Nope, it's a national government entity. Hearbreaking to watch those tests, too, especially for a reloader who's having a hard time finding powder. Watched one of these certification tests out at Hodgdon's place a while back for a new powder we'd just started importing. They wind up burning several hundred pounds of powder (full cases at a time) in a series of tests that are analyzed and then classified by DOT. Has to do with how long it takes for the powders to ignite the remaining jugs in the case, how far particles are thrown (complete with video against w witness board in the background) how long the combustion lasts, and a host of other things. An independant expert is hired by DOT to do the tests, and it's his recommendations that the classification will depend on. Interesting process, but like I said, heartbreaking at the same time.