Does a LoRaWAN sensor need both radio approval and LoRaWAN Certification?

Yes, they are separate and neither replaces the other. Radio approval (RED in the European Union, FCC Part 15 in the United States, ISED in Canada) is a legal requirement to place the product on the market. LoRaWAN Certification is a private interoperability programme run by the LoRa Alliance that grants the right to use the Certified logo. A sensor sold in the European Union still needs CE marking even if it carries the LoRaWAN Certified logo.

Which FCC rule applies to a 902 to 928 MHz LoRaWAN sensor?

Most US915 LoRaWAN devices are authorised under 47 CFR Part 15.247 as digital transmission systems or frequency hopping systems in the 902 to 928 MHz band. Some narrowband or low duty cycle designs instead use Part 15.249. The choice drives the applicable power limits, the bandwidth rules and the test report content, so it should be fixed early with the test laboratory.

Do I need the EU Battery Regulation and UN 38.3 for a coin-cell sensor?

A non-rechargeable lithium coin cell is still a battery for shipping purposes, so UN 38.3 transport testing and the lithium battery shipping rules apply to the cell and to the finished product. The EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542 also covers portable batteries, including those incorporated in a product, with labelling, removability and information duties phased in over several dates.

When does the Cyber Resilience Act apply to my sensor?

The Cyber Resilience Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/2847, applies to products with digital elements made available on the European Union market. A connected LoRaWAN sensor falls within scope. The main manufacturer obligations apply from 11 December 2027, with the vulnerability reporting duties applying earlier from 11 September 2026. EN 303 645 is a useful baseline for the security requirements expected of consumer connected products.

Is EN 300 220 the only radio standard for the EU 868 MHz band?

EN 300 220 is the core harmonised standard for short range devices in the 25 MHz to 1000 MHz range, which covers the EU868 sub-band used by LoRaWAN. You also apply the EMC standard EN 301 489 series, a health and safety route for radio frequency exposure, and the electrical safety standard appropriate to the supply. The exact set depends on the device, its supply and its antenna.

Can a pre-certified LoRaWAN module cover the whole finished product?

A pre-approved module reduces the radio testing to be repeated, but it does not remove the need to assess the finished product. You still address the host integration conditions in the module grant, the EMC of the complete device, the antenna and exposure, and a separate LoRaWAN Certification submission for the finished product. Module limitations such as antenna type and permitted enclosures must be respected.

Does a US915 device work in every 915 MHz region?

No. Regional parameters such as US915, AU915 and AS923 define different frequency plans, channel masks and power rules. A device certified for US915 is not automatically compliant in Australia or in the AS923 countries, each of which has its own national radio rules and LoRaWAN regional parameter pack. Plan the target regions before fixing the design.

Which environmental rules apply to a LoRaWAN sensor sold in the EU?

A typical sensor falls under RoHS for hazardous substances, WEEE for end of life electronics, REACH for chemical substances of very high concern, and the EU Battery Regulation for its cell. Depending on materials and markets, conflict minerals reporting and California Proposition 65 warnings may also apply. These are documentation and labelling obligations rather than radio tests.

What certifications does a LoRaWAN sensor need?

Author Hugues Orgitello Last updated 29 May 2026 ~7 min read

Guide, LoRaWAN sensor certification

A LoRaWAN sensor is a small radio product, and a small radio product touches a surprising number of certification regimes at once. Before a battery-powered temperature, level or asset-tracking sensor can ship, it has to clear radio approval in each target market, optional but commercially expected LoRaWAN Certification, battery safety and transport rules, cyber security obligations, and a layer of environmental and substance compliance. This hub page maps each obligation to the device, shows which guide covers it in depth, and gives you a checklist and a decision table so you can scope the project correctly from the start rather than discovering a missing approval at launch.

How the obligations fit together

A LoRaWAN sensor sits at the intersection of three families of requirement. They run in parallel, they have different owners, and a gap in any one of them can block a market or a shipment.

Family	What it covers	Who requires it	Optional?
Radio and market access	Spectrum, EMC, exposure, safety	Regulators (EU, US, Canada, others)	No, legally mandatory
Interoperability	LoRaWAN MAC behaviour and logo	LoRa Alliance (private)	Yes, but often contractually expected
Product compliance	Battery, cyber, environment, shipping	Mixed: regulators and carriers	No for the applicable items

The single most common mistake is to treat LoRaWAN Certification as the certification, when it is only the interoperability layer. The legal gate to a market is radio approval under the relevant directive or rules. For an overview of the full sequence, start with certification getting started and the certification timeline.

