Which certificates does the NTC issue for equipment?

The Equipment Standards Division issues three certificates: a Type Acceptance Certificate for Radio Communications Equipment (RCE), a Type Approval Certificate for Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) and a Grant of Equipment Conformity (GEC) for CPE with a built-in or integrated radio interface. All three are requested on the same form, NTC 1-17, and each has a modification procedure. The terms "Equipment Type Approval" and "Customer Type Approval" used by some guides, including an earlier version of this page, do not appear in these NTC texts.

Does the NTC accept foreign test reports?

Yes, by design. MC 02-01-2001 lets the NTC accept a manufacturer self-declaration, foreign test reports and foreign approval certificates in lieu of local tests, provided they show compliance with the national requirements, and defines type acceptance as an evaluation based on foreign test reports and certifications. The 2023 Citizen's Charter asks for a certificate or test report from a foreign regulator or conformity assessment body covering EMC and RF efficiency, or a self-declaration backed by accredited laboratory reports. No mutual recognition arrangement is needed for this route.

Are 868 MHz and 433 MHz modules allowed in the Philippines?

The SRD circular MC 03-05-2007, as amended in 2017 and 2020, lists 433.050 to 434.790 MHz at 10 mW ERP and several 868 to 870 MHz segments at 25 mW or 5 mW ERP for non-specific short range devices, telemetry, remote control and alarms. The claim that the Philippine sub-GHz allocation excludes the EU 868 MHz band is contradicted by the table. The table does not list the 902 to 928 MHz band, so a US 915 MHz module needs another basis.

What must appear on the label?

MC 02-01-2001 requires type-approved or type-accepted CPE to carry a tamper-proof label reading "NTC Type Approved" or "NTC Type Accepted" with a number beginning ESD-CPE; suppliers produce their own labels subject to NTC clearance. Short range devices and indoor wireless data network devices must also bear the NTC registration number issued for them. The "YYYY-NNNNNN" code format given by an earlier version of this page is not in the texts.

Is the 6 GHz band open for Wi-Fi?

Yes. NTC Memorandum Circular 002-07-2024, issued in July 2024, amended the HIPERLAN and RLAN rows of MC 03-05-2007 to add 5925 to 6425 MHz next to 2.4 GHz, 5150 to 5350 MHz, 5470 to 5850 MHz and 17.1 to 17.3 GHz. Compliance consultancies report that equipment certified before it needs a modified certificate, keeping the same certificate number, to cover the new band.

Does a radio product also need a PS mark or ICC sticker from DTI-BPS?

Only if the product is on the DTI-BPS list of products under mandatory certification. That list covers household appliances, some consumer electronics such as television sets, lighting and wiring devices, EV charging equipment, steel, construction, chemical and automotive products. On October 7, 2026 it listed no radio, telecom or IT equipment, so a router or a sensor is not covered by default, while a radio-enabled product that is also, for example, an air conditioner or a television set is.

Do Philippine mobile operators have to approve a device?

Not under the NTC rules reviewed here. MC 02-01-2001 says NTC type approval does not guarantee full operational compatibility with a particular network, and that a public telecommunications operator may, at its option, run its own "interface approval" and issue a certificate for internal control purposes. It is a commercial step set by each operator, not an NTC requirement.

Philippines NTC: type acceptance, SRD and Wi-Fi rules

Hugues Orgitello updated 7 Oct 2026 14 min read

Placing a radio or telecom product on the Philippine market goes through the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), and the NTC works through numbered Memorandum Circulars rather than one consolidated regulation. Read together, the circulars give a precise picture: three certificate types issued by the Equipment Standards Division, an SRD frequency table first published on May 7, 2007 and amended in 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2024 (6 GHz Wi-Fi), a tamper-proof label format, one-time registration of short range devices, and sales restricted to NTC-accredited dealers. This guide follows those texts, not the usual summaries, and lists the claims they contradict, including several made by an earlier version of this page. Electrical safety under DTI-BPS is covered at the end: it applies to a defined product list, not to every powered radio device.

