Insights
CE/UKCA, FCC, medical devices and IoT security — what's actually changing, when it takes effect, and what it means for a product that isn't certified yet. New to the terms themselves? See the compliance glossary below.
No match — try a broader term.

From 15 Jan 2026, RLAN test reports need a local or MRA-partner lab. From 22 Apr 2026, phones and tablets also need a mandatory SAR test report (LHU SAR).

Harmonised standards get revised, exemptions expire on fixed dates, and delegated acts add obligations after the fact. What ongoing monitoring for already-certified products actually covers.

FCC, CE, UKCA, Bluetooth SIG, UN 38.3 and battery testing: what a funded campaign actually needs, 2026 cost ranges, and when to start.

In force since 28 June 2025 for smartphones, computers, e-readers and self-service terminals: EN 301 549, a declaration of conformity, and live market-surveillance inspections.

In force since 20 June 2025: 800-cycle battery durability, drop/water testing, a 7-year spare-parts commitment, and a point-of-sale energy + repairability label.

RED/CE, a July 2026 battery-removability exemption, and GDPR-driven design choices for camera-equipped wearables.

No federal right-to-repair statute yet. Colorado's HB24-1121 took effect 1 Jan 2026, joining California, Minnesota and Oregon's separate state laws.

85% HAC benchmark from 1 July 2026, 100% from 15 December 2026 — after which non-compliant handset models can't be sold in the US.

Decision (EU) 2026/901 replaced GPSR's harmonised standards (transition to 27 Oct 2027) while Amazon and other marketplaces shift from warning letters to real, fast delisting.

TDRA's 2 Feb 2026 clarification: telecom/wireless equipment needs a Type Approval and a separate Customs Clearance Permit, matched, before a shipment clears -- one alone is no longer enough.

Vietnam's new mobile-terminal EMC standard took effect 15 Feb 2026, replacing two prior regulations; a transition window to 31 Dec 2026 accepts either standard.

TS CMT Issue 1 Revision 4 adds emergency cell broadcast support (live since 1 Apr 2026) and 2G disabled by default (enforced from 31 Dec 2026) for cellular mobile terminals.

SASO 3114:2026 replaces GEN-002 for phones, tablets, routers and CPE -- grace period ends 31 Oct 2026, old certificates void 31 Mar 2027.

BSMI's 20 May 2026 revision adds a formal information security category to Type Approval, with a fixed 1 Jan 2028 deadline for EV chargers, inverters and battery storage.

NOM-001 safety certification and NOM-024 Spanish-language labelling are now mandatory at import for phones, with uncertified consignments at risk of customs detention.

New RSS-247 certifications for 5 GHz Wi-Fi devices must now use ETSI EN 301 893 V2.2.1, after the transition window for the older DFS test standard closed.

FCC 26-28 splits PAG review into two queues: a faster one for US/MRA-country labs, standard for everyone else.

Class III and implantable Class IIb legacy devices lose their old MDD/AIMDD certificate validity on 31 December 2027; every other legacy class follows in 2028.

GBiz-id registration, per-model METI notification and a Japan-based domestic administrator are now required to sell PSE electronics via marketplace into Japan.

Ato No. 18086 requires a valid ANATEL certification code in every DUIMP customs filing since 25 May 2026, plus revised 5 GHz limits and new 2027 power-supply certification rules.

China's voluntary RoHS standard becomes mandatory, restricted substances rise from 6 to 10, with a hard inventory-clearance deadline of 1 August 2028.

A new safety standard, a cabling labelling exemption that just ended, and tightened wireless RF test limits are all now in force at once.

253 SVHCs since the 4 Feb 2026 update — every listing starts its own 6-month ECHA notification clock.

Article 3(3)(d)(e)(f) is already live for almost any internet-connected radio device — and CRA doesn't replace it yet.

MSIT Notice No. 2025-56 requires USB Type-C on 13 device categories from 5 November 2026 — modelled on the EU rule, but a separate jurisdiction and deadline.

MeitY's S.O. 2204(E) brings standalone hard disk drives under a 76+ category BIS registration regime that keeps expanding.

pEPR fees move with a red/amber/green recyclability grade from year two (2026-27); 2026 data is due 1 October 2026 (H1) and 1 April 2027 (H2).

Quarterly reporting through 2026, a new vape Category 15 with real-cost funding from 12 August 2026, and a confirmed 532,882-tonne household collection target — every electronics producer is in scope.

From 12 September 2026, newly-placed connected products must expose their data directly, free of charge, in a structured machine-readable format.

Laptops joined the EU's USB-C mandate on 28 April 2026 — USB PD charging, no-charger disclosure, and a packaging pictogram.

