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FCC Covered List: foreign inverters and robots

updated 16 Oct 20269 min read

On 28 July 2026 the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau released public notice DA 26-786, adding two new product categories to the Covered List: foreign-produced power inverters and foreign-produced advanced robotic devices. As with drones, the entries name no company. They are defined by where the product is made, and a listed product can no longer obtain a new FCC equipment authorization unless it receives a Conditional Approval. The inverter entry was narrowed on 20 August, and the first inverter Conditional Approvals were published on 9 and 16 October.

In short:

  • Advanced robotic devices made abroad are listed: mobile robots over 4.4 lbs with a sensor, a network link of at least 200 kbps and navigation or remote-control software. Fixed industrial robot arms are excluded.
  • Power inverters made abroad are listed, and since DA 26-870 of 20 August 2026 only utility-interactive inverters in the UL 1741 sense that can communicate remotely, by wire or wirelessly.
  • Foreign-produced means not a "domestic end product" under 48 CFR 25.101(a). For inverters, units eligible for the section 45X manufacturing tax credit are also treated as domestic.
  • Listed equipment cannot receive a new authorization. Devices authorized before 28 July may keep receiving software and firmware updates that mitigate harm to US consumers, at least until 1 January 2029.
  • Conditional Approvals lift the listing for a given device or class of devices. The first inverter approvals went to GE Grid Solutions (DA 26-1089), then Dynapower and Power Electronics España (DA 26-1114), each tied to an onshoring plan.

Two entries defined by place of production

Section titled “Two entries defined by place of production”

DA 26-786 rests on two National Security Determinations sent to the FCC on 27 July 2026 by an Executive Branch inter-agency body convened by the White House. The Bureau found that each one is a specific determination under section 2 of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, and that it was therefore required to list the equipment. The two entries read:

  • "Foreign-produced power inverters, except power inverters which have been granted a Conditional Approval by DoW or DHS"
  • "Foreign-produced advanced robotic devices, except advanced robotic devices which have been granted a Conditional Approval by DoW"

The Covered List incorporates the definitions written into each determination, attached as Appendices B and C of the notice. In both, "foreign-produced" refers to any article that does not qualify as a "domestic end product" under 48 CFR 25.101(a), the Buy American definition. The nationality of the producer does not matter: a robot or an inverter built abroad by a US company is caught in the same way.

Which robots are covered

Section titled “Which robots are covered”

Appendix C defines an advanced robotic device as a mechanical mobile device, including autonomous mobile robots, humanoid robots and quadrupeds, that meets all four conditions:

Condition Text of the determination
Mobility Capable of locomotion, obstacle avoidance, navigation or movement on the ground
Remote operation Operates at a distance from a human operator or supervisor, on commands, on sensor data, or both
Weight Device plus any ground or docking station over 4.4 lbs
Components A sensor perceiving its environment, and a wired or wireless network component of at least 200 kbps in either direction, and software, local or remote, controlling autonomous navigation or movement perception, data collection, or remote command-and-control

Six categories are excluded: connected vehicles as defined in 15 CFR 791.301, of any gross weight; vehicles operated only on a rail line; uncrewed aircraft and uncrewed aircraft systems, which have their own entry; unmanned underwater vehicles; devices regulated under section 513 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, including medical and surgical robotic systems, external limb prostheses and mobility aids such as wheelchairs, powered or not; and fixed, stationary, non-mobile robots, including articulated, parallel or delta, Cartesian or gantry, and SCARA robots intended for industrial or medical use.

The last exclusion matters for factory automation. A fixed robot arm of the kind covered by ISO 10218 is outside the entry. An AGV or AMR moving material on the shop floor, if it carries a sensor, a network link and navigation software, is inside it.

Which inverters are covered, after 20 August

Section titled “Which inverters are covered, after 20 August”

The 27 July determination defined a power inverter broadly: any bidirectional device or system converting DC to AC or AC to DC, including micro-inverters, string, central and hybrid inverters, with components enabling remote communication, control, sensing, data collection or monitoring through Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth or similar connections.

A second determination from the Department of War, received on 19 August 2026, rewrote that definition. Public notice DA 26-870 implemented it on 20 August, and the Covered List now uses the following:

  • Power inverter: a device that changes DC power to AC power, bidirectional devices included, intended for use in parallel with an electric utility to supply common loads and sometimes deliver power to the utility, that is, a utility-interactive inverter as defined in UL 1741 sections 2.1.23 and 2.1.52; and that contains, or is designed, equipped or configured to accept, a component enabling remote communication, control, sensing, data collection or monitoring through Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth or similar connections, wired or wireless.
  • Foreign-produced power inverter: a power inverter that is neither eligible for the section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit for domestic production, nor a domestic end product under 48 CFR 25.101(a), that is, manufactured in the United States with domestic components above 65% of total component cost for items delivered in 2024 to 2028, or 75% from 2029.

The revision cuts both ways. Inverters that cannot connect to the grid drop out: the Department of War states that their risk is limited to local impacts. Wired connectivity is now written in explicitly, and an inverter only designed, equipped or configured to accept a communication component is covered even if that component is not fitted. The Department of War presents this second point as a clarification: it reads "similar connection" in the July text as already including wired links.

What "covered" means for equipment authorization

Section titled “What "covered" means for equipment authorization”

DA 26-786 sets out the consequences in three points:

  1. Under 47 CFR 2.903(a), covered equipment is prohibited from receiving equipment authorization.
  2. Under 47 CFR 2.911(d)(5)(i), every applicant certifies that the equipment is not covered. For these products, that certification now means the device is not a foreign-produced inverter or robot as defined above.
  3. Because the equipment is identified by place of production and not by entity, the rules and programmes that apply to entities "identified" on the Covered List are not triggered. A foreign robot or inverter maker does not itself become a listed entity.

