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SAR testing: IEC/IEEE 62209-1528, EN 50360, EN 50566

Specific Absorption Rate, or SAR, is the quantity used to limit the radiofrequency power absorbed by tissue when a transmitter is used against or close to the body: phones, smart watches, earbuds, smart glasses, body-worn medical devices. Three texts set the limits that matter for a product sold in Europe and the United States (Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC, ICNIRP 2020 and 47 CFR 1.1310), and they do not agree on averaging mass, averaging time or where SAR gives way to power density. The measurement method changed too: IEC 62209-1 and IEC 62209-2 were replaced in 2020 by the dual-logo IEC/IEEE 62209-1528, which received its first amendment in September 2026. This page sets the limits side by side, lists what is actually cited in the Official Journal under the RED, and records the readings the texts contradict.

SAR is the electromagnetic power absorbed per unit mass of tissue, in watts per kilogram: SAR = sigma * E^2 / rho, where sigma is the tissue conductivity (S/m), E the internal electric field (V/m, RMS) and rho the tissue density (kg/m^3). It varies point by point, so every text averages it twice before comparing it with a limit.

  • Spatial averaging. Localised SAR is averaged over a tissue mass: any 10 g of contiguous tissue in 1999/519/EC (note 7 to table 1, which accepts a cubic mass where the result stays conservative), a 10 g cubic mass in ICNIRP 2020, and a 1 g cube for head and trunk in 47 CFR 1.1310, with a 10 g cube for extremities.
  • Time averaging. 1999/519/EC averages all SAR values over any six-minute period (note 6). ICNIRP 2020 averages local SAR over 6 minutes and whole-body SAR over 30 minutes. 47 CFR 1.1310 allows averaging over up to 6 minutes for occupational exposure and up to 30 minutes for the general population; for consumer portable devices 47 CFR 2.1093(d)(4) allows only source-based time averaging, such as a TDMA duty cycle, within that 30 minutes.

A single instantaneous point value therefore has no regulatory meaning. Only the value averaged per the method cited in the file counts.

The US and EU limits differ in two ways at once: the number (1.6 W/kg against 2 W/kg) and the mass it applies to (1 g against 10 g). At the same field distribution, the peak 1 g average is normally higher than the peak 10 g average, because a smaller mass captures a sharper hot spot. How much higher depends on the antenna and the geometry, so no fixed ratio converts one result into the other. A test plan meant for both markets reports both quantities from the same scans.

General public values. Each cell comes from the cited text; the averaging rules are the ones in the notes or paragraphs of that text.

Parameter1999/519/EC (Annex II, table 1)ICNIRP 2020 (table 2)47 CFR 1.1310(c) and 2.1093
Frequency range for SAR100 kHz to 10 GHz100 kHz to 6 GHz100 kHz to 6 GHz
Whole-body average SAR0.08 W/kg0.08 W/kg0.08 W/kg
Localised SAR, head and trunk2 W/kg2 W/kg1.6 W/kg
Localised SAR, limbs4 W/kg4 W/kg4 W/kg (extremities: hands, wrists, feet, ankles, pinnae)
Averaging mass, localisedAny 10 g of contiguous tissue10 g cube1 g cube; 10 g cube for extremities
Averaging timeAny 6 minutes6 min local, 30 min whole bodyUp to 30 minutes
Above the SAR rangePower density 10 W/m^2, 10 to 300 GHzAbsorbed power density 20 W/m^2 over 4 cm^2, above 6 GHz; above 30 GHz also 40 W/m^2 over 1 cm^2MPE table: 1.0 mW/cm^2 (10 W/m^2), 1.5 to 100 GHz, 30 min
Occupational head and trunkNot covered10 W/kg8 W/kg over 1 g

Three readings follow from the table. The ear counts as an extremity in the FCC rule (pinnae are named), which is why an ear-contact position can be judged against 4 W/kg over 10 g there. The EU recommendation, dated 1999, still treats 6 to 10 GHz as SAR territory, while the two cited EU product standards stop at 6 GHz. And the FCC note to 1.1310(d) states that its SAR limits are based on ANSI/IEEE C95.1-1992 and NCRP Report No. 86, not on the 2019 revision of C95.1.

