ANATEL Brazil: certification and Homologation Number

Author Hugues Orgitello Last updated 29 August 2026 ~17 min read

Guide · ANATEL, Brazil

ANATEL homologation is the mandatory entry point to the Brazilian market for any product that emits or receives radio signals, or connects to the public telecommunications network. Framed by the Lei Geral das Telecomunicações 9.472/1997 and structured by Resolução 715/2019, the scheme rests on a conformity assessment procedure carried out by an accredited Organismo de Certificação Designado (OCD), and on the issuance of a Número de Homologação specific to each product model. For European or North American manufacturers, ANATEL is among the most demanding emerging-market certifications: foreign test reports are recognised only in part, labelling must be in Brazilian Portuguese, and a representative resident in Brazil is mandatory. This guide describes the legal frame, how products are classified and what became of the three categories, the role of the OCD, the labelling rules, the question of frequency bands and the recurring pitfalls.

Legal and institutional frame

ANATEL (Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações) is the Brazilian national telecommunications agency, established by the Lei Geral das Telecomunicações 9.472/1997. Legally it is a special autarchy, that is, an administrative authority independent from the executive, with its own rulemaking power. Its scope covers spectrum allocation, operator licensing, tariff regulation of telecommunications services, and homologation of radio products and terminal equipment.

Product homologation is one specific subset of that remit: ensuring that equipment placed on the Brazilian market meets the technical requirements published by the agency (electromagnetic compatibility, spectrum use, electrical safety where applicable, universal service requirements). The procedural mechanism is set out in Resolução 715/2019, which updates and structures the conformity assessment procedure (avaliação da conformidade). That resolution replaced an earlier, more fragmented arrangement, repealing Resolução 242/2000 and Resolução 323/2002 and with them the three-category classification those texts carried.

ANATEL does not carry out the tests itself. It delegates that mission to accredited bodies, the OCDs (Organismos de Certificação Designados), and maintains the public list of those bodies along with the database of homologations issued.

Product classification, and the three categories you will still be quoted

Almost every summary of ANATEL still opens on three product categories, and a laboratory quotation may still be written in their terms. They are worth knowing, but not for the reason most pages give: Resolução 715/2019 does not use the word "Categoria" anywhere, and the scheme those summaries describe was repealed in 2020.

Where the categories came from, and when they stopped applying

The Category I, II and III scheme is defined in article 3, items XVIII to XX, of Resolução 242/2000. Article 3 of Resolução 715/2019 repealed that resolution, and Resolução 323/2002 with it, 180 days after publication, so the scheme has not been in force since 2020.

It is also routinely described backwards. Against the definitions in Resolução 242/2000 itself:

Category	Resolução 242/2000 article 3 definition	Conformity assessment it attracted
I	Terminal equipment intended for use by the general public to access a collective-interest telecommunications service	Certificate with quality-system assessment, article 26, the heaviest of the three
II	Equipment not covered by Category I that uses the radio spectrum to transmit signals, including antennas and equipment characterised in specific regulation as restricted-radiation radiocommunication equipment	Certificate with type tests and periodic product assessments, article 25
III	Any product not falling under Categories I or II whose regulation is necessary, for instance to guarantee interoperability of the networks supporting the services	Certificate based on type testing, article 24

A Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or cellular module was therefore Category II, not Category I: it uses the spectrum to transmit but is not a public-access terminal. Any source that puts radio modules in Category I has the first two categories the wrong way round. That matters when an old quotation or an internal specification is being read across to a current dossier.

What actually determines your route today

Resolução 715/2019 organises the work by conformity-assessment procedure rather than by product category. Two things decide what a given product needs:

• The conformity assessment model for the product type, which fixes whether the route is a Certificado de Conformidade issued by an OCD or a Declaração de Conformidade com Relatório de Ensaios, and which sets the maintenance interval described below.
• The Requisitos Técnicos published by ANATEL for that product type, which fix the tests themselves: radio, EMC, electrical safety, SAR where applicable.

Both are reached from the Lista de Referência de Produtos para Telecomunicações, approved by Ato 7280/2020, which is the document to open at specification time. It is organised by product type, not by any category letter, which is why the maintenance intervals in the next section do not follow a I, II, III grouping.

Role of the OCDs, Organismos de Certificação Designados

An OCD is a body accredited by ANATEL to carry out the conformity assessment procedure on behalf of the agency. The list of OCDs is public and maintained by ANATEL. The OCD performs several functions:

• receive the technical dossier from the manufacturer (through its local representative),
• validate the I, II or III category classification,
• coordinate testing in an accredited Brazilian lab (or a recognised foreign lab when the category allows),
• review the test reports and the documentary file,
• issue a Certificado de Conformidade, on the strength of which ANATEL issues the Certificado de Homologação and its Número de Homologação.

