You know that seemingly silly thing on your mattress stating that it’s a criminal offence to remove the tag? That’s because in order for it to be legally sold in Canada, it has to display that it’s certified for North American consumption.

By law, a hot tub must also have a plaque on it, showing it is certified for use in Canada. An inspector will not authorize a permit, even for a used hot tub if it doesn’t have the proper documentation on the original plaque it came with when it was first sold. And home insurance policies may have a clause that excludes hot tubs that aren’t labeled with ETL-certification

We’ve found that the original plaque with the serial number and the ETL certification stamp is often missing on a used hot tub. It may have peeled off with age, become faded and illegible, or it may have been removed or painted over at some point.

If the plaque is missing, a hot tub can be recertified by a professional but it costs about $12,000.00 to do it. So, don’t buy a used hot tub if it doesn’t have that plaque on it.