EU route: RED Article 3(1)(a) and the OJ citations

Section titled “EU route: RED Article 3(1)(a) and the OJ citations”

Under Directive 2014/53/EU, Article 3(1)(a) requires radio equipment to protect the health and safety of persons. Article 16 gives presumption of conformity to equipment that meets harmonised standards whose references are published in the OJEU, for the requirements they cover. The RED itself does not cite Recommendation 1999/519/EC: the limits reach the product through the harmonised standards, whose OJ titles refer to the "basic restrictions and exposure limit values".

The citations live in the annex of Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2191, as amended. These are the RF exposure rows for devices used close to the body, with the dates the decisions give.

Standard as citedScope in the OJ titleCited byStatus on 7 October 2026
EN 50360:2017 with A1:2023Wireless communication devices used next to the ear, 300 MHz to 6 GHzDecision (EU) 2023/2669, OJ of 1 December 2023 (row 1a)Cited
EN 50566:2017 with A1:2023Hand-held and body-mounted devices in close proximity to the human body, 30 MHz to 6 GHzDecision (EU) 2023/2669 (row 4a)Cited until 7 March 2028, then deleted by Decision (EU) 2026/2003
EN 50566:2017 with A1:2023 and A2:2025Same scopeDecision (EU) 2026/2003, OJ of 7 September 2026 (row 4b)Cited since 7 September 2026

Two other EMF standards in the same annex, EN 50385:2017 and EN 50401:2017, concern base stations (110 MHz to 100 GHz), not devices used against the body. No IEC 62209 measurement standard is cited on its own, under any number: the product standards call up the measurement method, and presumption of conformity comes from the product standard. See RED standards for how citations and withdrawals work, the RED pillar for the directive and RED tests for where SAR sits among the health tests.

  • 47 CFR 1.1307(b) sets which transmitters need an RF exposure evaluation and the exemption criteria.
  • 47 CFR 1.1310 sets the SAR limits (paragraphs (a) to (c)) and the MPE table (paragraph (e)).
  • 47 CFR 2.1093 applies them to portable devices, defined as devices whose radiating structure is generally used within 20 cm of the body of the user. SAR limits apply from 100 kHz to 6 GHz; above 6 GHz the MPE limits of table 1 apply. Evaluation uses a minimum separation distance applicable to the operating configurations and exposure conditions, and in general maximum time-averaged power. Unlicensed PCS and NII devices are always judged against general population limits. Compliance can be shown by measurement or by validated computational modelling (2.1093(d)(2)).
  • OET Bulletin 65 remains the reference cited by 1.1310(d)(4) for evaluation policy; its Supplement C-0101 is discontinued and its content now sits in the KDB publications, cross-referenced in KDB 447498 D03.
  • KDB publications carry the test procedures: KDB 447498 (general RF exposure guidance, including modules), KDB 865664 (SAR measurement up to 6 GHz), KDB 248227 (SAR for 802.11 transmitters), KDB 941225 (3G and LTE devices, hotspot mode, UMPC mini-tablets), KDB 690783 (SAR listings on grants). Paragraph (d)(2) of 2.1093 states that KDB guidance is not binding and not the only acceptable method.

See the FCC pillar and FCC tests for the US framework.

The measurement standards: what replaced what

Section titled “The measurement standards: what replaced what”

The IEC 62209 numbering most pages still quote is out of date. The current picture, from the IEC catalogue entries:

StandardPublishedScopeStatus
IEC 62209-1:20162016Devices used next to the earCancelled and replaced by IEC/IEEE 62209-1528:2020
IEC 62209-2:2010 and AMD1:201930 March 2010; amendment 17 May 2019Devices used in close proximity to the bodyWithdrawn 4 February 2021, replaced by IEC/IEEE 62209-1528:2020
IEEE Std 1528-20132013Head SAR, SAM phantomCancelled and replaced by IEC/IEEE 62209-1528:2020
IEC/IEEE 62209-1528:202019 October 2020, edition 1.0Head and body, 4 MHz to 10 GHz, wireless power transfer above 4 MHz; not implanted devicesCurrent; stability date 2029
IEC/IEEE 62209-1528:2020+AMD1:20262 September 2026, consolidated edition 1.1Same scopeCurrent consolidated version
IEC 62209-3:201924 September 2019Vector measurement-based systems, 600 MHz to 6 GHz, devices up to 200 mm from head or bodyCurrent
IEC/IEEE 63195-1:202211 May 2022Power density measurement, 6 GHz to 300 GHz, devices close to head and bodyCurrent

The IEC lists these changes in IEC/IEEE 62209-1528:2020 against its predecessors: frequency range extended down to 4 MHz and up to 10 GHz, testing of devices with proximity sensors, application-specific phantoms, device holder specifications, fast SAR testing procedures, test reduction procedures, an LTE assessment procedure, revised validation with validation antennas, a revised SAR assessment procedure, a time-average SAR measurement procedure and uncertainty analysis. CENELEC adopted it as EN IEC/IEEE 62209-1528:2021. A report that still names IEC 62209-1:2016 or IEC 62209-2:2010 as its method names standards the IEC no longer maintains; whether that is acceptable depends on the edition the cited product standard calls up, which is a question for the standard text, not for this page.

