Goto Section: 2.960 | 2.964 | Table of Contents
FCC 2.962
Revised as of September 1, 2021
Goto Year:2020 |
2022
§ 2.962 Requirements for Telecommunication Certification Bodies.
(a) Telecommunication certification bodies (TCBs) designated by NIST,
or designated by another authority pursuant to an bilateral or
multilateral mutual recognition agreement or arrangement to which the
United States is a party, shall comply with the requirements of this
section.
(b) Certification methodology. (1) The certification system shall be
based on type testing as identified in ISO/IEC 17065 (incorporated by
reference, see § 2.910).
(2) Certification shall normally be based on testing no more than one
unmodified representative sample of each product type for which
certification is sought. Additional samples may be requested if clearly
warranted, such as when certain tests are likely to render a sample
inoperative.
(c) Criteria for designation. (1) To be designated as a TCB under this
section, an entity shall, by means of accreditation, meet all the
appropriate specifications in ISO/IEC 17065 for the scope of equipment
it will certify. The accreditation shall specify the group of equipment
to be certified and the applicable regulations for product evaluation.
(2) The TCB shall demonstrate expert knowledge of the regulations for
each product with respect to which the body seeks designation. Such
expertise shall include familiarity with all applicable technical
regulations, administrative provisions or requirements, as well as the
policies and procedures used in the application thereof.
(3) The TCB shall have the technical expertise and capability to test
the equipment it will certify and shall also be accredited in
accordance with ISO/IEC 17025 (incorporated by reference, see § 2.910)
to demonstrate it is competent to perform such tests.
(4) The TCB shall demonstrate an ability to recognize situations where
interpretations of the regulations or test procedures may be necessary.
The appropriate key certification and laboratory personnel shall
demonstrate knowledge of how to obtain current and correct technical
regulation interpretations. The competence of the TCB shall be
demonstrated by assessment. The general competence, efficiency,
experience, familiarity with technical regulations and products covered
by those technical regulations, as well as compliance with applicable
parts of ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO/IEC 17065 shall be taken into
consideration during assessment.
(5) A TCB shall participate in any consultative activities, identified
by the Commission or NIST, to facilitate a common understanding and
interpretation of applicable regulations.
(6) The Commission will provide public notice of the specific methods
that will be used to accredit TCBs, consistent with these qualification
criteria.
(7) A TCB shall be reassessed for continued accreditation on intervals
not exceeding two years.
(d) External resources. (1) In accordance with the provisions of
ISO/IEC 17065 the evaluation of a product, or a portion thereof, may be
performed by bodies that meet the applicable requirements of ISO/IEC
17025 in accordance with the applicable provisions of ISO/IEC 17065 for
external resources (outsourcing) and other relevant standards.
Evaluation is the selection of applicable requirements and the
determination that those requirements are met. Evaluation may be
performed using internal TCB resources or external (outsourced)
resources.
(2) A TCB shall not outsource review and certification decision
activities.
(3) When external resources are used to provide the evaluation
function, including the testing of equipment subject to certification,
the TCB shall be responsible for the evaluation and shall maintain
appropriate oversight of the external resources used to ensure
reliability of the evaluation. Such oversight shall include periodic
audits of products that have been tested and other activities as
required in ISO/IEC 17065 when a certification body uses external
resources for evaluation.
(e) Recognition of a TCB. (1)(i) The Commission will recognize as a TCB
any organization in the United States that meets the qualification
criteria and is accredited and designated by NIST or NIST's recognized
accreditor as provided in § 2.960(b).
(ii) The Commission will recognize as a TCB any organization outside
the United States that meets the qualification criteria and is
designated pursuant to an bilateral or multilateral MRA as provided in
§ 2.960(c).
(2) The Commission will withdraw its recognition of a TCB if the TCB's
designation or accreditation is withdrawn, if the Commission determines
there is just cause for withdrawing the recognition, or if the TCB
requests that it no longer hold its designation or recognition. The
Commission will limit the scope of equipment that can be certified by a
TCB if its accreditor limits the scope of its accreditation or if the
Commission determines there is good cause to do so. The Commission will
notify a TCB in writing of its intention to withdraw or limit the scope
of the TCB's recognition and provide at least 60 days for the TCB to
respond. In the case of a TCB designated and recognized pursuant to an
bilateral or multilateral mutual recognition agreement or arrangement
(MRA), the Commission shall consult with the Office of the United
States Trade Representative (USTR), as necessary, concerning any
disputes arising under an MRA for compliance with the
Telecommunications Trade Act of 1988 (Section 1371-1382 of the Omnibus
Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988).
