30 CFR § 23.12 - Wording, purpose, and use of approval plate.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t30/s23.12"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "30 CFR § 23.12 - Wording, purpose, and use of approval plate."
title_number: 30
title_name: "Mineral Resources"
section_number: "23.12"
section_name: "Wording, purpose, and use of approval plate."
chapter_name: "MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR"
subchapter_number: "B"
subchapter_name: "TESTING, EVALUATION, AND APPROVAL OF MINING PRODUCTS"
part_number: "23"
part_name: "TELEPHONES AND SIGNALING DEVICES"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "30 U.S.C. 957, 961."
regulatory_source: "Schedule 9B, 4 FR 1555, Apr. 11, 1939, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "23"
---


# 23.12 Wording, purpose, and use of approval plate.

(a) *Approval plate.* (1) Manufacturers shall attach, stamp, or mold an approval plate on each permissible device. The plate shall bear the emblem of the Mine Safety and Health Administration and be inscribed as follows:

Permissible Telephone (or Permissible Signaling Device) Approval No.______Issued to the

Company.

(2) When deemed necessary, an appropriate caution statement shall be added. The size and position of the approval plate shall be satisfactory to MSHA.

(b) *Purpose.* The approval plate is a label that identifies the device so that anyone can tell at a glance whether or not it is of the permissible type. By the plate, the manufacturer can point out that his device complies with MSHA's requirements and that it has been approved for use in gassy or dusty mines.

(c) *Use.* Permission to place MSHA's approval plate on his device obligates the manufacturer to maintain the quality of his product and to see that each device is constructed according to the drawings that have been accepted by MSHA and are in MSHA's files. Devices exhibiting changes in design that have not been authorized are not permissible and must not bear MSHA's approval plate.

[Sched. 9B, 4 FR 1555, Apr. 11, 1939, as amended at 43 FR 12315, Mar. 24, 1978]