Legal frame and institutions

The NTC circulars recite their own legal basis: Act 3846 (Radio Control Law), Executive Order 546 of 1979 and Republic Act 7925, the Public Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines, approved on March 1, 1995. Republic Act 10844, the DICT Act of 2015 approved on May 23, 2016, attaches the NTC to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) "for policy and program coordination"; the 2003 and 2007 circulars still carry the letterhead of the Department of Transportation and Communications.

Equipment certification sits with the Equipment Standards Division (ESD), part of the Office of the Commissioner in the NTC Central Office. Short range device registration, dealer permits and import permits are handled by the regional offices and the National Single Window, as the circulars and the 2025 Citizen's Charter list them.

The Philippines is in ITU Region 3 under the ITU Radio Regulations. That does not make its short range device bands Asian-specific: as the SRD table below shows, many rows match the European SRD bands.

The three NTC certificates

The NTC 2025 Citizen's Charter lists the ESD services as follows, each with a modification procedure, and Form NTC 1-17 (revision 02, March 31, 2023) has one tick box for each.

Certificate	Covers	Text it rests on	What the text says
Type Acceptance Certificate, RCE	Radio Communications Equipment: SRDs, land mobile, maritime, aeronautical, microwave, base stations, WDN	MC 03-05-2007 section 5.1, MC 09-09-2003 section 5	"Only type approved/accepted SRDs shall be allowed for use in the country"
Type Approval Certificate, CPE	Customer Premises Equipment connected to a public network: telephones, fax, modems, PBX, cellular terminals, VSAT, POS terminals	MC 02-01-2001	A CPE without a type approval or type acceptance certificate "shall not be connected to the public telecommunications network"
Grant of Equipment Conformity, GEC	CPE with a built-in or integrated radio interface	Citizen's Charter definitions	A "written authority" attesting that a CPE with an integrated radio interface complies

Form NTC 1-17 shows how the categories map to real products: corded telephones, mobile phones, GPRS vehicle trackers and fax machines appear under CPE type approval; "Short Range Device/RFID", land mobile, maritime and aeronautical radio, microwave, base stations and WDN under RCE type acceptance; a smartphone with SRD, a laptop with WWAN or SRD, a GPON or EPON terminal with SRD and a cable modem with SRD under the GEC. The form also has a field for the integrated RF modules and an address field "for foreign-based applicant".

Type approval and type acceptance in MC 02-01-2001

MC 02-01-2001, dated January 31, 2001, gives the two definitions that the later texts use:

Type approval is the evaluation of a CPE against national interface standards, by laboratory tests. Where the CPE is already certified by a foreign approval authority, the NTC "may, at its discretion, accept manufacturer's self-declaration, foreign test reports and approval certificates in lieu of local type approval tests".
Type acceptance applies "in the absence of established interface standards" for the equipment, and is evaluated "on the basis of submitted foreign test reports and type approval certifications", case by case.

The same circular requires a new certificate when the trade name or model number changes (testing may not be needed), lets a model of the same series be approved on its technical manual without new tests, and limits the type approval scope to the interface parameters of its Section III.

What the application contains

The 2023 ESD Citizen's Charter asks for Form NTC 1-17 and, as technical evidence, either a certificate of conformity or compliance and a test report against internationally accepted standards issued by a foreign regulator or conformity assessment body, covering EMC and RF efficiency, or a manufacturer self-declaration of conformity backed by test reports from an accredited laboratory and proof of acceptance by the relevant certifying bodies. For wireless equipment it lists electrical safety, EMC, evaluation of human exposure, specific absorption rate (for mobile phones) and RF spectrum efficiency.

An earlier edition of the charter (available only as a third-party copy) adds details that still explain current practice: one application per model, an authorisation letter for the authorised representative, a description with RF specifications and photos, certificates against "E/FCC/ASNZS" standards, a manufacturer declaration on IMEI security and on the absence of a voice alteration function for mobile phones, and "Declaration of Product Similarity" or "Declaration of Output Power Limitation" letters to explain document discrepancies. It lists as clients equipment manufacturers "represented by local authorized representative or local distributor", radio dealers and CPE distributors.