The choice of OCD is not neutral. All are accredited against the same grid, but their level of specialisation, their ability to communicate in English with a foreign manufacturer, their responsiveness and their lab network vary. For a complex cellular product, some OCDs are more experienced than others on Brazilian 3GPP bands.

The OCD charges its services to the manufacturer (through the local representative). Lab tests are billed in addition, either directly by the lab or rebilled by the OCD depending on the commercial arrangement.

The Número de Homologação and the label

The outcome of an ANATEL procedure is the assignment of a Número de Homologação, the unique identifier of the homologated product model. The number follows a standardised format published by the agency and must appear on the product label, near the official ANATEL logo.

Composition of the marking

• ANATEL logo, in the geometry published by the agency (proportions, contrast, minimum size),
• Full Homologation Number, immediately legible near the logo,
• Additional mandatory information: model identification, identification of the manufacturer and the local representative, additional markings where category or technology require them (for example specific notices for products exposing users to RF fields).

Labelling language

All mandatory information directed at the end user must be provided in Brazilian Portuguese. This covers the physical label, the user manual shipped with the product, safety warnings, and statements relating to RF exposure. Labelling solely in English or Spanish is a recurring ground for rejection under market surveillance. A multilingual version is accepted as long as Brazilian Portuguese is present and at least as visible as other languages.

Position and legibility

The marking must be permanently affixed, visible without disassembly, and legible under normal conditions of use. For products too small to carry the full marking, a derogation allows part of the information to be moved to packaging and documentation, provided the ANATEL logo and Homologation Number appear on at least one of the two physical media. Digital labelling is admitted under conditions for certain products without an adequate surface.

Validity of the homologation, maintenance and renewal

A Brazilian homologation is not a document that quietly expires on a date. Under Resolução 715/2019 the Certificado de Homologação carries no end date at all, but the Certificado de Conformidade that supports it does, and that certificate has to be maintained on a fixed cycle for the homologation to keep producing effects. A product sold in Brazil for several years therefore carries a recurring obligation, and its rhythm is set by product type, not by the date of the original filing.

The number does not expire, the certificate behind it does

Article 61 of Resolução 715/2019 settles the first question: the Certificado de Homologação has no final term, unless the Requisito Técnico for the product type in question provides otherwise. The technical requirements for restricted-radiation radiocommunication equipment, the family that covers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LoRa and Zigbee modules, set no such term (Ato 14448/2017, as amended), so for an ordinary radio product the Número de Homologação is issued once and does not have to be renewed.

Article 62 then attaches the condition that matters: a homologation granted on a Certificado de Conformidade is effective only while that certificate's periodic maintenance is regularly carried out. The Certificado de Conformidade is the document the OCD issues, and it must state its own number, its date of issue and its date of validity (Ato 4083/2020, item 6.6.8.1 V). That validity date, held by the OCD, is what belongs in the compliance calendar, not the Homologation Number.

Maintenance intervals are set product type by product type

The interval does not follow the repealed Category I, II and III grouping. It is written into the conformity assessment model that the Lista de Referência de Produtos para Telecomunicações assigns to each type of product, approved by Ato 7280/2020 and applicable since 1 June 2021, 180 days after that act was published. On the certification route that model is a type test plus periodic evaluation of the product and of the factory management system, so the interval covers the factory as well as the sample. Article 46 leaves room for a Requisito Técnico to set its own maintenance conditions or periodicity for a product type or family. The requirements for restricted-radiation radiocommunication equipment set none, so the Lista de Referência interval governs.

Product type in the Lista de Referência	Assessment route	Periodic evaluation
All equipment covered by the restricted-radiation radiocommunication regulation, except restricted-radiation transceivers	Certification	Every 2 years
Restricted-radiation transceiver	Certification	Every 2 years
Mobile phone	Certification	Every 2 years
Access terminal station (ETA)	Certification	Every 2 years
Base-station transceiver, radio-frequency repeater, point-to-point antenna	Certification	Every 3 years
Product homologated for sale by Declaração de Conformidade com Relatório de Ensaios	Declaration	Every 3 years (Ato 3939/2021, item 7.1)

A maintenance round is not a fresh certification, but it is not a formality either. Ato 4083/2020 requires the OCD to place on file, as a minimum, a manufacturer declaration covering changes to the product and to the manufacturing process, updated photographs, the factory management system assessment where it applies, and a Relatório de Avaliação da Conformidade Técnica (items 6.8.3 and 6.8.4). Where laboratory testing applies, electrical safety tests must always be repeated, and any requirement that came back non-conforming in an earlier round has to be re-tested at the next one.

