FCC test labs: Trusted Test Lab track and new disclosures

Hugues Orgitello updated 7 Oct 2026 10 min read

Adopted on 30 April 2026 and released on 1 May, FCC 26-28 is the second order in the FCC proceeding on certification bodies (TCBs), test labs and laboratory accreditation bodies (ET Docket 24-136). It was published at 91 FR 27843 on 15 May 2026 and took effect on 15 June 2026, but not in full: the ownership reporting amendments are delayed until the FCC announces a date. The Second Further Notice published alongside it goes further and proposes to stop recognizing labs and TCBs in economies without a reciprocity agreement with the United States. That part is still a proposal.

In short:

In force since 15 June 2026: the Pre-approval Guidance (PAG) list "will prioritize for approval equipment tested in Trusted Test Labs" (2.964(a)), and labs and TCBs must disclose the number and location of all employees or agents engaged in FCC-recognized testing or certification (2.951(a)(12), 2.960(a)(8)).
Not in force: the 5 % ownership reporting paragraphs from FCC 25-27, which FCC 26-28 amends for US publicly traded companies, remain "delayed" in the Federal Register and "[Reserved]" in the eCFR.
Not new: the 10 % prohibited-entity threshold and the 5 % reporting level date from FCC 25-27, in force since 8 September 2025.
Only proposed: a ban on labs, TCBs and accreditation bodies in non-reciprocal economies, and a $20,000 fee for device testing in a non-MRA country. Comments closed on 15 June 2026 and replies on 14 July 2026.

What took effect on 15 June 2026, and what did not

The Federal Register DATES line makes the order effective on 15 June 2026 "except the amendments to §§ 2.949(b)(5) and (6) and (d), 2.951(a)(10) and (11) and (c), and 2.962(d)(9)", which await a separate notice. As of 7 October 2026, the Federal Register lists no such notice in the docket. Read paragraph by paragraph:

Paragraph	What it says	Status
2.964(a)	PAG list prioritizes equipment tested in Trusted Test Labs: labs in the United States, or in an economy with which the United States has negotiated reciprocal treatment through a trade agreement	In force, 15 June 2026
2.951(a)(12)	A lab recognition request includes the number and location of all employees or agents engaged in FCC-recognized testing or certification, including those based outside the United States	In force, 15 June 2026
2.960(a)(8)	A TCB demonstrates impartiality and compliance by disclosing the same information	In force, 15 June 2026
2.949(b)(5), (6), (d)	Accreditation body certifies it is not owned, controlled or directed by a prohibited entity, identifies holders of 5 % or more, and updates within 30 days of a change (or of actual knowledge, for US publicly traded companies)	Delayed indefinitely
2.951(a)(10), (11), (c)	The same certification and 5 % documentation for labs	Delayed indefinitely ("[Reserved]" in eCFR)
2.962(d)(9)	The same for TCBs	Delayed indefinitely

The delayed paragraphs are information collections that need review by the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act (FCC 26-28, para. 88). They were already delayed in FCC 25-27; FCC 26-28 rewrites them before they have ever applied.

The Trusted Test Lab priority track

The central mechanism is an incentive, not a prohibition, and it only concerns equipment on the PAG list (2.964, KDB 388624). The order defines Trusted Test Labs as labs in the United States or in "Reciprocal Economies": economies with a Mutual Recognition Agreement in which the FCC participates, or with a trade agreement containing conformity assessment reciprocity provisions to which the United States is a party (para. 2). The codified 2.964(a) is shorter and only says "through a trade agreement", so the list OET is directed to publish will be the practical reference.

What the order lists as the current basis:

Basis	What FCC 26-28 names
MRAs in which the FCC participates (eight)	APEC Telecom MRA, CITEL (Organization of American States) MRA, European Union, EFTA, Japan, Israel, Mexico, United Kingdom
Free Trade Agreements with conformity assessment reciprocity	17 economies, including Australia, Korea, Chile, Colombia, and the USMCA partners Canada and Mexico
Agreements on Reciprocal Trade	9 signed "to date", with similar provisions

OET is directed to (para. 31 and 33):

create a fast-track PAG option for TCBs using Trusted Test Labs, giving two queues, a shorter one for Trusted Test Labs and one for all other labs;
publish a separate, streamlined PAG list with fewer equipment categories for Trusted Test Lab applications, the categories to be set by public notice;
publish and update a list of economies with an MRA or comparable trade agreement;
publish data on PAG review timelines.

