Case Study

The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) relies on accreditation as part of its equipment authorization program

Under Title 47 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations, the FCC requires that a laboratory that has been accredited (to ISO/IEC 17025) with a scope covering the required measurements shall be deemed competent to test and submit test data for equipment subject to verification, Declaration of Conformity, and certification under the Equipment Authorization Procedures.  In addition, the FCC also requires that to be designated as a TCB (Certification Body) under this section, an entity shall, by means of accreditation, meet all the appropriate specifications in ISO/IEC Guide 65 (now ISO/IEC 17065) for the scope of equipment it will certify.

Since 2002, the FCC Equipment Authorization Program has experienced a 13% growth rate each year, and in 2014, the product certification bodies recognized under this program processed over 21,000 grants of equipment certification.  The US Customs and Border Patrol Agency receive over 1 million filings per month, requesting importation of these certified devices – whose compliance to FCC rules is reliant upon accredited conformity assessment activities.

More information regarding FCC requirements for test laboratories and product certification bodies under the Equipment Authorization Program can be found at:

TCB Program Roles and Responsibilities