Transposition deadline 9 December 2026. Software, firmware and AI systems become liable "products" under no-fault rules, with the burden of proof shifting toward manufacturers.

Draft regulations notified to the WTO 8 May 2026 would make UDI and e-IFU compulsory for medical devices/IVDs on the GB market from 1 June 2027.

Takes effect 8 September 2026: logic-bearing hardware ban, mandatory bill-of-materials disclosure, required US-based liable party.

Security-by-design rules for connectable products, enforced by OPSS since 29 April 2024, with fines up to £10m or 4% of turnover.

From 8 July 2026, US importers must eFile Certificate of Compliance data through CBP's ACE system at entry — penalties up to roughly $120,500 per violation.

Mandatory for batteries first, electronics and ICT following through 2027-2028. 81% of affected companies have no implementation plan.

Declaration of Conformity required per packaging unit, PFAS-restricted food-contact packaging, mandatory EPR registration.

Battery-safety requirements land early from February 2027; connected toys are named directly in Annex I.

The FDA withdrew the QSIT inspection manual 2 February 2026, harmonising 21 CFR 820 with ISO 13485:2016.

Aluminium sub-exemptions 6(b)-I and 6(b)-II end 11 Dec 2026 and 11 Jun 2027 for categories 1–7 and 10; 6(c) and 7(c)-I stay valid pending December 2025 renewal requests.

Standalone high-risk systems now have until 2 December 2027; AI embedded in already-regulated products until 2 August 2028.

The Machinery Directive is repealed outright on 20 January 2027, with new digital-instructions and high-risk-machinery rules.

Mobile phones, tablets and electronic displays directly in scope, with new spare-parts and repair-lock obligations.

Published lab and consultant pricing breakdowns, plus what CE and UKCA status in Great Britain actually is right now.

The FCC named ioXt Alliance Lead Administrator 13 April 2026. Applications for IoT device makers expected to open in 2026.

Legacy medical devices and IVDs already on the EU market have until 27 November 2026 to be registered.

The EU Cyber Resilience Act's vulnerability-reporting obligation starts 11 September 2026. Who it applies to and how to be ready.

Portable and LMT batteries must be user-removable and replaceable from 18 February 2027.
Short, plain explanations of the terms and marks that come up in a compliance project.

A room lined with radio-absorbent material — foam pyramids or ferrite tiles — that eliminates reflected signals, so a product's radiated emissions and radio performance can be measured without the room itself distorting the reading. Most RF and EMC test standards (FCC Part 15, EU RED, CISPR) specify measurement in one, because a reflective room can make a non-compliant product look compliant, or the reverse.

Testing how much radio-frequency energy a product emits — intentionally, from a transmitter such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or cellular, tested against that radio standard's own limits; or unintentionally, from any electronic product's switching circuitry, tested against EMC emission limits. Done with a spectrum analyser and a calibrated antenna, usually inside an anechoic chamber or on a shielded/open-area test site.

The point at which a shipment has everything a border needs to release it — the Declaration of Conformity, the technical file references behind it, and whatever conformity mark applies (CE, UKCA, an FCC ID) — rather than being held for missing documentation. Finishing certification doesn't automatically mean cleared: the physical goods and their labelling still have to match what's on file.

The Declaration of Conformity, the accredited lab's test reports, and the technical file that backs them both up. This is the specific set of documents a regulator, a marketplace compliance team, or a customs officer can ask to see at any point after a product goes on sale — not only at launch — and it's what a market-surveillance request or an Amazon compliance check is actually asking for.

Certifying one product for more than one market in a single project — typically CE/UKCA/FCC together for a radio-enabled consumer product entering the EU, UK and US. Where the underlying test standards overlap, mainly radio and EMC results, the same test data can often be reused across markets; safety and labelling requirements usually still need a market-specific pass.

Japan's radio-type certification, required before any Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or cellular device can legally be sold, or even operated, in Japan. Separate from Japan's electrical-safety mark, PSE.

South Korea's mandatory conformity mark for electronics, split into KC Safety and KC/RRA, which covers radio equipment and EMC. A radio-enabled consumer product typically needs both, as two separate certifications.

Mexico's former telecom regulator, which issued homologación (type approval) for radio-transmitting equipment. Dissolved on 17 October 2025; homologación now sits with its successor, the Comisión Reguladora de Telecomunicaciones (CRT). Separate from the general product-safety NOM standards.

The Gulf states' regional conformity mark (G-Mark) for designated low-voltage electrical equipment. Radio-enabled products also need Saudi Arabia's telecom/ICT certificate, issued through SASO's SABER platform.

The harmonised EU/UK safety standard for audio/video, IT and communication technology equipment, using a hazard-based approach in place of the older EN 60950-1 and EN 60065.