FCC KDB - Administrative Procedure - Accredited Test Firm Roles

Question: What guidance does the FCC provide to accredited testing laboratories that are recognized by the FCC to test products subject to Declaration of Conformity (DoC) and Certification procedures?

Answer: The FCC provides guidance to accredited testing laboratories and an overview in the Accredited Testing Laboratory Program Roles and Responsibilities document: 974614 D01 Accredited Test Lab Roles and Resp v03 attached below.
https://apps.fcc.gov/kdb/GetAttachment.html?id=qs3oApG59wrxxjX0upDSsw%3D%3D&desc=974614%20Accredited%20Test%20Lab%20Roles%20and%20Resp%20v03&tracking_number=44684

The requirements for the Commission’s equipment authorization program are defined in the FCC regulations. An Accredited Testing Laboratory is required to be used when testing products subject to the Certification and Declaration of Conformity (DoC) procedures.

Certification constitutes the most rigorous equipment authorization procedure, and is typically applied to RF equipment employing new technologies for which the testing methodologies are relatively complex or not well defined, or that otherwise are considered to have the highest potential for causing interference.
Examples of devices subject to certification include, but are not limited to: mobile phones, wireless local area networking equipment, land mobile radio transmitters, wireless medical telemetry transmitters, and cordless telephones. All certified equipment is listed in a Commission database that contains the application for certification, test report, and other supporting information.

DoC is a self-approval process that requires the responsible party to use a recognized accredited test laboratory when testing devices. The responsible party also must include with the product a compliance information statement that identifies the product and a responsible party within the United States. A wide variety of devices are currently subject to the DoC procedures, including personal computers and peripherals, consumer ISM equipment (such as microwave ovens), radio receivers, and TV interface devices.

Devices subject to certification or DoC procedures are required to be tested to show compliance with the FCC technical regulations by a recognized accredited testing laboratory. Besides EMC and radio parameter testing, the FCC technical regulations may require additional testing which includes, but is not limited to, testing for Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) and RF exposure testing. The testing laboratory must be accredited by a Commission-recognized accreditation body, or an accreditation body recognized under the terms of a government-to-government Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA). A list of FCC recognized accredited testing laboratories is published on the FCC Webpage.

1 See 47 C.F.R. Part 2 Subpart J.
2 On or after July 13, 2015 the FCC rules no longer allow recognition of testing laboratories as “2.948 listed” for testing of equipment subject to certification under Parts 15 and 18 and will stop accepting requests to recognize new “2.948 listed test sites”. “2.948 listed test sites” that are recognized prior to July 13, 2015 and have an expiration date after July 13, 2016 may remain recognized until July13, 2016. “2.948 listed test sites” that are recognized prior to July 13, 2015 but expire prior to July 13, 2016 will expire on their expiration date but may request a renewal to remain recognized until July 13, 2016. FCC recognized “2.948 listed test sites” will be searchable on the FCC website until July 13, 2016. Testing completed by recognized “2.948 listed test sites” prior to July 13, 2016 will be accepted in applications for certification if uploaded to the FCC EAS system before October 13, 2016. All testing performed on or after July 13, 2016 on applications for certification will be required to be based on testing performed by an accredited testing laboratory recognized by the FCC as accredited. A list of recognized accredited testing laboratories is provided at: https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/TestFirmSearch.cfm.

Note:
1 On or after July 13, 2015 the FCC rules no longer allow recognition of testing laboratories as “2.948 listed” for testing of equipment subject to certification under Parts 15 and 18 and will stop accepting requests to recognize new “2.948 listed test sites”. “2.948 listed test sites” that are recognized prior to July 13, 2015 and have an expiration date after July 13, 2016 may remain recognized until July13, 2016. “2.948 listed test sites” that are recognized prior to July 13, 2015 but expire prior to July 13, 2016 will expire on their expiration date but may request a renewal to remain recognized until July 13, 2016. FCC recognized “2.948 listed test sites” will be searchable on the FCC website until July 13, 2016. Testing completed by recognized “2.948 listed test sites” prior to July 13, 2016 will be accepted in applications for certification if uploaded to the FCC EAS system before October 13, 2016. All testing performed on or after July 13, 2016 on applications for certification will be required to be based on testing performed by an accredited testing laboratory recognized by the FCC as accredited. A list of recognized accredited testing laboratories is provided at: https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/TestFirmSearch.cfm.

2 The Commission’s Equipment Authorization System (EAS) can be accessed at https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/GenericSearch.cfm.

3 See 47 C.F.R. § 2.906. The party responsible for compliance is defined in 47 C.F.R. § 2.909.

4 See 47 C.F.R. §§ 2.1077, 15.19(a)(3), and 18.209(b). Only Part 15 and Part 18 equipment is currently covered by DoC. For example, Part 15 devices subject to the DoC rules must be labeled with the following statement: “This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.” See also 47 C.F.R. §§ 2.1075 and 2.946 (describing circumstances in which the responsible party must submit to the Commission records of the original design drawings and specifications, the procedures used for production inspection and testing, a report of RF emission measurements, the compliance information statement, and a sample of the device).

5 http://www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/mra/.

6 See https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/TestFirmSearch.cfm.

7 ISO/IEC 17000 (2004), 2.6 and 5.6.

8  ISO/IEC 17000 (2004), 2.5.

9 ISO/IEC 17000 (2004), 7.3.

Report and Order FCC 14-208 生效日：2015/7/13
新R&O FCC 14-208 于2015/6/12发行, 在 2015/7/13 生效日开始一年后, 产品关于 FCC Part 2, Part 15, 和 Part 18, 申请 FCC Certification 认证和自我声明符合性 (FCC 15B DoC) 的测试报告, 必须由 FCC 认可的测试实验室 (Accredited Lab)发行, 才具有效力。     

新规之测试认可实验室 (Accredited Lab):
2016/7/13后, 实验室必须符合 ISO 17025 资格和经FCC 指定的稽核实验室机构 (Designating Authority)审查认可后, 并登录在 FCC 网站, 才可发行被FCC 认可的测试报告。

另外, 认可实验室的地点, 座落于美国, 或是座落的国家与美国有相互承认 (Mutual Recognition Agreement) 已有明确的稽核实验室机构 (Designating Authority) ,可立即申请新的认可程序, 成为 FCC 认可测试实验室; 但实验室座落在地点的国家(如: 中国) 尚未与美国签属相互承认协议书,测试报告将不被接受。

测试场地与法规要求:
2016/7/13以后，测试FCC Part15法规必须依照程序ANSI C63.4-2014 和 ANSI C63.10-2013。
2018/7/13以后, 高频1GHz ~ 40GHz辐射测试场地皆要符合CISPR16-1-4:2010-04之场地要求。

过渡期: 使用 FCC 旧规申请为登录实验室 (2.948 Listed test lab) 的测试报告在 2016/10/13前仍可以被 FCC接受，但测试资料日期必须在2016/7/13之前。