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FCC draft would end non-reciprocal test labs in 2028

updated 16 Oct 20268 min read

The FCC has published the draft of a Third Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in ET Docket 24-136, the test lab and TCB integrity proceeding. The draft, FCC-CIRC2610-05, is on the agenda of the 29 October 2026 open meeting, with a fact sheet dated 8 October. It would turn the proposal made in the Second Further Notice into rules: no FCC recognition for test labs, TCBs or laboratory accreditation bodies outside the United States and "Reciprocal Economies", with all non-reciprocal lab recognitions ending on 1 December 2028. The FCC states that the draft "does not constitute any official action" and that its content remains "subject to change" until the vote.

In short:

  • Who is covered: test labs, TCBs and laboratory accreditation bodies located in an economy that has no MRA or comparable reciprocity agreement with the United States, and also those based in the US or a reciprocal economy that perform the FCC work from a non-reciprocal one.
  • When: test labs in non-reciprocal economies stay recognized until a single date, 1 December 2028. Recognitions granted in the meantime are shortened to end on that date.
  • What is not affected: equipment authorizations granted, and applications received, before 1 December 2028 (para. 39). SDoC eligibility rules are unchanged (note 270).
  • Why: the draft says that roughly five out of every six RF devices are tested in economies without a reciprocal agreement (para. 1), and that the share of testing done in the PRC rose from about 13% in 2007 to more than 82% in 2025 (para. 43).
  • Still open: a new Further Notice asks about Legal Entity Identifiers, post-market surveillance, testing of SDoC equipment in recognized labs and a modernized Equipment Authorization System. Comments would be due 30 days, and replies 60 days, after Federal Register publication.

From proposal to draft rule

Section titled “From proposal to draft rule”

The earlier article on FCC 26-28 covered the Trusted Test Lab priority track adopted on 30 April 2026 and the Second Further Notice, which asked whether to stop recognizing labs, TCBs and accreditation bodies in non-reciprocal economies. This draft is the answer the Commission is set to vote on. Paragraph 36 summarizes it: no recognition of any test lab located in a non-reciprocal economy, the same rule for TCBs and accreditation bodies, the same rule for bodies that carry out their FCC work in such an economy, and a delayed effective date of 1 December 2028 for the test lab part.

The draft defines a Reciprocal Economy (proposed § 2.902) as the territory of an economy with which the United States has an MRA or a comparable government-to-government reciprocity agreement on equipment authorization, "such as a Free Trade Agreement or Agreement on Reciprocal Trade". OET would publish and update the list, consult the relevant federal agencies, including the US Trade Representative, when evaluating an addition, and set up a way to remove an economy where reciprocity is not provided in practice (para. 39). The current list is Appendix D.

Who is on the list, and who is not

Section titled “Who is on the list, and who is not”

Appendix D lists the economies the draft treats as reciprocal today. For a European reader, the main points are:

  • All 27 member states of the European Union are listed under the US-European Community MRA, together with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway (EFTA MRA) and the United Kingdom (US-UK MRA).
  • In Asia-Pacific, the list includes Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam.
  • Some entries rest only on a trade agreement, for example Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador and Indonesia under Agreements on Reciprocal Trade.
  • The PRC, India and Switzerland do not appear. The cost analysis names "China, India, and Switzerland" as examples of non-reciprocal economies (note 325).

The lab census behind the decision (para. 42): the FCC recognizes 609 test labs, of which 25.1% are in the PRC, 18.4% in Taiwan and 17.9% in the United States. Only 27% of recognized labs are in non-reciprocal economies, but by place of actual testing the PRC handled 82% of distinct applications received in 2025, the United States less than 4% and Taiwan about 8% (para. 43 and 44).

What the draft rule text says

Section titled “What the draft rule text says”

Appendix A amends Part 2 as follows:

Section Proposed change
§ 2.902 New definitions: covered activity, Reciprocal Economy, non-Reciprocal Economy
§ 2.949(c)(4), (e)(4) No recognition of a laboratory accreditation body located in, or performing covered activity from, a non-reciprocal economy
§ 2.950(f) Measurement facilities in, or performing covered activity from, a non-reciprocal economy are eligible for recognition only until 30 November 2028
§ 2.951(b)(4), (d)(4) Starting 1 December 2028, no recognition of a test lab located in, or conducting covered activity from, a non-reciprocal economy
§ 2.960(b)(4), (d)(4) No recognition of a TCB located in, or conducting FCC-recognized certification from, a non-reciprocal economy

For TCBs and accreditation bodies the draft speaks of codifying practice: there are currently no TCBs or recognized accreditation bodies in non-reciprocal economies (para. 41, 110 and 113). The practical effect is on test labs, where the draft counts "hundreds" of recognized labs in non-reciprocal economies (para. 41).

"Covered activity" is what keeps the rule from reaching a global group's unrelated operations (para. 116 and 117). For a test lab, it is test setup and operation, the required measurements, technical analysis and preparation or approval of the test report relied on for certification. For a TCB, it is application evaluation, technical review, the decision, grant or dismissal, and FCC-required post-market surveillance. It does not include pre-compliance or R&D testing that is not presented as FCC-recognized testing and not relied on in an application, equipment calibration, ministerial administration, or facilities wholly segregated from the FCC function. A lab doing FCC testing in a reciprocal economy that also tests for another country's authorization in a non-reciprocal one would not be barred.

