FCC Votes Oct. 29 on Restricting Device Test Labs to US and MRA Partners
The FCC votes October 29 on rules confining RF device testing, certification and lab accreditation to the US and MRA partner economies, with a December 1, 2028 cutoff and no waiver process.
On October 29 the FCC will vote on a Third Report and Order and FNPRM confining equipment authorization testing, certification and accreditation to the US and territories of economies with a US Mutual Recognition Agreement or comparable reciprocal arrangement. The bar on recognising non-MRA test labs, TCBs and accreditation bodies would apply to applications filed on or after December 1, 2028; earlier grants and pending applications are unaffected.
The rules reach past location: a TCB could not evaluate applications, make certification decisions or conduct post-market surveillance from a nonreciprocal economy, labs could not run tests there, and accreditation bodies could not accredit labs. Pre-compliance and R&D testing not relied on in a certification application falls outside the restriction. The FCC declined any waiver or case-by-case exception process, so individual relief should not be assumed.
The Commission conceded that five of six RF devices are tested in nonreciprocal countries and that compliance costs exceed quantifiable benefits, but found national security justifies the burden. The FNPRM seeks comment on Legal Entity Identifiers, extending the rules to US- or MRA-based entities owned or controlled from nonreciprocal economies, and requiring recognised-lab testing for Supplier's Declaration of Conformity products. Comments are due 30 days after Federal Register publication; manufacturers should map lab and TCB dependencies now.