The order states that PAG review "typically takes 2 to 6 weeks" and builds its cost estimate on four weeks saved per fast-tracked application (para. 65, note 135). It also records that in 2024, 3.6 % of devices receiving FCC IDs were tested by labs in the United States and 12.5 % by labs in MRA countries (para. 26, citing a Sporton comment).

Staff disclosure

At designation and at renewal, labs and TCBs now disclose the number and location of all employees or agents engaged in FCC-recognized testing or certification, foreign-based staff included (para. 35 to 41). The FCC will use it to assess impartiality under ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO/IEC 17065. It asks for the business address where the employee tests or reviews applications, not personal addresses or personal data, "unless required as part of an investigation into the truthfulness of such disclosures".

Ownership: what FCC 25-27 set, what FCC 26-28 changed

The thresholds come from FCC 25-27 (adopted 22 May 2025, effective 8 September 2025). Under 2.902, an entity is "owned by, controlled by, or subject to the direction of" another when that other holds 10 % or more of equity, voting interest or stock, or has the power to decide important matters, or directs it. The FCC does not recognize a lab, TCB or accreditation body in that position with respect to a prohibited entity (2.949(c), 2.951(b), 2.960(b)), and SDoC testing may not be done in such a lab either (2.906(a)(1)). Prohibited entities include Covered List entities (the list behind the FCC 22-84 authorization ban), several Commerce, Homeland Security and Treasury lists, and foreign adversaries under 15 CFR 791.4.

FCC 26-28 adds one change, by granting the petition for reconsideration Garmin filed on 8 September 2025. Garmin argued that the 30-day reporting deadline running from an ownership change conflicts with the SEC Rule 13d-1 timeline. The 30-day deadline stays; for US publicly traded companies only, it now runs from actual knowledge of a new or former 5 % owner, "such as the filing of the appropriate Schedule 13D and/or 13G by the acquirer" (para. 63). Because this amends paragraphs that are themselves delayed, it does not apply yet.

Post-market surveillance, reporting and enforcement

The order also directs OET, with no deadline stated:

Revise post-market surveillance procedures (KDB 610077, last published 26 April 2022) by public notice: sampling rates, including whether TCBs must sample five percent of grants in the same calendar year, escalation when grantees will not supply samples, and publication of significant cases of non-compliance (para. 46 and 47).
Create a confidential channel for industry participants to report suspected violations and national security concerns (para. 55).
Build a consolidated list of prohibited entities under 2.902, shared with TCBs in human-readable and, "to the extent feasible given limited resources", machine-readable form (para. 58).

On enforcement, the order adopts no new rule but restates existing ones: an applicant certifies under 2.911(d) that its statements are true, and an inaccurate statement made without a reasonable basis can violate 1.17(a)(2) even without intent to deceive (para. 51). Test labs submitting false results may violate 1.17 and the ISO/IEC 17025 impartiality requirements (para. 52). On the grant itself, 2.939(a)(1) lets the FCC revoke an authorization for false statements in the application or in supporting materials.

Not adopted, record kept open (para. 59 to 61): a requirement that SDoC testing be done in accredited labs, and a restriction on TCBs reviewing equipment tested by a lab under common ownership.

The context: the "Bad Labs" actions

Date	Event	Source
22 May 2025	FCC 25-27 adopted	90 FR 38045
8 September 2025	FCC 25-27 effective; OET sends notices to withdraw recognition from seven labs; two renewals denied and two recognitions left to expire	DOC-414369
25 September 2025	Four more applications denied; 15 China-controlled labs in total	DOC-414863
February 2026	Recognition withdrawn from six labs	FCC 26-28, note 58
30 April 2026	FCC 26-28 adopted; the order lists 23 labs found owned, controlled or directed by a foreign adversary that are no longer recognized	FCC 26-28, para. 16
15 May 2026	Order and Second FNPRM published	91 FR 27843, 91 FR 27884
9 June 2026	OET opens a proceeding to withdraw recognition from SLG-CPC Test Laboratory Co., Ltd. (Dongguan) over copied test data; 33 FCC IDs relied on identical reports	DOC-422289
15 June 2026	Order effective, except delayed paragraphs; comment deadline	91 FR 27843, 91 FR 27884
14 July 2026	Reply comment deadline	91 FR 27884

