EMC/EMI Testing, Support, and Certification Services

Overview of Industry Canada Application and Certification Process

  1. Background
    1. In the past, applications for certification of wireless devices have been submitted directly to Industry Canada for licensing. Industry Canada is now granting authority to foreign certification bodies, who qualify and have been listed with Industry Canada as an accredited certification body, to grant certification to some wireless devices. This enables
    2. The Industry Canada (IC) rules governing Foreign Certification Bodies (FCBs) may be downloaded from http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/spectrum.
  2. Advantages of the Certification Body process
    1. The CB authorization process offers manufacturers more than one approval body to select from. CBs provide a faster, more convenient option than submitting the application for certification directly to Industry Canada. Competition between CBs will keep costs low and processing times fast.
  3. Certification Body Activities
    1. CBs certify devices in accordance with Industry Canada rules and policies as outlined in CB-01, CB-02 and CB-03.
  4. Certification Requirements
    1. General
      1. Certification is based on the demonstration of compliance with the applicable standards.
      2. Certification is based on the review of a technical brief for a unit representative of the final production model.
      3. Notwithstanding that a type of radio equipment has been certified, the Department of Certification and Engineering Bureau of Industry Canada may require corrective action when such equipment causes interference within the meaning of the Radiocommunication Act.
    2. Radiocommunication Equipment Requirements
      1. Certification of Category I, radio equipment, is required and subject to compliance with the applicable Radio Standards Specification (RSS) in the Category I Equipment Standards List.
      2. Radio Equipment imported only for demonstration or trial does not have to be certified. However, it does require an experimental radio license. More information can be obtained from the office of the Department nearest to the demonstration or trial site. The offices of the Department are listed in the Radiocommunication Information Circular 66, Addresses of Telephone Numbers of Regional and District Offices (RIC-66)
    3. Broadcasting Equipment Requirements (Northwest EMC is not accredited to certify Broadcasting Equipment.
  5. Certification Number Format
    1. Certified equipment shall be labeled with a unique certification number, which consists of the Company Number (CN), which is assigned by the Certification and Engineering Bureau of Industry Canada, followed by the Unique Product Number (UPN), which is assigned by the certificate holder.
    2. The certificate number shall appear as follows: bq. “IC: XXXXXX-YYYYYYYY” Where:
      1. IC identifies the Industry Canada certification number
      2. “XXXXXX-YYYYYYYY” is the certification number
      3. “XXXXXX” is the Company Number, made of at most six (6) alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9) assigned Industry Canada
      4. “YYYYYYYY” is the Unique Product Number (UPN), made of at most eight (8) alphanumeric charaters (A-Z,0-9) assigned by theapplicant.
      5. a dash “-“ must appear between the CN and the UPN.
    3. The alphanumeric characters that are permitted in the CN and UPN are limited to capital letters (A-Z) and digits (0-9). Other characters, such as “#”,”/”,”-“, shall not be used. An example of the new format for a company having a CN equal to “21A” and wishing to us a UPN equal to “A3” would be: IC:21A-A3.
  6. Listing of Certification
    1. The Certification and Engineering Bureau of Industry Canada will record the details of all certifications in the Department’s Radio Equipment List (REL) based on the notification received from the certification body (CB). Certified equipment shall not be distributed, leased, sold, offered for sale in Canada before the details of its certification have been added to the REL.
    2. A listing fee of $45 shall be paid to the Certification and Engineering Bureau of Industry Canada before the equipment is added to the REL. The payment of this fee may be made by the CB or the certificate holder.
  7. Testing and Technical Brief
    1. Testing
      1. If the measurement requires the use of an Open Area Test Site (OATS), a testing laboratory must file a description of such test site and associated test instrumentation with the Certification and Engineering Bureau of Industry Canada, in advance, and obtain a reference number. Requirements associated with Open Area Test Sites can be found in Radio Standards Specifications 212, Test Facilities and Test Methods for Radio Equipment (RS212). Northwest EMC has OATS filed with Industry Canada.
      2. A complete listing of approved test sites can be located on the Industry Canada Web site at: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/ceb-bhst.nsf/en/h_tt00016e.html.
    2. Technical Brief
      1. Certification shall be based on the assessment of a technical brief consisting, as a minimum, of:
        1. a product description — a detailed description of the product and its application, including bq. advertising literature, schematic diagrams of the RF circuitry and block diagrams of associated circuitry, the user and maintenance manuals and must be provided with the submission;
        2. a test report — the test report shall contain:
          1. the test report cover sheet shown in Appendix I appropriately filled out and signed;
          2. the results of measurements conducted on the device as described in the applicable technical standard; if used, a full description of the alternative testing method and the reasons for using it shall be provided when filing for equipment certification; if an alternative method is used, it is advisable to adopt a method used by a national or international organization; and
          3. emission designator — the radio frequency emission type designator should be stated in the test report; this designator should be of the type used by the ITU-R (International Telecommunication Union-Radio) Industry Canada Telecommunications Regulation Circular 43, Notes Regarding Designation of Emission (Including Necessary Bandwidth and Classification), Class of Station and Nature of Service (TRC-43) provides guidance; an emission designator calculator is available at http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inceb-bhst.nsf/vwGeneratedInterE/h_pe00010e.html and
        3. supporting information — photographs of the internal circuit boards and external views of the product are required to precisely identify the equipment; the photographs shall be large enough to identify the major components.
  8. Modification of Certified Equipment
    1. Modifications to certified radio apparatus may require re-certification of the equipment. The applicant shall consult a CB when certified equipment has been modified to confirm the validity of its certification.
  9. Certification Retention and Audits
    1. Certificate holders shall ensure that all production units of certified equipment by a CB continue to meet the applicable procedural and technical requirements. The CB and the Bureau will conduct post-certification audits in order to ensure continuing compliance.
    2. The adherence of subsequent production units to the technical quality and characteristics under which certification was originally issued is implicit. To this end, periodic testing shall be carried out by certificate holders to ensure continuing compliance with the technical standards.
    3. The Department may request, from certificate holders, random radio apparatus samples at their expense for post-certification audit testing or as a result of radio interference complaints. If the samples fail the tests, certificate holders will be required to take corrective action.
    4. If a CB’s recognition is withdrawn or the CB stops operating, the Department requires certificate holders who have affected apparatus which is still being distributed in the Canadian market, to transfer these apparatus certificates to a recognized CB or to the Bureau within three months of a notification from the Department. Otherwise, the apparatus will be removed from the Radio Equipment List. The affected certificate holders shall provide a copy of the original certification submission, which includes a technical brief to the Department upon request. Certificate holders shall retain copies of their original certification submission for a period of ten years.
  10. Withdrawal of Certification
    1. Where, as a result of post-certification audit or other information obtained by the CB or by the Department, a certified device fails to meet this procedure or the applicable technical requirements, or where there is reasonable evidence that a certified device is creating electromagnetic interference or not operating in accordance with the parameters described on the Certificate, the CB will inform the Department and the certificate holder will be required to take remedial action.
    2. If the certificate holder does not take remedial action, the certification will be withdrawn by the CB, and the Department will remove the equipment from the Radio Equipment List. The Department will also require that all of the offending equipment be removed from service and no longer be made available for sale or distribution in Canada.
  11. Chart of Process Flow
  12. Scope of Accreditation
    1. Northwest EMC has been accredited by ANSI and is designated by IC to certify all Radio Standards Specifications (RSS) in the Category I Equipment Standards List.