None of the notices revokes an existing authorization. The same day, the Office of Engineering and Technology issued DA 26-789, which waives the bar on Class I and Class II permissive changes for software and firmware updates that mitigate harm to US consumers, for covered inverters and robots authorized before 28 July 2026, at least until 1 January 2029. The waiver covers updates only: a Class II change must still be filed with full test results, the modified equipment may not be marketed before the change is acknowledged, and the applicant must still certify whether the device is covered. DA 26-870 confirms that the waiver applies under the revised inverter definition.

These notices do not themselves address the continued sale of models authorized before 28 July. DA 26-870 points to an FCC FAQ page on the robot and inverter entries, and the FCC states that its staff will provide guidance to TCBs, test labs and applicants on the impact of these updates.

Conditional Approvals: the way back

Section titled “Conditional Approvals: the way back”

The inter-agency body set up a process in which a company producing these devices abroad asks for an evaluation and, if successful, receives a Conditional Approval that exempts the device from the Covered List. For inverters, the Department of War or the Department of Homeland Security may evaluate the request. For robots, only the Department of War may. Applicants supply the information listed in a guidance document specific to each category. Each approval reaches the FCC as a further National Security Determination, and the Bureau then updates the list.

The Conditional Approvals table attached to DA 26-1114 (Appendix B, updated 16 October 2026) lists these robots and inverters:

Date of Conditional Approval Approved equipment Public notice
9 September 2026 Husqvarna 305v IQ, 310v IQ, 420v IQ and 440v IQ robotic platforms DA 26-957
18 September 2026 ANSCER Robotics AR250, AR650 and AR1250 robotic platforms DA 26-996
2 October 2026 Matic Robots floor cleaner 4MA0001 and charging dock 4DK0008 DA 26-1063
9 October 2026 GE Grid Solutions FLEXINVERTER, 1.5 kV Solar, 1.5 kV BESS and 2 kV Solar versions and SiC variant DA 26-1089
16 October 2026 Volley Automation AGV and AMR robots; Dynapower CPS-2500, CPS-1250 and MPS-125 series inverters; Power Electronics España GEN3 utility-scale solar inverters, including the HEM and the PCSM and Multi PCSM bidirectional battery storage inverters DA 26-1114

GE Grid Solutions is therefore the first inverter maker to obtain one, while three robot approvals came earlier. Unlike the router approvals in the same table, which all carry an end date, the robot and inverter entries show a single date. DA 26-996 and DA 26-1063 state that robot approvals without a termination date remain effective indefinitely, as long as the company keeps to its onshoring plan and to updated vetting of its products.

The approvals are conditional in a literal sense. From DA 26-996 onward, each notice makes the exemption subject, in the words of the determinations, to the company's continuing compliance with the onshoring plan set out in its application and to updated vetting of its products. For ANSCER (DA 26-996), Matic Robots (DA 26-1063) and Volley Automation (DA 26-1114), the notices add that failure to follow the onshoring plan, or a false statement in the application, could end the approval and return the equipment to the Covered List. The inverter determination presents the process as a transition: Conditional Approvals let foreign producers keep receiving FCC authorization during the transition period, while they work to meet its standards.

What to do

Section titled “What to do”
  1. Classify each robot product against the four Appendix C conditions and the six exclusions. Weight with the docking station, network throughput and the role of the software are the conditions to document.
  2. Classify each inverter against the 20 August definition: is it utility-interactive under UL 1741, and can it accept a communication component, wired included?
  3. Establish where it is produced in the 48 CFR 25.101(a) sense, and for inverters whether it is eligible for the section 45X credit. A US brand does not settle the question.
  4. Check pending applications. A listed product not authorized by 28 July 2026 has no route to a new authorization without a Conditional Approval.
  5. Plan updates for the installed base within the DA 26-789 waiver, which covers software and firmware updates that mitigate harm to US consumers, until at least 1 January 2029.
  6. If you need a Conditional Approval, expect to commit to an onshoring plan and to further vetting, and read the radio module and component rules alongside, since they apply to the rest of the bill of materials.

Going further

Section titled “Going further”

Sources & references

  1. DA 26-786, Addition of Foreign-Produced Power Inverters and Advanced Robotic Devices to FCC Covered List, 28 July 2026, Federal Communications Commission docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-786A1.pdf
  2. DA 26-789, Waiver of Prohibitions on Certain Class I and Class II Permissive Changes to Covered Foreign-Produced Advanced Robotic Devices and Covered Foreign-Produced Power Inverters, 28 July 2026, Federal Communications Commission docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-789A1.pdf
  3. DA 26-870, Modification of Power Inverters Entry on the Covered List, 20 August 2026, Federal Communications Commission docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-870A1.pdf
  4. DA 26-957, Conditional Approval and Exemption of Certain Routers and Advanced Robotic Devices from FCC Covered List, 9 September 2026, Federal Communications Commission docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-957A1.pdf
  5. DA 26-996, Conditional Approval and Exemption of Certain Advanced Robotic Devices from FCC Covered List, 18 September 2026, Federal Communications Commission docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-996A1.pdf
  6. DA 26-1063, Conditional Approval and Exemption of Certain Uncrewed Aircraft Systems, Routers, and Advanced Robotic Devices from FCC Covered List, 2 October 2026, Federal Communications Commission docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-1063A1.pdf
  7. DA 26-1089, Conditional Approval and Exemption of Certain Power Inverters from FCC Covered List, 9 October 2026, Federal Communications Commission docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-1089A1.pdf
  8. DA 26-1114, Conditional Approval and Exemption of Certain Advanced Robotic Devices and Power Inverters from FCC Covered List, 16 October 2026, Federal Communications Commission docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-1114A1.pdf