The 23 labs and the SLG-CPC case are two different grounds. The 23 were removed for foreign adversary ownership or control under FCC 25-27. SLG-CPC is a false-data case: the lab, according to the FCC, admitted submitting reports with data copied from other reports, and the 33 FCC IDs are listed in the release. For a grantee, the exposure in a false-data case comes from 2.939(a)(1) and from its own 2.911(d) certification, not from the lab losing recognition as such.

What is proposed, and what is not

The Second FNPRM (para. 68 to 76) asks whether to prohibit recognition of labs, TCBs and laboratory accreditation bodies located in, or testing, certifying or accrediting from, countries without an MRA or reciprocal trade agreement, and to withdraw existing recognitions. The proposed rule text adds that ground to 2.949, 2.951 and 2.960. The FCC notes that its rules already effectively keep TCBs out of non-MRA countries (2.960(d)), while OET has recognized hundreds of labs there since a 2014 order.

The questions it asks:

Timing: a delayed implementation ("One year? Longer? Shorter?"), or a phase-out as labs come up for renewal instead of a single cut-off date.
A fee before any ban: the proposed 1.1103 table adds "Device Testing in Non-MRA Country, $20,000.00", and the text asks whether it should be more, less, tiered or rising over time.
Other options: an extra waiting period, more post-market surveillance or auditing for applications relying on non-reciprocal labs, safeguards for intellectual property, and a modernized EAS database.

The FCC news release of 30 April says that under the proposal non-reciprocal labs "would be phased out over two years after any final rules were adopted and implemented". The FNPRM text itself leaves the length open. Nothing has been decided: as of 7 October 2026 the Federal Register lists no further order in ET Docket 24-136.

Claims the texts contradict

Claim	What the texts say
All of FCC 26-28 has applied since 15 June 2026	The DATES line excludes 2.949(b)(5), (6), (d), 2.951(a)(10), (11), (c) and 2.962(d)(9); the eCFR shows 2.951(a)(10), (11) and (c) as "[Reserved]"
FCC 26-28 set the 10 % control threshold and the 5 % reporting duty	Both come from FCC 25-27 (2.902, 2.951(b), 2.960(b)), effective 8 September 2025; FCC 26-28 only changes the reporting trigger
For listed companies, "actual knowledge" replaces the 30-day deadline	The 30-day deadline stays; it runs from actual knowledge (for example a 13D or 13G filing), and only for US publicly traded companies
The fast track covers every application tested in a trusted lab	It concerns equipment subject to the PAG procedure (2.964); other certifications go through the TCB as before
The 23 de-recognized labs include labs caught falsifying data	The 23 are foreign adversary ownership or control cases (FCC 26-28, para. 16); SLG-CPC is a separate false-data proceeding opened on 9 June 2026
A two-year phase-out of non-reciprocal labs is pure commentary	The FCC news release says two years; the FNPRM text asks how long; nothing is adopted
Non-reciprocal labs are already banned, or the $20,000 fee applies	Both are proposals in the Second FNPRM; no final rule has been published
SDoC testing must now be done in an accredited lab	Not adopted (para. 61); 2.906(a)(1) only bars labs owned, controlled or directed by a prohibited entity

What to do

List the labs behind your current grants and check their recognition status in the FCC test firm search; note those located in an economy that is neither an MRA partner nor a reciprocal trade partner.
Check none of your FCC IDs appears in the SLG-CPC release, and that your test reports are your own product's data: the 2.911(d) certification is the applicant's.
For PAG products, factor the Trusted Test Lab queue into lab selection once OET publishes the streamlined category list.
For long-lifecycle product lines, plan how to retest or move the test plan if the non-reciprocal lab proposal is adopted.