Instructions to E-ApplicationBackground
The Water Supplies Department (WSD) has a General Acceptance (GA) system in place to pre-approve plumbing products used in plumbing projects. To obtain pre-approval status for their products, applicants are required to provide documents to show compliance with the statutory and other requirements imposed by the Water Authority (WA) as stated in Technical Requirements for Plumbing Works in Buildings (Technical Requirements). If the submission is accepted, the WSD will include the product in its pre-approved list. Contractors can use the product in plumbing projects before the expiry of the GA validity period of that product.
WSD issues General Acceptance (GA) Letter to the pipes and fittings required to be reported in Form WWO1149. For the items to be reported in WWO1149, please visit:
Please note that WSD will NOT issue general acceptance to the fitting not required to be reported in Form WWO1149.
Application Procedure & Required Documents
When you submit your GA 2.0 application, you are required to send us:-
a) Covering letter signed by the applicant or stamped with the company chop;
b) Signed application form:
c) Relevant supporting document (5 options, please refer to Notes of application form); and
d) Two identical copies of the catalogue/fact sheet Note 1 of the pipes and fittings.
No application fee is required.
Accepted Supporting Document
Plumbing products complying with stipulated standards, tests and other requirements in Enhanced Technical Requirements for GA 2.0 are deemed to be accepted by producing certification or test reports confirming their compliance with the relevant stipulated standards in enhanced technical requirements from either:
(a) the British Standards Institution Kitemark Certificate
(b1) the U.K. Water Regulations Advisory Scheme (WRAS)
(b2) Kiwa UK Water Regulation 4 Product Approval Scheme (KUKreg4)
(b3) NSF REG4 Certification Scheme
(c) accredited laboratories acceptable to this Authority
For (c), the laboratories accredited by the Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (HOKLAS) under the following sub-categories are acceptable:-
| Category | Sub-category |
|---|---|
| Construction Materials |
|
Please visit the website of HOKLAS for more information on the accredited laboratories under the aforementioned sub-categories at:
https://www.itc.gov.hk/en/quality/hkas/conformity_assessment_bodies/hoklas.html
The accredited laboratories can give you advice on the testing requirements as soon as they have details of your pipes and fittings.
Submit the Application
a) E-Application System
E-Application Instructions to E-Application
b) In person or by post
Please send the application submission in person or by post to "Material Control Unit, Water Supplies Department" at the following address: Room 4705, 47/F, Immigration Tower, 7 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Please also mark "Application for General Acceptance of Pipes and Fittings for Plumbing Systems" on the envelope.
c) By E-mail
Applicants can also submit the application by E-mail to e_apply_ga@wsd.gov.hk. Applicant’s attention is drawn that the original/certified true copy of Hong Kong laboratory test report(s) shall also be submitted for verification. Within one month upon receiving a confirmation email with reference number from the Water Supplies Department, please submit those document, together with a duly signed covering/company letter (quoting WSD reference number), by post/in person to “Material Control Unit of Water Supplies Department at Room 4705, 47/F, Immigration Tower, 7 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong”.
1. Catalogue/fact sheets shall explicitly provide the following information, preferable with the paper size not larger than A4 - name of the manufacturer, full address of the factory, brand and model reference, a description of fitting, size of the fitting inlet as well as body markings on the product. Images and sectional drawings of the fitting, body marking for identification and diagrams with dimensions indicated clearly for visualization are also required.
Please visit “Guideline of Submission” via the link:
2. Common Pitfalls in Application
Validity of GA Letter
1. To facilitate phasing out of plumbing products (pipe fittings, valves and strainers) manufactured by bronze with lead content more than 3.5%, validity periods for renewal of these plumbing products under GA 1.0 are as follows:
(a) For renewal application under GA 1.0 received by 31 December 2024, the current practice of a maximum 5-year validity of GA letter shall be adopted. Renewal application shall only be accepted for GA letters expiring in 12 months; and
(b) For renewal application under GA 1.0 received after 31 December 2024, the validity period shall last up to 31 December 2027 under all circumstances.
