§ 68.160   Designation of Telecommunication Certification Bodies (TCBs).

   (a) The Commission may recognize designated Telecommunication
   Certification Bodies (TCBs) which have been designated according to the
   requirements of paragraphs (b) or (c) of this section to certify
   equipment as required under this part. Certification of equipment by a
   TCB shall be based on an application with all the information specified
   in this part. The TCB shall process the application to determine
   compliance with the Commission's requirements and shall issue a written
   grant of equipment authorization. The grant shall identify the
   approving TCB and the Commission as the issuing authority.

   (b) In the United States, TCBs shall be accredited and designated by
   the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under its
   National Voluntary Conformity Assessment Evaluation (NVCASE) program,
   or other recognized programs based on ISO/IEC 17065:2012, to comply
   with the Commission's qualification criteria for TCBs. NIST may, in
   accordance with its procedures, allow other appropriately qualified
   accrediting bodies to accredit TCBs. TCBs shall comply with the
   requirements in § 68.162 of this part.

   (c) In accordance with the terms of an effective bilateral or
   multilateral mutual recognition agreement or arrangement (MRA) to which
   the United States is a party, bodies outside the United States shall be
   permitted to authorize equipment in lieu of the Commission. A body in
   an MRA partner economy may authorize equipment to U.S. requirements
   only if that economy permits bodies in the United States to authorize
   equipment to its requirements. The authority designating these
   telecommunication certification bodies shall meet the following
   criteria.

   (1) The organization accrediting the prospective telecommunication
   certification body shall be capable of meeting the requirements and
   conditions of ISO/IEC 17011:2004.

   (2) The organization assessing the telecommunication certification body
   shall appoint a team of qualified experts to perform the assessment
   covering all of the elements within the scope of accreditation. For
   assessment of telecommunications equipment, the areas of expertise to
   be used during the assessment shall include, but not be limited to,
   electromagnetic compatibility and telecommunications equipment (wired
   and wireless).

   (d) Incorporation by reference. (1) The materials listed in this
   section are incorporated by reference in this part. These
   incorporations by reference were approved by the Director of the
   Federal Register in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.
   These materials are incorporated as they exist on the date of the
   approval, and notice of any change in these materials will be published
   in the Federal Register. All approved material is available for
   inspection at the Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th St. SW.,
   Reference Information Center, Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554, (202)
   418-0270 and is available from the sources below. It is also available
   for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration
   (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA,
   call (202) 741-6030, or go to:
   http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ib
   r_locations.html.

   (2) International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), IEC Central
   Office, 3, rue de Varembe, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland, Email:
   inmail@iec.ch,www.iec.ch or International Organization for
   Standardization (ISO), 1, ch. De la Voie-Creuse, CP 56, CH-1211, Geneva
   20, Switzerland; www.iso.org; Tel.: + 41 22 749 01 11; Fax: + 41 22 733
   34 30; email: central@iso.org . (ISO publications can also be purchased
   from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) through its NSSN
   operation (www.nssn.org), at Customer Service, American National
   Standards Institute, 25 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036, telephone
   (212) 642-4900.)

   (i) ISO/IEC 17011:2004(E), “Conformity assessment—General requirements
   for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies,”
   First Edition, 2004-09-01, IBR approved for § 68.160(c).

   (ii) ISO/IEC 17065:2012(E), “Conformity assessment—Requirements for
   bodies certifying products, processes and services,” First Edition,
   2012-09-15.

   [ 64 FR 4997 , Feb. 2, 1999, as amended at  80 FR 33447 , June 12, 2015]

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