What happens when a cycle is missed

The lapse path runs through the OCD before it reaches ANATEL. Where the periodic maintenance of the certification has not been carried out for more than 180 days, the OCD suspends the Certificado de Conformidade (article 52, V). If the non-conformities are not corrected, or no justification is accepted, within 180 days of that suspension, the certificate is cancelled (article 53). The body reports its decision, the file returns to the agency, and ANATEL may endorse the act and revoke the Certificado de Homologação (articles 54 and 73, V).

Two consequences are worth knowing before that point is reached. While the effect of the homologation certificate is temporarily suspended for want of maintenance, the maintenance deadline itself is suspended (article 68, second paragraph). And units already distributed by the homologation holder before the expiry, the suspension or the revocation may still be sold lawfully unless ANATEL orders a recall, while end users who were already using the product regularly may carry on doing so (article 69 and its first paragraph). Losing the homologation stops new placing on the market; it does not, on its own, empty the distribution channel.

Homologations granted on a Declaração de Conformidade com Relatório de Ensaios follow a different mechanism: they are renewed on request, for a period equal to the original one (article 75), and are revoked if the renewal is not applied for in time (article 73, IX).

What changed in April 2020

Resolução 715/2019 was adopted on 23 October 2019, published in the Diário Oficial da União of 25 October 2019 and rectified on 7 January 2020. The Regulation took effect 180 days after publication, on 22 April 2020, the day Resolução 242/2000 and Resolução 323/2002 were repealed. Two provisions were brought forward to the publication date: the market supervision programme and article 58, which exempts homologation from fees.

The earlier regime is the one many teams still describe from memory, and it differed on two points. Maintenance followed the product category rather than the product type: Resolução 323/2002 required a maintenance round every 12 months for Category I products (item 8.3.4) and every 24 months for Category II (item 8.4.4), with no maintenance step for Category III. And the filing itself carried an ANATEL fee, set in Annex II of Resolução 242/2000: R$ 500 to homologate a Certificado de Conformidade, R$ 200 for a Declaração de Conformidade and R$ 200 to renew a homologation. Resolução 715/2019 repealed that annex outright, together with the article that made renewal conditional on proof of payment.

The annual ANATEL renewal that older documentation refers to therefore no longer exists. What remains is a two-year or three-year maintenance round, free of charge as far as the agency is concerned (article 58: the homologation certificate is issued free), but billed in full by the OCD and by the laboratory. It belongs in the product's running cost, not in its launch budget.

Brazilian frequency bands

Brazil belongs to ITU Region 2 (Americas), which structurally aligns its frequency plan with that of the United States and Canada more than with the European Union. Several ISM and cellular bands are indeed close to the FCC plan, but ANATEL sets its own power limits and usable sub-bands through the Plano de Atribuição, Destinação e Distribuição de Faixas de Frequências (PDFF) and supplementary acts.

Band	EU (ETSI)	US (FCC)	Brazil (ANATEL)
2.4 GHz ISM	EN 300 328, up to 100 mW EIRP	Part 15.247, up to 1 W conducted	ANATEL act, power limits close to FCC
5 GHz Wi-Fi	EN 301 893, extended U-NII	Part 15 U-NII-1/2/3	U-NII subset, Region 2 alignment
915 MHz LPWAN	Not open (EU: 868 MHz)	Part 15.247 (902-928 MHz)	Open on 902-907.5 MHz and 915-928 MHz
Cellular 4G / 5G	EU-harmonised 3GPP bands	FCC bands	3GPP bands aligned with Vivo, Claro, TIM, Oi deployment

Practical consequence for an EU-designed product: the LPWAN band moves from 868 MHz to 915 MHz, which requires a Region 2 compatible radio module or a hardware variant. For cellular, the firmware must support the bands actually operated by Brazilian operators; otherwise the product will be ANATEL-homologated but will not, in practice, connect to the country's network. This dimension must be validated very early in the design, before the module choice is frozen.

For the general cellular homologation mechanism and its articulation with operator testing, see PTCRB, which describes the US model and its structural parallels with operator practice in Latin America.