2. Validity periods for different scenarios under GA 1.0 and 2.0 are as follows:
(a) For new application under GA 2.0 system, a fixed validity of 5 years counted from the issue date of GA letter shall be granted and the tests required shall be completed within 12 months[1];
(b) For renewal application from expiring GA 2.0, a fixed validity of 5 years counted from the expiry date of GA letter to be renewed shall be granted. Renewal application shall only be accepted for GA letters expiring in 12 months and the tests required shall be completed within 12 months[1] before expiry of the GA letter;
(c) For renewal application from expiring GA 1.0 to GA 2.0 with full tests, a fixed validity of 5 years counted from the expiry date of GA letter to be renewed shall be granted. Renewal application shall only be accepted for GA letters expiring in 12 months and the tests required shall be completed within 12 months[1] before expiry of the GA letter;
(d) Transition from existing valid GA 1.0 to GA 2.0 via top-up test to fulfil Enhanced Technical Requirements shall be accepted. Transition application shall only be processed if all models and sizes under the GA 1.0 are applied and the expiry date of the GA 2.0 shall be the same as the one in GA 1.0;
(e) Except plumbing products manufactured by bronze for renewal under GA 1.0 mentioned in paragraph 1, all new and renewal applications under GA 1.0 received during the grace period mentioned in paragraph 8 of WSD Circular Letter No. 8/2024, the validity period shall last up to 31 December 2026 in all circumstances; and
(f) All issued GA letters under GA 1.0 except paragraph (e) shall be valid until their corresponding expiry dates, provided they are in compliance with Waterworks Ordinance and Regulations.
[1] Please note that the certificates issued by certification bodies such as WRAS and Kitemark shall remain valid at the time of GA approval. Test reports for polymeric material issued by laboratories accredited by HOKLAS shall be within five years at the time of GA approval. In both cases, the GA applicants are required to declare that they shall ensure new certificates and test reports shall be available when certificates expire or test reports become more than five years old. WSD shall reserve the right to request the GA applicants to provide updated certificates and test reports during the GA validity period.
The "General Acceptance Plus"("GA+") Scheme is a voluntary scheme built on the existing General Acceptance ("GA") System. The scheme encourages quality assurance in the manufacturing stage of plumbing products. All pipes and fittings under the current GA System and new application are also eligible to apply for the "GA+"Scheme. In addition to the supporting documents for the GA application, GA applicants who wish to join the voluntary "GA+"Scheme are required to submit quality assurance information of their plumbing products in the manufacturing stage. After acceptance by the WSD, the quality assurance information of the GA product will be posted on the Directory Search of the WSD website for Water Supply Pipes and Fittings with Valid General Acceptance.
Please note that our Department will consider the quality assurance information under the following categories:-
The scheme is applicable to both new and existing GA products. Interested applicants for "GA+" Scheme shall complete and submit the application form above together with relevant documents to WSD.
For plumbing products with metallic material in direct contact with water intended for potable use, a test report issued by an accredited laboratory on metal chemical composition test shall be submitted to show compliance to the Waterworks Ordinance and Regulations. The metal chemical composition test requirements for different plumbing products are shown below:
(a) For pipes and pipe fittings, full chemical composition test is required
(b) For valves, taps and mixers, only chemical composition test for lead content is required
In this connection, a top up test requirement will be applied to new or re-new GA application via the following certificates:
The supporting test report for metal chemical composition shall be submitted in the GA application. GA applicants can contact the accredited laboratories for the required chemical composition tests. Relevant test reports issued by 1) to 4) above showing compliance would also be accepted.
At present, the WSD has a General Acceptance (GA) system in place to pre-approve plumbing products used in new plumbing projects. To obtain a GA status, a supplier should submit either test results of a sample of its product or certificate issued by authoritative certification bodies to prove conformity of the product to the statutory standards. If the submission is acceptable, the WSD will include that product into its pre-approved list. Builders can use it in new plumbing projects before the GA expiry date of that project (max. 5 years).
The WSD has worked in collaboration with the plumbing suppliers to launch a voluntary labeling scheme for GA products in the retail market. Under the scheme, a supplier is required to affix a label onto the product packaging or display panel of the GA product which has joined the scheme. With the label, the public can readily distinguish GA products from other products. Besides, each label contains a QR code for retrieval of useful information about the product such as its country of origin, GA expiry date, quality assurance details etc.
The scheme is applicable to both new and existing GA products. Interested applicants for Voluntary Labelling Scheme shall complete and submit the application form above together with relevant documents to WSD.
At present, the WSD has a General Acceptance (GA) system in place to pre-approve plumbing products used in new plumbing projects. BS EN ISO/IEC 17067 sets out the key elements of a product certification scheme, which are good pointers for enhancement of the material approval system. Amongst others, surveillance is an element to maintain the validity of the statement of conformity.
To further enhance the conformity of plumbing products with the GA requirements, the WSD implements a surveillance programme for GA products. For details, please refer to WSD Circular Letter No. 8/2017 in the link below:-
A Material Testing Laboratory was set up in April 2018 for testing the plumbing products. The Laboratory was accredited by Hong Kong Accreditation Service (HKAS) under Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (HOKLAS) on 11 August 2021 (the registration number assigned to the Laboratory is HOKLAS 301).