Approval from the ISED (Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada) authority is required for the Canadian market. The certification is carried out by a so-called Foreign Certification Body (FCB), which evaluates the test reports and technical documentation and issues an approval.
Contrary to popular belief, FCC certification for the U.S. market is not equivalent to market approval in Canada.
Without such certification, market access for Canada is precluded for manufacturers of products with wireless technologies. Once the device has been officially certified by ISED, the approval is permanently valid. Thus, recertification for an unmodified device is not necessary. In addition, if the device is slightly modified, recertification may be possible (often required), so the testing effort is reduced in this case.
The scope of testing for ISED approval is based entirely on national specifications, although these do not necessarily have to be performed by local laboratories. The approval process, in turn, requires a local contact and manufacturers should allow for an approval period of one to two weeks. Testing is the responsibility of the Foreign Certification Body (FCB), which handles the official certification process.
An FCB has the authority to evaluate an application for approval of a product submitted by a customer on behalf of ISED. An FCB is therefore, analogous to the TCB in the USA, a certification body that approves devices that can be certified according to the scope of accreditation and issues technical acceptance certificates.
The ISED certification label is a word mark consisting of the Company Number (CN) and the Unique Product Number (UPN). While the UPN is chosen by the manufacturer, the CN is specified by the Canadian authority. The ISED label must be visibly displayed on the product and possibly also on the packaging. Alternatively, the label can also be displayed electronically. However, special requirements must be met for this, which are explained in RSP 100 – “Certification of Radio Apparatus”.
As part of the certification process, it is also mandatory to define a product designation or the so-called “Hardware Version Identification Number (HVIN)”. The publication of each approved product only takes place in connection with a marketing name or the so-called “Product Marketing Name (PMN)”.
We offer our customers all services for an approval for the Canadian market. As an ISO 17025 accredited and ISED recognized laboratory, we perform measurements for ISED certification in our laboratories.
Our Foreign Certification Body handles the certification process and final coordination with the authority. So throughout the testing and certification process, we take care of project handling for you, ensuring an efficient approval process and fast approval to the Canadian market.
