The subject of this paper – being a preliminary study – are the determinants of selecting a research laboratory for the needs of carrying out safety tests of useness, evaluating the conformity in order to issue an EC conformity declaration, and to voluntarily certify for the "B "safety mark. The research was conducted from the point of view of small, medium, and large manufacturers of agricultural machines. The fundamental purpose of the study is to answer the question: what factors – from the point of view of the manufacturers of agricultural machines – are relevant when selecting a research entity. The main goal required formulating and implementing the partial goals, which included: determining the significance of starting cooperation by a Polish manufacturer with a research laboratory in the context of the binding regulations and standards; by reconstructing and interpreting the literature of the subject – choosing the factors to be considered when selecting a research entity; compiling the determinants constituting the foundation of a research tool in the form of an assessment sheet being a resultant of literature studies, and a discussion among intentionally selected experts from the agricultural machines sector. The specified explications became the background that defines correct direction for further research works (assessment of the significance of requirements), whose results will be presented in the subsequent part of the study.