(3) The Commission will notify a TCB in writing when it has concerns or
evidence that the TCB is not certifying equipment in accordance with
the Commission's rules and policies and request that it explain and
correct any apparent deficiencies. The Commission may require that all
applications for the TCB be processed under the pre-approval guidance
procedure in § 2.964 for at least 30 days, and will provide a TCB with
30 days' notice of its intent to do so unless good cause exists for
providing shorter notice. The Commission may request that a TCB's
Designating Authority or accreditation body investigate and take
appropriate corrective actions as required, and the Commission may
initiate action to limit or withdraw the recognition of the TCB as
described in § 2.962(e)(2).
(4) If the Commission withdraws its recognition of a TCB, all
certifications issued by that TCB will remain valid unless specifically
set aside or revoked by the Commission under paragraph (f)(5) of this
section.
(5) A list of recognized TCBs will be published by the Commission.
(f) Scope of responsibility. (1) A TCB shall certify equipment in
accordance with the Commission's rules and policies.
(2) A TCB shall accept test data from any Commission-recognized
accredited test laboratory, subject to the requirements in ISO/IEC
17065 and shall not unnecessarily repeat tests.
(3) A TCB may establish and assess fees for processing certification
applications and other Commission-required tasks.
(4) A TCB may only act on applications that it has received or which it
has issued a grant of certification.
(5) A TCB shall dismiss an application which is not in accordance with
the provisions of this subpart or when the applicant requests
dismissal, and may dismiss an application if the applicant does not
submit additional information or test samples requested by the TCB.
(6) Within 30 days of the date of grant of certification the Commission
or TCB issuing the grant may set aside a grant of certification that
does not comply with the requirements or upon the request of the
applicant. A TCB shall notify the applicant and the Commission when a
grant is set aside. After 30 days, the Commission may revoke a grant of
certification through the procedures in § 2.939.
(7) A TCB shall follow the procedures in § 2.964 of this part for
equipment on the pre-approval guidance list.
(8) A TCB shall supply an electronic copy of each certification
application and all necessary exhibits to the Commission prior to grant
or dismissal of the application. Where appropriate, the application
must be accompanied by a request for confidentiality of any material
that may qualify for confidential treatment under the Commission's
rules.
(9) A TCB shall grant or dismiss each certification application through
the Commission's electronic filing system.
(10) A TCB may not:
(i) Grant a waiver of the rules;
(ii) Take enforcement actions; or
(iii) Authorize a transfer of control of a grantee.
(11) All TCB actions are subject to Commission review.
(g) Post-market surveillance requirements. (1) In accordance with
ISO/IEC 17065 a TCB shall perform appropriate post-market surveillance
activities. These activities shall be based on type testing a certain
number of samples of the total number of product types which the
certification body has certified.
(2) The Chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) has
delegated authority under § 0.241(g) of this chapter to develop
procedures that TCBs will use for performing post-market surveillance.
OET will publish a document on TCB post-market surveillance
requirements, and this document will provide specific information such
as the number and types of samples that a TCB must test.
(3) OET may request that a grantee of equipment certification submit a
sample directly to the TCB that performed the original certification
for evaluation. Any equipment samples requested by the Commission and
tested by a TCB will be counted toward the minimum number of samples
that the TCB must test.
(4) TCBs may request samples of equipment that they have certified
directly from the grantee of certification in accordance with § 2.945.
(5) If during post market surveillance of a certified product, a TCB
determines that a product fails to comply with the technical
regulations for that product, the TCB shall immediately notify the
grantee and the Commission in writing of its findings. The grantee
shall provide a report to the TCB describing the actions taken to
correct the situation, and the TCB shall provide a report of these
actions to the Commission within 30 days.
(6) TCBs shall submit periodic reports to OET of their post-market
surveillance activities and findings in the format and by the date
specified by OET.
[ 80 FR 33444 , June 12, 2015]
Goto Section: 2.960 | 2.964
Goto Year: 2020 |
2022
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