Yes, we went through this when we were about to buy fixtures and faucets. Our plumber asked us to make sure our tub was approved in Massachusetts because he has had town inspectors tell people that they had to replace them if not approved. We then picked out grohe and rohl fixtures as they were approved. nothing to worry about if not in MA.

I bet brickeye has something to say about MA code. ;)

Nothing to worry about if you aren't in MA.

Please check any certification for anything bought from Porcelanosa!

The deal is the nanny state wants to eliminate lead in faucets. Like anyone is really having a problem with this in the first place.

Lead is alloyed with copper and zinc to form brass. All new faucets will either have to be stainless steel, or the % of lead will have to be low, or the inside of the faucet will have to be coated/plated.

I believe this requirement will go into effect in 2014 (for the entire US). Taxsachusetts is just ahead of the rest of the US.

First I've heard of it for MA. CA and (I think) NH were the only two "forbidden" state for shipping something I was buying. I shipped it to my wife's aunt in NV, then on to us. I haven't heard of an inspector actually flagging any such issue.

Geoffrey - thanks for the informative explanation!

There is nothing mysterious about Massachusetts approval of faucets and other plumbing fittings. A company wishing to sell a plumbing product in MA has to submit an application to the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gasfitters which determines whether the product meets the state plumbing code. Each approval is for three years, then the product has to be re-submitted.

The minimum requirement for faucets is that the faucet has been tested and certified by an independent laboratory to meet the North American standards for reliability and safety (ASME A112.18.1/CSA B125.1) and the North American lead free standard (ANSI/NSF 61 and ANSI/NSF 372).

Other states leave determination of whether a faucet meets the state's standards up to the licensed plumbers that install the faucet. MA does not. A faucet that has not been approved by the board cannot be legally sold, delivered or installed in Massachusetts.

The MA approval system does not ensure any better reliability or safety, it merely sees to it that faucets used in the state meet U.S./Canadian standards.

Other states should probably do the same as the federal government has totally failed in its obligation to keep unreliable and dangerous faucets off the market. We estimate that well over 50% of all faucets offered for sale on Amazon, Wayfair, Houzz, Overstock, ATG Stores, Sears (on line) and e-Bay have not been certified safe, reliable or lead free to U.S. standards and are not legal for sale in the U.S. or Canada.

StarCraft: Looks like your self promotional response is three years too late.

I am glad I found this thread. I live in MA and am amazed and confused by the rules. For all the products I am considering for my kitchen renovation, I call Wayfair or a manufacturer's customer service line and am told that their products are MA compliant. Then I called the local building inspector and he tells me that we won't approve anything unless it's approved by the state. He directed me here:

https://licensing.reg.state.ma.us/pubLic/pl_products/pb_pre_form.asp

Many of the items I wanted are NOT accepted: WS Bath, Brizo and others. I think it's just a way for the state to collect some fees.

Government at it's worst.

Lisa - Brizo is approved under its parent company name "Delta". I know this is very late but hopefully will help someone in the future who finds this thread! I have used Brizo in MA plenty of times, all with approval codes!

Lisa - thanks for the tip. I purchased a bathtub, and it isn't on the list of approved fixtures. Yikes.

I created this little tool when we renovated our bathroom. It's a way to check if a product mass approved or not that's much easier than the official site: http://checkthemasshole.com/.

The initial search takes a while since it's not limiting the results, but once it's loaded, it should much quicker to narrow down what you're looking for.

I live in Ma. I am doing a bathroom remodel & have been searching for months trying to find affordable, black modern/contemporary style, 2.00-2.5 GPM shower system. I plugged in all the styles I have found of well known manufacturers & have not found ONE that passes this stupid code system. BEYOND FRUSTRATED!

Reededfern,

Usually, all the big names are on the list. You just gotta play around with the model number. For example, if your model is 123-ABC-CP, you might have to search “123-ABC” and it may come up as “123-ABC-” as the last letter may just be a color coding. Or it may come up as “123--*” or might not even have any hyphens on the list.