The letters RAL stand for the Quality Mark and seal of the RAL Institute. The RAL name and seal of quality is recognised in Germany and internationally as a symbol for superior quality products and services.
The name RAL has been in existence since 1925 when the German private sector and the German government founded the “Reichs-Ausschuss für Lieferbedingungen" (RAL) or State Commission for Delivery Terms. The common aim was to clarify and standardise technical delivery conditions. Established quality requirements and their respective monitoring were needed for this purpose. The institute was to draw up rules and regulations, independently and in a solely responsible manner. The goal was never just to rationalise delivery operations, but first and foremost to assure quality standards. To this end, importance was attached to maintaining the quality assurance approach, promoting probity in commerce through honesty and clarity in labelling and a reliable marking of goods and services in the interest of the consumer. With an increased focus on quality assurance the RAL name was then extended to the State Commission for Delivery Terms and Quality Assurance (Reichs-Ausschuss für Lieferbedingungen und Gütesicherung).
After the war, the RAL was attached to the German standards committee, Deutscher Normenausschuss (DNA). Without legal status RAL was governed by the president of the DNA, but operated independently and autonomously. But then, with the growing tasks and duties a legal status was soon agreed, leading to the foundation of the RAL e.V. in the nineteen seventies, and since 1980 the institute bears the name “RAL Deutsches Institut für Gütesicherung und Kennzeich¬nung e. V."
The RAL fields of responsibility cover the sections RAL Quality Marks, RAL Agreements, RAL Registrations, RAL Test Specifications and the Geographic Designation of Origin Mark. In addition to this, since 2008 the sections RAL Colours, RAL Environmental Label and the European Environmental Label have been the responsibility of the RAL GmbH as a 100 % subsidiary of RAL e.V.
You will find more detailed information on the internet at www.ral.de and on our Info Page RAL Installation Guideline