Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and Industry Canada (IC) Certification Service
General Information:
FCC and IC approval process are very similar. FCC and IC verification or DOC approval types are required for all electronic equipment sold in the U.S. and Canada. For intentional radiator (e.g. wireless, cell) devices the transmitter portion of a product is required to be certified. The Following are details on wireless and non-wireless product types:
- Wireless Product Certification: For wireless devices using a wireless module that is already certified by the FCC and IC, and all parameters in the end product match the original testing parameters, no additional testing or wireless certification is required on the end product. If a device is using a proprietary wireless board, that has not been previously certified, then the end product would be required to undergo wireless certification testing. Intentional radiator testing is mainly to verify that radiated power does not exceed specified limits based on frequency ranges. FCC Certification testing must be conducted in an FCC approved laboratory.
- Non-Wireless Verification and DOC approvals: Non-Wireless Verification testing requires the end system product be tested for radiated and conducted emissions. A DOC approval on the other hand allows the manufacturer to combine test data for sub-components in order to declare that the end system product complies with the requirements. Both Non-wireless types of approvals are intended to verify that unintentional noise does not exceed specified limits both through the air, and on the power conductors. FCC and IC testing for verification and DOC approvals must be conducted in an ILAC approved laboratory.
FCC/IC marking and documentation requirements can be challenging. To see the documentation requirements that we are aware of for FCC and IC, click on the link below.
