Goto Section: 2.960 | 2.964 | Table of Contents
FCC 2.962
Revised as of October 2, 2015
Goto Year:2014 |
2016
§ 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]
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Goto Section: 2.960 | 2.964
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2016
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