Radio approval by region

Radio approval is the non-negotiable core. The standard or rule set depends on which regional frequency plan your sensor uses, because LoRaWAN runs in the license-free industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) and short range device (SRD) bands, and those bands differ by region.

European Union: the Radio Equipment Directive

In the European Union a LoRaWAN sensor is radio equipment under 2014/53/EU, the Radio Equipment Directive (RED). The EU868 plan uses sub-bands around 863 to 870 MHz, addressed by the harmonised standard EN 300 220 for short range devices. Electromagnetic compatibility is covered by the EN 301 489 series, and electrical safety by the standard matching the supply, commonly IEC 62368-1 for information and communication equipment. Radio frequency exposure is assessed against the applicable health and safety route. Conformity is declared in an EU declaration of conformity and supported by a technical documentation file. The RED checklist walks through the essential requirements article by article.

For Great Britain, the parallel regime is UKCA marking, and the comparison between the two routes is set out in UKCA vs CE comparison.

United States: FCC Part 15

In the United States the device is authorised by the FCC. A US915 LoRaWAN sensor operating in 902 to 928 MHz is normally certified under 47 CFR Part 15.247 as a digital transmission or frequency hopping system, or under 47 CFR Part 15.249 for some narrowband designs. Authorisation runs through a Telecommunication Certification Body, producing an FCC ID. The mechanics are covered in FCC ID, grantee and TCB equipment authorization, and the EMC differences between the EU and US routes in CE vs FCC EMC.

Canada and other regions

Canada requires certification under Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), with rules close to but not identical to the FCC, detailed in ISED Canada radio certification and compared with the EU and US routes in CE vs FCC EMC. Other markets add their own approvals: China through SRRC, Japan through the technical conformity (Giteki) scheme, Australia through the RCM. The radio spectrum SRD license-free bands guide explains why the bands and limits differ.

Region	Plan	Primary radio basis	Approval output
European Union	EU868	RED, EN 300 220, EN 301 489	CE marking and DoC
United States	US915	FCC Part 15.247 or 15.249	FCC ID
Canada	US915	ISED RSS standards	ISED certification number
Australia	AU915	ACMA arrangements	RCM mark
Japan	AS923	Giteki technical conformity	Giteki mark

LoRaWAN Certification

LoRaWAN Certification is a private interoperability and trademark programme run by the LoRa Alliance. It verifies that the end-device behaves correctly at the MAC layer and conforms to the regional parameters, and it grants the right to use the LoRaWAN Certified logo, which many public network operators require for onboarding. It does not replace radio approval and carries no legal weight by itself.

Key points to scope:

Alliance membership is required to submit a device, at minimum at Adopter level.
Certification is run against the LoRaWAN specification version (1.0.4 or 1.1) and the regional parameter pack you target.
A pre-certified module reduces test scope but does not waive a finished-product submission.
Device class A is the baseline; classes B and C are optional and affect power and behaviour.

The full programme, its tiers and the specification discontinuities are covered in LoRa Alliance LoRaWAN certification.

Battery safety and shipping

Almost every LoRaWAN sensor is battery powered, often by a non-rechargeable lithium primary cell for multi-year life, sometimes by a rechargeable lithium-ion cell. Both bring a distinct compliance track.

Cell safety and transport

The cell or battery should meet the relevant safety standard, with IEC 62133 being the common reference for portable secondary cells. For transport, every lithium cell and the finished product must pass UN 38.3, the United Nations test series covering altitude, thermal cycling, vibration, shock, short circuit and other abuses. Shipment then follows the dangerous goods rules. These are detailed in IEC 62133 and UN 38.3 battery safety and transport and HAZMAT, IMDG and IATA lithium shipping.

EU Battery Regulation

In the European Union the cell is also subject to 2023/1542, the Battery Regulation, which replaces the earlier directive and adds duties on labelling, carbon footprint for some categories, removability and information, phased across several application dates. A coin-cell sensor is not exempt simply because the battery is small or built in. See EU Battery Regulation.

