, manufacturer-requested archival or another reason; consult the appliance-specific rule where the sales consequence is unclear. Keep the result URL or a dated record with the model specification and supplier correspondence. If the classification itself is uncertain, ask for the product details and have the applicable Title 20 definition resolved before treating a database hit—or the absence of one—as the entire answer.

• Quoted model and suffix match the MAEDbS result.
• Product function and battery configuration fit the listed appliance type.
• Current Approved status is distinguished from historical Archived status.
• The applicable Title 20 rule and manufacturing-date treatment are checked.
• Efficiency evidence is kept separate from safety, EMC and shipment identity.