Local representative, a structural obligation

A foreign manufacturer cannot file a dossier directly with ANATEL. Filing and follow-up must go through a representative resident in Brazil, registered with the agency. Several configurations are admitted:

• Official importer of the product, where a dedicated commercial actor exists,
• Brazilian subsidiary of the manufacturer, if it is legally incorporated in Brazil,
• Specialised homologation agent, paid specifically for that function, without necessarily acting as commercial distributor.

The local representative performs the following functions:

• act as the official point of contact for ANATEL, receive correspondence and respond within deadlines,
• file the homologation dossier with the chosen OCD,
• retain the technical file and test reports for the prescribed duration,
• declare any material modification of the product likely to invalidate homologation,
• respond to market surveillance actions, including sample seizures.

Absence of a designated representative, or termination of mandate without a new representative being registered, suspends the homologation and exposes the product to removal. The choice of representative is not neutral: responsiveness drives review timelines, and financial soundness drives the ability to carry an obligation throughout the product's commercial life.

Step-by-step procedure

Without committing to a specific schedule, the typical sequence for a foreign manufacturer approaching ANATEL for the first time is as follows.

1. Freeze the product specification (hardware, firmware, antenna, accessories) and identify the applicable regime(s): radio, network terminal, accessory.
2. Find the product type in the Lista de Referência approved by Ato 7280/2020, and read off its conformity assessment model and its Requisitos Técnicos. This step drives everything that follows.
3. Designate a local representative resident in Brazil, by written contract, and register them with ANATEL.
4. Choose an OCD (Organismo de Certificação Designado) from the ANATEL-accredited list, taking into account expertise on the technology and cost.
5. Map the applicable Brazilian standards (ANATEL acts, ABNT standards, PDFF frequency-plan requirements). Identify gaps relative to the existing CE or FCC dossier.
6. Prepare samples in series-production configuration, with frozen firmware and complete accessories, and ship them to the Brazilian lab (customs formalities handled by the representative or the OCD).
7. Conduct testing in an accredited Brazilian lab (or a recognised foreign lab where category and MRA allow): radio, EMC, electrical safety where applicable, network interface requirements for terminals.
8. Compile the technical dossier in Portuguese or bilingually (product description, schematics, BOM, antenna plan, band declaration, user manual in Brazilian Portuguese).
9. File the dossier through the OCD with ANATEL. Respond to any follow-up requests from the OCD or the agency.
10. Receive the Certificado de Conformidade issued by the OCD, then the Certificado de Homologação and its Número de Homologação issued by ANATEL.
11. Integrate the number and ANATEL logo into the product label, validate the final Portuguese labelling, start series production.
12. For cellular products, engage the network compatibility tests with Brazilian operators (Vivo, Claro, TIM, Oi) under their specific protocols.
13. Maintain the homologation: manage hardware or firmware changes, retain the dossier through the representative, update if a new Resolução or new act modifies the homologated baseline.

ANATEL, FCC and CE, what is not transferable

The most useful comparison for teams approaching ANATEL after having handled CE and FCC.

Criterion	CE (RED)	FCC (Part 15)	ANATEL (Brazil)
Scope	Multi-directive conformity (RED, EMC, LVD)	Radio conformity (Part 15, Part 22, etc.)	Homologation of radio and terminal equipment, electrical safety where applicable
Foreign test report transferability	Reuse possible across EU-accredited labs	Reuse possible across recognised labs	Partial recognition, most tests repeated in Brazil
Lab required	EU-accredited lab (or recognised via MRA)	FCC-recognised lab (TCB for Part 15)	Accredited Brazilian lab in most cases
Label language	Language of the placing-on-the-market member state	English	Brazilian Portuguese
Local representative	EU authorised representative if manufacturer outside EU	FCC agent for the grant holder	Representative resident in Brazil, ANATEL-registered
Product identifier	Notified body number (where applicable)	FCC ID	ANATEL Número de Homologação
Operator approval	Not required by CE	Not required by FCC (PTCRB in practice)	Operator testing on top for cellular (Vivo, Claro, TIM, Oi)
Mandatory third-party body	Notified Body by module	TCB for Part 15	OCD mandatory on the certification route

The table sums up the classic mistake: a product fully certified to CE and FCC must be treated, for Brazil, as not yet homologated. The existing dossier accelerates internal preparation and can inform the Brazilian lab, but the ANATEL procedure restarts with its own testing, its own OCD, its own labelling and its own number. See CE vs FCC for the EU / US comparison, which shares more mechanisms with each other than either does with Brazil.

