Market Approval for China

Market access in China
- certification by cetecom advanced

In order to obtain market approval for products for China, a manufacturer is increasingly faced with the question of which approval regime must be used as the basis for approving a product for the Chinese market.

For technical products, three different certification regimes apply here, whose applicability and necessity depends on the product and the technologies used there:

  • China Compulsory Certificate (CCC certification)
  • MII/NAL certification
  • SRRC certification

The three certification regimes differ in terms of necessity, test requirements documentation, complexity and validity period.

CCC certification

The CCC certification based on the China Compulsory Certificate is issued by the responsible government agency in China and is in principle comparable with a CE marking for the European region.

Products requiring certification, such as information technology equipment, telecommunications equipment and accessories or medical devices, may only be sold and used on the Chinese market once CCC certification has been obtained.

More information on the dedicated page: CCC certification

MII/NAL certification

A NAL certification is essential for telecommunications products that are connected to the public telecommunications network, such as telecommunications terminal and radio communication equipment as well as telecommunications equipment for inter-network connectivity.

For foreign manufacturers, NAL certification is mandatory for telecommunications products before a product can be imported and marketed in China.

More information on the dedicated page: MII/NAL certification

SRRC certification

Products that require SRRC certification include mobile phones (GSM or CDMA), wireless LAN (WLAN) devices, and devices that use the following technologies:

  • WLAN
  • Bluetooth
  • ZigbeeWiMAX
  • RFID

The necessary tests need to be carried out in a test laboratory accredited by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Only after a successful SRRC certification an application for a NAL certification can be processed, because the test results of a SRRC certification are the basis for a NAL certification.

More information on the dedicated page: SRRC certification

Basic information on the
market approval for
China

Country China
Continent Asia
Approval Scheme CCC/NAL/SRRC
Based on National
Duration of approval 3-5 years, depending on the approval scheme
Approval label required? Yes
Local representative required? Yes
Local testing required? Yes
ISO2 Code CN
Time zone GMT +8
Official language Chinese
Area code +86
Currency Yuan

Responsible authorities in China

Further information on the approval process in China can be found on the respective subpages for CCC certification, MII/NAL certification and SRRC certification.

New certificate design and e-Certificate format for CCC approval

05/02/2024

Stylized country map of China

In accordance with the requirements of the Announcement of the China National Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) on “Improving the Management of Compulsory Product Certification Certificates and Marks (No. 12 of 2023)”, the China Quality Certification Center notifies the relevant matters related to the implementation of the new version of the certificate format and electronic certificate document format for compulsory product certification (CCC certification) as follows:

  • New version of the certificate style
    • The new version of the compulsory product certification certificate can be found in the attachments (both English and Chinese).
  • e-Certificate document format
    • It is recommended that the authentication client obtains only one electronic certificate. The e-Cert document format is issued in accordance with China’s electronic document exchange and storage format standards, and the OFD (Open Fixed-layout Document) document format is used to issue electronic certificates.
  • Implementation arrangements
    • From 1 January 2024, new CCC certificates and electronic certificates (e-Certificates) are issued in accordance with the requirements set out above.

CCC certificates and electronic certificates (e-Certificates) in PDF document format issued before 1 January 2024 will be replaced by the new formats previously established when the renewal or change procedures for certificates are carried out upon their expiry date. This adjustment does not imply the replacement of already issued certificates.

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