Cyber security

A connected sensor is a product with digital elements, so cyber security has moved from good practice to legal obligation in the European Union. The 2024/2847 Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) sets horizontal requirements for secure design, vulnerability handling and update support, with the main obligations applying from late 2027 and the reporting duties earlier. The consumer Internet of Things baseline EN 303 645 gives a practical set of provisions (no universal default passwords, secure update, minimised attack surface) that map well onto the CRA expectations. These are covered in Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and EN 303 645 IoT cyber security. A structured risk assessment underpins both; see risk management with ISO 14971, IEC 31010, FMEA and FTA.

Environmental and substance compliance

These obligations rarely involve a test chamber, but a missing declaration can still stop a shipment or a market listing. For a typical EU-market sensor the layer includes:

Obligation	Scope for a sensor	Guide
RoHS	Restricted hazardous substances in the electronics	RoHS
REACH	Substances of very high concern, declaration duties	REACH SVHC
WEEE	End of life electronics, marking and take-back	WEEE
Battery Regulation	The cell, labelling and information	EU Battery Regulation
Conflict minerals	Tin, tungsten, tantalum, gold reporting	conflict minerals CMRT
Prop 65	California chemical warnings for US sales	California Prop 65

Decision table: do I need it?

Use this table as a first triage. It assumes a battery-powered LoRaWAN sensor; confirm each line against the specifics of your design and markets.

Item	Need it?	Trigger
RED radio approval	Yes if selling in the EU	Placing on the EU market
FCC authorisation	Yes if selling in the US	US915 operation
ISED certification	Yes if selling in Canada	Canadian market
LoRaWAN Certification	Recommended, often required	Public network onboarding, logo use
UN 38.3 transport test	Yes, any lithium cell	Shipping the product
IEC 62133	Yes for rechargeable cells	Secondary lithium cell
EU Battery Regulation	Yes if selling in the EU	Any incorporated battery
CRA compliance	Yes if selling in the EU	Product with digital elements
EN 303 645 alignment	Recommended	Consumer connected device
RoHS, REACH, WEEE	Yes if selling in the EU	Electronics placed on market

Project checklist

A practical ordering for a first LoRaWAN sensor programme:

Fix the target regions and therefore the frequency plans (EU868, US915, AU915, AS923).
Choose a radio module and confirm its existing approvals and host integration conditions.
Build the technical documentation file and a test plan.
Run radio, EMC, exposure and safety testing for each region.
Run battery safety (IEC 62133 if rechargeable) and UN 38.3 transport testing.
Carry out the cyber risk assessment and CRA gap analysis.
Submit the finished product for LoRaWAN Certification.
Compile environmental and substance declarations (RoHS, REACH, WEEE, Battery Regulation).
Issue the EU declaration of conformity and apply the marks.
Budget the whole programme against the certification costs guide.

Common pitfalls

Pitfall	Consequence	Avoid by
Treating LoRaWAN Certified as legal approval	Product blocked at customs or market surveillance	Separating radio approval from interoperability early
Designing for one region then expanding	Re-test and re-design for other frequency plans	Fixing all target regions before layout
Ignoring the coin cell for shipping	Held shipments, carrier rejection	UN 38.3 testing for every lithium cell
Assuming module approval covers the product	Failed EMC or exposure on the finished device	Verifying host integration conditions and finished-product EMC
Postponing cyber to after launch	CRA non-compliance, reporting gaps	Building EN 303 645 provisions into the design
Forgetting environmental declarations	Listing removed, fines	Compiling RoHS, REACH, WEEE and battery files in parallel

Sources and references

Sources & references

Directive 2014/53/EU (Radio Equipment Directive) , EUR-Lex eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/53/oj
47 CFR Part 15.247, operation within the bands 902-928 MHz, 2400-2483.5 MHz and 5725-5850 MHz , FCC www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-15/subpart-C/section-15.247
ETSI EN 300 220, short range devices in the 25 MHz to 1000 MHz range , ETSI www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_en/300200_300299/30022002/
LoRaWAN certification programme , LoRa Alliance lora-alliance.org/lorawan-certification/
Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries , EUR-Lex eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1542/oj
Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 (Cyber Resilience Act) , EUR-Lex eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/2847/oj
UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, Section 38.3, lithium batteries , UNECE unece.org/transport/dangerous-goods/rev7-2019-amend1
ETSI EN 303 645, cyber security for consumer Internet of Things , ETSI www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_en/303600_303699/303645/