Host products and radio modules

According to Bureau Veritas, an NTC memorandum of August 7, 2019 requires the host or end product to be type approved or accepted for the specific RF module integrated in it, and a certificate per marketing model when one regulatory model is sold under several marketing names. The memorandum itself was not reachable for this guide; Form NTC 1-17 does ask for the integrated RF modules of each application.

Short range devices and Wi-Fi: the circulars and their dates

Circular	Date	What it does
MC 02-01-2001	January 31, 2001	CPE interface standards, type approval and type acceptance procedure, label format
MC 09-09-2003	September 12, 2003	Wireless data networks (WDN) in 2400 to 2483.5 MHz, 5150 to 5350 MHz and 5470 to 5850 MHz; indoor devices up to 250 mW ERP with no external antenna; registration number on the device
MC 03-05-2007	May 7, 2007	SRD frequency table, antenna rules, one-time SRD registration, fines
MC 03-06-2017	2017	Amends the 868 to 870 MHz rows of the SRD table
MC 06-08-2018	August 29, 2018	Adds ultra-wide band (UWB): 6.0 to 8.5 GHz at -41.3 dBm/MHz mean EIRP
MC 01-02-2020	2020	Restates the non-specific SRD rows (315 MHz narrowed to 314.73 to 315.07 MHz)
MC 002-07-2024	July 2024	Redefines the HIPERLAN and RLAN rows and adds 5925 to 6425 MHz (6 GHz Wi-Fi)

Selected rows of the SRD table (MC 03-05-2007 as amended)

Use	Band	Limit	Source
Non-specific SRD, telemetry, remote control, alarms	314.73 to 315.07 MHz	10 mW ERP	MC 01-02-2020
Non-specific SRD	433.050 to 434.790 MHz	10 mW ERP	MC 01-02-2020
Non-specific SRD	868.000 to 868.600 MHz, 868.700 to 869.200 MHz, 869.3 to 869.4 MHz	25 mW ERP	MC 01-02-2020
Non-specific SRD	869.700 to 870.000 MHz	5 mW ERP	MC 01-02-2020
Non-specific SRD	2400 to 2483.5 MHz	10 mW EIRP	MC 01-02-2020
Non-specific SRD	5725 to 5875 MHz	25 mW EIRP	MC 01-02-2020
Non-specific SRD	24.00 to 24.25 GHz, 61.0 to 61.5 GHz	100 mW EIRP	MC 01-02-2020
HIPERLAN and RLAN	2400 to 2483.5 MHz	100 mW EIRP	MC 03-05-2007 (row since redefined by MC 002-07-2024)
HIPERLAN and RLAN	5150 to 5350 MHz	200 mW EIRP	MC 03-05-2007 (row since redefined by MC 002-07-2024)
HIPERLAN and RLAN	5470 to 5850 MHz	250 mW EIRP	MC 03-05-2007 (row since redefined by MC 002-07-2024)
HIPERLAN and RLAN	5925 to 6425 MHz	Set by MC 002-07-2024	MC 002-07-2024
Movement detection and alert	24.05 to 24.25 GHz	100 mW EIRP	MC 03-05-2007
Road transport and traffic telematics	76 to 77 GHz	55 dBm peak, individual licence	MC 03-05-2007
UWB	6.0 to 8.5 GHz	-41.3 dBm/MHz mean EIRP	MC 06-08-2018

The 2007 RLAN rows set EIRP caps only; the published 2007 table carries no DFS condition. The 2024 text redefines those rows, and this guide could not read the NTC original, so check the current conditions for 5 GHz and 6 GHz in MC 002-07-2024 itself. Compliance consultancies report that equipment certified before the 2024 circular needs a modified certificate, keeping the same certificate number, to add the 5925 to 6425 MHz band.

Practical reading for a European design: a BLE or Wi-Fi module tested under ETSI harmonised standards for the RED and a LoRa or other 868 MHz node fall inside bands that the Philippine table lists, at limits that you must compare row by row. A US 915 MHz design does not: the SRD table lists no 902 to 928 MHz row.