Sustainability and environment, related requirements

Independently of ANATEL homologation, Brazil applies a set of sustainability rules that concern electronics placed on the market:

• the Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos (Lei 12.305/2010) imposes a logística reversa principle, that is, take-back and end-of-life treatment of equipment by supply-chain actors,
• batteries and accumulators are subject to dedicated rules on composition, labelling and collection (CONAMA resolutions),
• packaging follows its own marking and selective collection rules.

These requirements are distinct from ANATEL homologation and fall under other authorities (IBAMA, Ministry of the Environment), but they apply in parallel to the same product. A manufacturer addressing only the ANATEL track would be radio-compliant and environment-non-compliant. For the EU-side equivalent dimension, see the EU Battery Regulation.

Qualitative timeline

No official guaranteed lead time is published. Observed orders of magnitude cover several months between the decision to engage homologation and receipt of the number, including:

• designation of the local representative and registration (several weeks),
• OCD selection and contracting (several weeks),
• testing in a Brazilian lab (variable with lab backlog and number of radio modes),
• dossier review by the OCD then by ANATEL (variable with dossier quality),
• possible iterations on the marking or the Portuguese manual.

For cellular products, add the operator test time, which can significantly extend the effective placing on the market. See certification timeline to place this in perspective with other jurisdictions and for the multi-market sequencing logic.

Common pitfalls

Pitfall	Consequence
Presenting a CE or FCC report to ANATEL assuming it will be accepted in full	Partial rejection, testing to be redone in a Brazilian lab
Reading a product type off the repealed Category I / II / III scheme	Wrong conformity assessment model, requalification mid-review, delay
Designating the local representative too late	Filing blocked, weaker commercial negotiation, industrialisation delay
Keeping an EU 868 MHz LPWAN module for a Brazil-bound product	Product outside the ANATEL plan, not homologable as is, hardware redesign
Declaring cellular bands not exploited by local operators	Product homologated but unusable on Vivo, Claro, TIM or Oi
Labelling only in English or Spanish	Rejection under market surveillance, commercial withdrawal
Omitting the operator step for a cellular product	Valid ANATEL homologation but product unsellable in practice
Modifying radio firmware after homologation without refiling	Homologation Number invalidated, recall exposure
Selecting an OCD on price alone	Longer review times, harder technical dialogue, weaker dossier
Confusing ANATEL homologation with environmental compliance (logística reversa, batteries)	Radio compliance without environmental compliance, regulatory exposure

Further reading

• FCC: US regime, closest to Brazil on frequency planning (ITU Region 2)
• RED, CE radio marking: equivalent EU regime on the radio side
• CE marking: reading the CE mark and articulation with the RED
• PTCRB: cellular homologation, structural parallel of Brazilian operator testing
• Parallel EU and US certification: test mutualisation logic
• Certification timeline: cross-cutting orders of magnitude
• Glossary: definitions of ANATEL, OCD, MRA, ITU Region 2

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Sources & references

1. ANATEL, Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações , ANATEL www.gov.br/anatel/pt-br
2. Consulta de produtos homologados (homologation search) , ANATEL sistemas.anatel.gov.br/sch/Cidadao/CONSULTA
3. Lei Geral das Telecomunicações, Lei 9.472/1997 , Presidência da República, Casa Civil www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l9472.htm
4. Resolução 715/2019, conformity assessment procedure , ANATEL informacoes.anatel.gov.br/legislacao/resolucoes/2019/1350-resolucao-715
5. ANATEL, certificacao de produtos (Organismos de Certificacao Designados) , ANATEL www.gov.br/anatel/pt-br/regulado/certificacao-de-produtos
6. ANATEL, radiofrequencia (plano de atribuicao e destinacao de faixas) , ANATEL www.gov.br/anatel/pt-br/regulado/radiofrequencia
7. Ato 7280/2020, Lista de Referência de Produtos para Telecomunicações , ANATEL informacoes.anatel.gov.br/legislacao/atos-de-certificacao-de-produtos/2020/1493-ato-7280
8. Ato 4083/2020, operational procedure for conformity assessment by certification , ANATEL informacoes.anatel.gov.br/legislacao/atos-de-certificacao-de-produtos/2020/1453-ato-4083
9. Ato 3939/2021, operational procedure for homologation by declaration of conformity with test report , ANATEL informacoes.anatel.gov.br/legislacao/atos-de-certificacao-de-produtos/2021/1554-ato-3939
10. Resolução 242/2000, superseded certification and homologation regulation , ANATEL informacoes.anatel.gov.br/legislacao/resolucoes/2000/129-resolucao-242
11. Resolução 323/2002, superseded certification standard , ANATEL informacoes.anatel.gov.br/legislacao/resolucoes/2002/155-resolucao-323