Overview
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted rules (FCC 26-73) that will end recognition of equipment testing laboratories in mainland China and other "non-Reciprocal Economies" beginning December 1, 2028. Equipment manufacturers that rely on these laboratories for FCC certification testing will need to identify alternative labs before that date. These restrictions apply to testing supporting FCC equipment authorizations regardless of whether the products fall within a category on the FCC's Covered List. The adopted order adds language clarifying that equipment that has been tested and authorized before December 1, 2028 will remain certified and may continue to be imported, marketed, sold, operated, and modified in the United States without needing to undergo retesting due to the testing laboratory losing recognition under the new rules.
Scope of adopted order. Adopted at the Commission's October 2026 meeting (in ET Docket 24-136), the order mostly adheres to the draft order circulated in advance of the meeting. Through its equipment authorization program, the Commission recognizes private organizations (including test labs, Telecommunications Certification Bodies (TCBs), and laboratory accreditation bodies) for testing and certification of radiofrequency (RF) devices.
Because of concerns with the integrity of test results and concentration of labs in China, the new rules will prohibit the recognition of any test lab, TCB, or lab accreditation body located in "non-Reciprocal Economies," meaning foreign countries with which the Commission lacks a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) or reciprocal trade agreement with the United States. Mainland China is the largest non-Reciprocal economy. The order, in Appendix D, lists the current Reciprocal Economies, which include Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and EU member countries.
Importantly, the order also prohibits "recognized Test Labs, TCBs and laboratory accreditation bodies from maintaining a headquarters, place of organization, or recognized site in a Reciprocal Economy while conducting the testing, certifying, and accrediting in a non-Reciprocal Economy." (¶ 115). Specifically, under § 2.902, each category of test organization will be prohibited from carrying out "covered activities" in a non-Reciprocal economy as follows:
- For a Test Lab, covered activity includes test setup and operation, required measurements, technical analysis of results, and preparation or approval of the test report relied on for certification.
- For a TCB, covered activity includes application evaluation, technical review, the certification decision, grant or dismissal, and FCC-required post-market surveillance.
- For an accreditation body, covered activity includes the assessment of, technical evaluation of, and decision to accredit a laboratory for a scope used to obtain FCC recognition.
However, "covered activities" do not include any of the following:
- pre-compliance or R&D testing that is not represented to be FCC-recognized testing and is not relied on in a certification application;
- manufacture, maintenance, or calibration of measurement equipment;
- sales, accounting, payroll, scheduling, IT support, or other ministerial administration; or
- facilities and personnel wholly segregated from the entity's FCC function.
Status of existing equipment. In the adopted order the Commission "clarifies that the withdrawal of recognition for Test Labs located in non-Reciprocal Economies will not affect the status of any equipment authorizations granted before December 1, 2028." Therefore, "equipment that has been properly tested and authorized before [December 1, 2028] will remain fully certified and may continue to be imported, marketed, sold, operated, and modified . . . without any requirement to undergo retesting solely due to the change in recognition status of the Test Lab that performed the original testing."
Further proposals. The accompanying Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on additional restrictions, including whether to extend geographic testing requirements to equipment authorized through the Supplier's Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) process and whether to prohibit recognition of laboratories, TCBs, and accreditation bodies based on ownership, control, or jurisdictional ties to non-Reciprocal Economies.
Next steps. Manufacturers who currently rely on labs in non-Reciprocal Economies should begin evaluating alternative labs for products under development well in advance of the December 1, 2028 deadline.
Steptoe's FCC Covered List and US Onshoring Team advises companies on supply chain security, FCC Covered List compliance, conditional approvals, and US onshoring issues.