Antennas, registration and dealers

Antennas (MC 03-05-2007 section 4): integral, dedicated or external, but the transmitter must only work with antennas type approved or accepted by the NTC, which in practice means a permanently attached antenna or a unique, non-standard connector.
One-time registration (section 5.4): SRDs other than HIPERLAN and RLAN devices and road telematics are registered once before use and bear the NTC registration number. Indoor WDN devices bear an NTC registration number too (MC 09-09-2003 section 5.3).
Dealers (section 5.5): only NTC-accredited radio dealers and manufacturers may buy, sell and stock SRDs, and they include them in their sales and stock reports. Imported SRDs are registered within five days of release from the Bureau of Customs (section 5.6).
Fees and fines as set in the circulars: PHP 50 per unit for SRD registration (MC 03-05-2007) and PHP 100 per unit for indoor WDN registration (MC 09-09-2003); PHP 5,000 per unit for selling or possessing unregistered SRDs. Later fee schedules and tax changes may have revised these amounts.
Samples: the 2025 Citizen's Charter lists a permit to import, through the National Single Window, non-type-approved CPE for demonstration or testing purposes.

Label

MC 02-01-2001 section VI.5 requires type-approved or type-accepted equipment to carry a tamper-proof label, produced by the supplier or distributor and subject to NTC clearance, with the wording "NTC Type Approved" or "NTC Type Accepted" and a number in the form ESD-CPE-xx-xxxxx. For telephone equipment the label also shows the ringer equivalence number. SRDs and indoor WDN devices bear their NTC registration number. UWB devices must also carry the manufacturer name and model, "legible, indelible and readily visible" (MC 06-08-2018).

The circulars reviewed here contain no provision for electronic labels. See e-label vs physical label for how other regulators handle it.

Operators: optional interface approval

MC 02-01-2001 section II.b states that type approval "does not guarantee full operational compatibility" with a particular network for signalling, transmission quality and system features. A public telecommunications operator "may conduct further evaluation" and issue an interface approval certificate "for internal control purposes"; interface approval runs "at the option of a public telecommunications operator". It is not an NTC precondition. Network tests such as attach, handover or NSA and SA NR behaviour belong to the operator relationship and to the 3GPP conformance test plan, see 3GPP RF conformance test plan; the analogy with PTCRB is with an operator-driven step, not with a regulatory one.

NTC and DTI-BPS: a product list, not a blanket rule

The Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) of the Department of Trade and Industry runs two mandatory product certification schemes: the Philippine Standard (PS) Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark licence, granted to a local or foreign manufacturer whose factory meets PNS ISO 9001 and whose product meets the relevant standard, and the Import Commodity Clearance (ICC), issued to an importer after inspection and testing by the BPS laboratory or a BPS-recognised laboratory. Covered products cannot be distributed without the PS mark or ICC sticker, which goes on the product or, where impractical, on the packaging.

The scope is the BPS list of products under mandatory certification. On October 7, 2026 it covered household appliances (fans, kettles, rice cookers, microwave ovens, refrigerators, air conditioners and others), consumer electronics limited to television sets, disc players, vapour products and heated tobacco systems, lighting and wiring devices (lamps, plugs, socket-outlets, extension cords, circuit breakers, wires), EV charging equipment and accessories, steel, plastic pipes, cement and construction products, chemical, automotive and LPG products. It contained no radio, telecom or IT equipment.

Question	NTC	DTI-BPS
What triggers it	Radio transmitter or connection to a public network	Product on the BPS mandatory list
Certificate	Type acceptance (RCE), type approval (CPE), GEC	PS licence (manufacturer) or ICC (importer)
Evidence	Foreign certificates and test reports, or SDoC with accredited reports	Factory meeting PNS ISO 9001 and product tests (PS), or inspection and product testing (ICC)
Marking	NTC label or registration number	PS mark or ICC sticker
Example: Wi-Fi router	Yes	No, not on the list
Example: air conditioner with Wi-Fi	Yes, for the radio	Yes, air conditioners are listed

For electrical safety of products outside the BPS list, the NTC requirement itself already asks for electrical safety evidence among the test reports. The ASEAN Sectoral MRA for Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Bangkok, April 5, 2002), which the Philippines signed, explicitly excludes equipment covered by the ASEAN MRA on telecommunications equipment.

