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The North American Laminate Flooring Association (NALFA) is a trade association of laminate flooring manufacturers and laminate flooring manufacturer suppliers in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1997, in 2001 it became a standards developing organization accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop voluntary consensus standards for laminate flooring materials, and has established testing and performance criteria that are used in North America. NALFA has declared that its mission is to promote "continuous and responsible growth in the laminate flooring industry as well as to help consumers in the shopping process."

Product certification
NALFA promulgates standards for laminate flooring under its ANSI accreditation scope. According to ANSI, "Accreditation by ANSI signifies that the procedures used by the standards body in connection with the development of American National Standards meet the Institute’s essential requirements for openness, balance, consensus and due process". The NALFA offers a certification mark named the NALFA Certification Seal which signifies that the product has passed 10 performance tests, has been proven to meet these standards by an independent, third-party testing lab, and has been manufactured in North America.


 * 1) Static Load – Measures the ability of laminate flooring to resist residual indentation resulting from a static load.
 * 2) Thickness Swell – Measures the ability of laminate flooring to resist increase in thickness after being exposed to water.
 * 3) Light Resistance – Measures the ability of laminate flooring to retain its color when exposed to a light source having a frequency range approximating sunlight through window glass. It is not intended to show the resistance to continuous exposure to outdoor weathering conditions.
 * 4) Cleanability and Stain Resistance – Measures both the ease of cleanability and stain resistance of laminate flooring to common household substances.
 * 5) Large Ball Resistance – Measures the ability of laminate flooring to resist fracture due to impact by a large diameter ball.
 * 6) Small Ball Resistance – Measures the ability of laminate flooring to resist fracture due to impact by a small diameter ball.
 * 7) Water Resistance – Measures the ability of the surface of laminate flooring to resist abrasive wear through the décor layer.
 * 8) Dimension Tolerance – Measures the dimensional variance between tiles of laminate flooring in a manufactured free standing (unrestricted) shape in respect to thickness, length, width, straightness and squareness.
 * 9) Castor Chair Resistance – Specifies a method for determining the change of appearance and stability of a laminate floor, including joints, under the movement of a castor chair.
 * 10) Surface Bond – Measures the force required to delaminate or split away the surface of laminate flooring plank or tile.

Other activities

 * NALFA sponsors three education and training programs:
 * Inspector Certification
 * Installer Certification
 * Getting to Know Laminate Flooring


 * NALFA provides its industry with consumer marketing, including on its website.
 * NAFLA conducts industry specific research, including authoring white papers.
 * NALFA lobbies on behalf of its member organizations.