Pickleball paddles and balls can be USAPA certified by following these steps. Many customers and friends are confused about how to obtain USAPA certification. Today, I will teach you how to apply for certification on your own.

Step 1

Create a new account on the USAPA official website at https://equipment.usapickleball.org/. The cost for creating an account is $495. Once the account is submitted, reviewed, and activated, you can submit samples for testing. Specific requirements will be sent to the email provided during registration to explain the process.

Step 2

Submit testing samples. For paddle certification, submit 6 paddles, and for ball certification, submit 11 balls for inspection, testing, and archival storage.

After submitting the forms and payment, this information will be sent to four different addresses. Currently, the price for paddle certification is $1500. The price for certifying similar paddles (same model design, different colors) is $350. The price for submitting a new ball is $1500. If paddles or balls fail the initial test, the cost to resubmit them is $550. It is important to note that regardless of whether the paddle or ball is certified, the submitted samples are non-returnable.

Step 3

Wait for certification results. The certification tests are conducted by the National Technical Systems (NTS) entity Chesapeake Laboratory in the United States. Testing, recording, and reporting results may take up to 4-6 weeks.

To ensure that paddles meet certification requirements, they must have an RT value of ≤30 and an RZ value of ≤40. The combined length and width of the paddle, including the edge guard and butt cap, must not exceed 60.96 centimeters. There is no specific limit on the thickness of the paddle.

The hitting surface of the paddle must not have excessive reflectivity to avoid negatively affecting the opponent’s visibility. The reflectivity measurement must not exceed 80 GU and should be measured at a standard angle of 60 degrees.

The maximum dynamic coefficient of friction of the paddle must not exceed 0.1875, and the paddle’s deflection should be ≤0.127mm.

Manufacturers must clearly label the brand and model on the paddle, and it must include the “USA Pickleball Approved” seal or text.

A pickleball paddle that meets these requirements is considered USAPA-certified for Pickleball.