Claims the texts contradict

Common claim (including earlier versions of this page)	What the text says
"The NTC distinguishes Equipment Type Approval (ETA) from Customer Type Approval (CTA)"	The ESD issues a Type Acceptance Certificate for RCE, a Type Approval Certificate for CPE and a Grant of Equipment Conformity for CPE with integrated radio (Citizen's Charter 2025, Form NTC 1-17). "Customer" refers to customer premises equipment, not to a specific user
"The type approval code follows the format YYYY-NNNNNN"	MC 02-01-2001 shows "NTC Type Approved/Type Accepted No.: `ESD-CPE-xx-xxxxx`" on a tamper-proof label; SRDs carry an NTC registration number
"The Philippine sub-GHz allocation differs from the EU 868 MHz band"	MC 03-05-2007 as amended in 2017 and 2020 lists 868.000 to 870.000 MHz segments at 25 mW or 5 mW ERP, and 433.050 to 434.790 MHz at 10 mW ERP
"Foreign reports are accepted only under partial APEC or bilateral MRAs"	MC 02-01-2001: foreign test reports, foreign approval certificates and manufacturer self-declarations may be accepted in lieu of local tests; type acceptance is by definition based on foreign reports
"Philippine operators require network acceptance on top of NTC approval"	MC 02-01-2001 section II.b: interface approval is "at the option" of the operator, "for internal control purposes"
"A Wi-Fi modem with a mains supply or a phone with a charger needs a PS mark or ICC"	PS and ICC apply to products on the BPS mandatory list, which on October 7, 2026 contained no radio, telecom or IT equipment
"A foreign manufacturer cannot file; the representative holds the technical file for a prescribed duration"	The charter lists manufacturers represented by a local authorised representative or local distributor as clients, and Form NTC 1-17 has a field for a foreign-based applicant; no retention period appears in the texts reviewed. The binding local constraints are dealer accreditation and SRD registration
"Electronic labelling is progressively admitted"	No circular reviewed here mentions e-labels
"NTC classes are structured by product-family Memorandum Orders"	Equipment rules come from Memorandum Circulars (MC), organised by certificate type (RCE, CPE, GEC) and by band tables (SRD, WDN)

Procedure step by step

Classify the product as RCE, CPE or CPE with integrated radio (GEC), using the categories on Form NTC 1-17.
Check each radio against the band tables: SRD table of MC 03-05-2007 as amended, WDN and RLAN rows including MC 002-07-2024 for 6 GHz, UWB rows of MC 06-08-2018.
Check the antenna arrangement: integral antenna or unique connector.
Assemble the evidence: certificates and test reports from a foreign regulator or conformity assessment body covering safety, EMC, human exposure (SAR for phones) and RF efficiency, or an SDoC with accredited laboratory reports.
Add the declarations the NTC asks for (one application per model, authorisation letter, IMEI and voice alteration declarations for mobile phones, similarity or power limitation declarations where documents differ).
File Form NTC 1-17 with the ESD, listing integrated RF modules.
Print the label in the format of MC 02-01-2001 and have it cleared by the NTC.
Set up distribution through NTC-accredited dealers, with import permits and sales and stock reports, and register SRDs within five days of customs release.
Check BPS separately: only if the product appears on the mandatory certification list.
Re-file on change: new trade name or model number, modified hardware or new bands (the 6 GHz modification route of 2024 is an example).

