Can anyone educate me on what the North American standard is for keeping drilling equipment certified?

It was my understand for example that a top drive or mud pump would need to be "certified" every five years regardless of how much it was used or not.

Is this true? What does it take to get "certified" on this equipment?

I don't think there's a universal standard for North America. I believe Canada has certification and re-certification standards, but the US does not.