The transition to 1 December 2028

Section titled “The transition to 1 December 2028”

The draft chooses one date for every lab instead of a phase-out at each lab's biennial renewal (para. 118 to 123):

  • Between 1 December 2026 and 1 December 2028, OET keeps granting recognition to non-reciprocal labs, but each recognition ends on 1 December 2028 at the latest. The draft's examples: a lab recognized on 1 January 2027 gets 23 months, one recognized on 1 January 2028 gets 11 months.
  • Applications received from 1 December 2028 must rely on testing and certification that comply with the new rules.
  • Certifications granted before that date "remain valid unless separately set aside or revoked" (para. 123).
  • OET is directed to publish implementation guidance on renewals and pending applications ahead of the date.

The draft also declines several requests from the record: a general waiver process for individual labs (para. 124), exemptions for low-risk product classes such as low-power, non-connected toys (para. 109), fees on testing in non-reciprocal labs, whether instead of the ban or during the transition (para. 108 and 124), and a broader ban based on ownership or control by a non-reciprocal economy, which stays open for comment (para. 125).

On cost, the regulatory impact analysis estimates about $23.6 million in one-time familiarization costs and about $79.3 million a year in additional testing costs, assuming 65% of affected testing moves to labs in other MRA economies and 35% to US labs (para. 130).

The questions in the Third Further Notice

Section titled “The questions in the Third Further Notice”

The new Further Notice (para. 126 and 127) seeks comment on:

  1. Legal Entity Identifiers (ISO 17442, administered by GLEIF) for test labs, TCBs and accreditation bodies. The FCC tentatively concludes the cost would be negligible.
  2. Ownership or control by a non-reciprocal economy as a separate ground for refusing recognition.
  3. Post-market surveillance procedures.
  4. SDoC testing: whether equipment authorized under the SDoC procedure should be tested by recognized or accredited labs.
  5. Testing capacity in the United States and reciprocal economies, and safeguards for intellectual property during testing.
  6. The Equipment Authorization System: modernization, data analytics and information sharing.

The false test data cases on 2 October

Section titled “The false test data cases on 2 October”

The draft cites "a pattern of fraudulent testing" in non-reciprocal economies (para. 74). Three OET orders released on 2 October 2026 show what that means in practice:

Order Lab What OET found Outcome
DA 26-1066, ET Docket 26-140 Shenzhen STS Test Services Co. Ltd., recognized in 2017, about 4,100 applications At least 38 test reports with identical data for different products, such as a tablet, a wireless headset and a sleep monitor Recognition withdrawn for "willfully providing incorrect or false equipment test results". A2LA had withdrawn its accreditation on 16 September 2026
DA 26-1069, ET Docket 26-140 SLG-CPC Test Laboratory Co., Ltd. (CN1287), Dongguan, recognized in 2021, over 300 applications 33 test reports with identical data for different products Recognition withdrawn. A2LA had suspended its accreditation on 16 June 2026
DA 26-1072, ET Docket 26-282 Shenzhen CTB Testing Technology Co. Ltd. (CN1276), recognized in 2020, over 8,800 applications 20 tests completed in 4 to 60 seconds, with results reused for entirely different products, including a hearing aid and smart glasses Proceeding opened; the lab has 35 days from release to respond. A2LA suspended its accreditation on 24 August 2026

Shenzhen STS argued that the reports were "clerical mistakes in report presentation, not falsified test results". OET rejected this: the signatory's attestation under § 2.911(e) is not an administrative formality (DA 26-1066, para. 13). The orders deal with the labs' recognition and do not set out any action on the equipment grants concerned. These are the same grounds the earlier article described for SLG-CPC when its proceeding opened in June; the withdrawal now closes it.

What to do

Section titled “What to do”
  1. Map your test labs by economy. For each product line, note where the FCC test work is actually performed, not where the lab group is headquartered, and check it against Appendix D.
  2. Plan applications filed on or after 1 December 2028 with a lab in the United States or a reciprocal economy, if the draft is adopted as written. Grants issued, and applications received, before that date are not affected.
  3. Check your FCC IDs against the three orders and confirm that each test report you filed carries your own product's data. Under § 2.911(d), the certification statement is the applicant's.
  4. Watch the 29 October vote. The text can change before adoption, and the Further Notice comment dates run from Federal Register publication.

Going further

Section titled “Going further”

Sources & references

  1. Fact sheet (8 October 2026) and public draft FCC-CIRC2610-05, Third Report and Order and Third FNPRM, ET Docket 24-136, Federal Communications Commission docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-425721A1.pdf
  2. Shenzhen STS Test Services Co. Ltd., Order Withdrawing Recognition as an Accredited Test Laboratory, DA 26-1066, ET Docket 26-140 (2 October 2026), Federal Communications Commission docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-1066A1.pdf
  3. SLG-CPC Test Laboratory Co., Ltd., Order Withdrawing Recognition as an Accredited Test Laboratory, DA 26-1069, ET Docket 26-140 (2 October 2026), Federal Communications Commission docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-1069A1.pdf
  4. Shenzhen CTB Testing Technology Co. Ltd., Order Instituting Proceeding to Withdraw Recognition, DA 26-1072, ET Docket 26-282 (2 October 2026), Federal Communications Commission docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-1072A1.pdf