NTC, ANATEL and SRRC compared

Criterion	NTC (Philippines)	ANATEL (Brazil)	SRRC / CMIIT (China)
ITU Region	Region 3	Region 2	Region 3
Certificates	RCE type acceptance, CPE type approval, GEC	See ANATEL Brazil	See SRRC and CMIIT
Product safety	Evidence inside the NTC file; DTI-BPS only for listed products	Separate INMETRO regime	Separate CCC regime

Frequently asked questions

What is the NTC and what is its legal basis?: The NTC (National Telecommunications Commission) is the Philippine regulator for telecommunications and radio. Its circulars recite Act 3846 (Radio Control Law), Executive Order 546 of 1979 and Republic Act 7925, the Public Telecommunications Policy Act approved on March 1, 1995. Republic Act 10844, the DICT Act approved on May 23, 2016, attaches the NTC to the Department of Information and Communications Technology for policy and program coordination; the 2003 and 2007 circulars carry the letterhead of the Department of Transportation and Communications.
Which certificates does the NTC issue for equipment?: The Equipment Standards Division issues three certificates: a Type Acceptance Certificate for Radio Communications Equipment (RCE), a Type Approval Certificate for Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) and a Grant of Equipment Conformity (GEC) for CPE with a built-in or integrated radio interface. All three are requested on the same form, NTC 1-17, and each has a modification procedure. The terms "Equipment Type Approval" and "Customer Type Approval" used by some guides, including an earlier version of this page, do not appear in these NTC texts.
Does the NTC accept foreign test reports?: Yes, by design. MC 02-01-2001 lets the NTC accept a manufacturer self-declaration, foreign test reports and foreign approval certificates in lieu of local tests, provided they show compliance with the national requirements, and defines type acceptance as an evaluation based on foreign test reports and certifications. The 2023 Citizen's Charter asks for a certificate or test report from a foreign regulator or conformity assessment body covering EMC and RF efficiency, or a self-declaration backed by accredited laboratory reports. No mutual recognition arrangement is needed for this route.
Are 868 MHz and 433 MHz modules allowed in the Philippines?: The SRD circular MC 03-05-2007, as amended in 2017 and 2020, lists 433.050 to 434.790 MHz at 10 mW ERP and several 868 to 870 MHz segments at 25 mW or 5 mW ERP for non-specific short range devices, telemetry, remote control and alarms. The claim that the Philippine sub-GHz allocation excludes the EU 868 MHz band is contradicted by the table. The table does not list the 902 to 928 MHz band, so a US 915 MHz module needs another basis.
What must appear on the label?: MC 02-01-2001 requires type-approved or type-accepted CPE to carry a tamper-proof label reading "NTC Type Approved" or "NTC Type Accepted" with a number beginning ESD-CPE; suppliers produce their own labels subject to NTC clearance. Short range devices and indoor wireless data network devices must also bear the NTC registration number issued for them. The "YYYY-NNNNNN" code format given by an earlier version of this page is not in the texts.
Is the 6 GHz band open for Wi-Fi?: Yes. NTC Memorandum Circular 002-07-2024, issued in July 2024, amended the HIPERLAN and RLAN rows of MC 03-05-2007 to add 5925 to 6425 MHz next to 2.4 GHz, 5150 to 5350 MHz, 5470 to 5850 MHz and 17.1 to 17.3 GHz. Compliance consultancies report that equipment certified before it needs a modified certificate, keeping the same certificate number, to cover the new band.
Does a radio product also need a PS mark or ICC sticker from DTI-BPS?: Only if the product is on the DTI-BPS list of products under mandatory certification. That list covers household appliances, some consumer electronics such as television sets, lighting and wiring devices, EV charging equipment, steel, construction, chemical and automotive products. On October 7, 2026 it listed no radio, telecom or IT equipment, so a router or a sensor is not covered by default, while a radio-enabled product that is also, for example, an air conditioner or a television set is.
Do Philippine mobile operators have to approve a device?: Not under the NTC rules reviewed here. MC 02-01-2001 says NTC type approval does not guarantee full operational compatibility with a particular network, and that a public telecommunications operator may, at its option, run its own "interface approval" and issue a certificate for internal control purposes. It is a commercial step set by each operator, not an NTC requirement.