The SAM (Specific Anthropomorphic Mannequin) head phantom came from IEEE Std 1528 and is now specified within IEC/IEEE 62209-1528. It is a low-loss shell derived from the head dimensions of a large adult male in a US Army anthropometric survey, filled with a tissue-equivalent liquid whose permittivity and conductivity are set for the test frequency, so a liquid formulated for one band cannot be reused at another without checking its properties. Body positions use a flat phantom filled with liquid, with the device held at the declared separation. IEC/IEEE 62209-1528 adds application-specific phantoms and device holder specifications.

Two system families exist. Scanning systems move a miniature isotropic E-field probe with a robot through the liquid volume and integrate sigma * E^2 / rho over the averaging cube. Vector measurement-based systems, the subject of IEC 62209-3:2019, use probe arrays and reconstruct the three-dimensional field to determine peak spatial-average SAR without a mechanical scan. Which family a lab uses is a lab choice; the report has to name the standard the system was validated to.

As frequency rises, absorption concentrates near the surface and a mass-averaged SAR stops describing the heating. The texts handle the switch differently.

  • ICNIRP 2020 replaces local SAR above 6 GHz with absorbed power density (Sab): 20 W/m^2 for the general public, averaged over 6 minutes and a 4 cm^2 square; above 30 GHz an additional 1 cm^2 average is restricted to twice that value.
  • 47 CFR 2.1093(d)(1) evaluates portable devices above 6 GHz against the MPE table of 1.1310: 1.0 mW/cm^2 (10 W/m^2) for the general population from 1 500 to 100 000 MHz, averaged over up to 30 minutes.
  • 1999/519/EC keeps SAR up to 10 GHz and sets 10 W/m^2 power density from 10 to 300 GHz.
  • Measurement: IEC/IEEE 63195-1:2022 gives the power density measurement procedure for devices near the head and body from 6 to 300 GHz.
FrequencyEU recommendation 1999/519/ECICNIRP 2020FCC (portable devices)
100 kHz to 6 GHzSARSARSAR
6 to 10 GHzSARAbsorbed power densityMPE power density
10 to 300 GHzPower densityAbsorbed power densityMPE power density (table up to 100 GHz)

The 6 to 10 GHz row is where a Wi-Fi 6E or UWB device needs care: the two cited EU product standards end at 6 GHz, so above that they give no presumption and the technical file has to document the exposure assessment against Article 3(1)(a) directly. Article 17(2) of the RED still allows internal production control (Annex II) for the Article 3(1) requirements; a notified body is not imposed by the absence of a standard here.

The product is tested in the configurations that produce the highest exposure in real use.

  • Power. In general the maximum time-averaged power (2.1093(d)(1)), usually through test firmware that holds the transmitter at full power on a fixed channel.
  • Bands, channels, positions. Each band and test position is assessed; the KDB 447498 cascade below decides which channels and positions can be skipped in the US.
  • Separation distance. Set from the real use and stated consistently in the user documentation. Article 17(1) of the RED requires the assessment for Article 3(1)(a) to take into account reasonably foreseeable conditions, not only intended ones, and to cover every possible configuration of the equipment. A distance chosen to ease the test and contradicted by the user documentation or the marketing is a classic finding in a technical file review. See RED pitfalls for documentation pitfalls.

The US procedures for cellular technologies and for hotspot mode are not in OET Bulletin 65: they sit in KDB publication 941225, last updated 9 April 2024. Its numbering has moved, so the version matters: the publication's own note records that attachment D01 v03r01 consolidates the previous versions of D01, D02, D03 and D04 into a single document. Five attachments are current.

AttachmentScope
941225 D01 v03r013G SAR procedures, 3GPP and 3GPP2 (1xRTT, EvDo, UMTS/WCDMA, GSM/GPRS)
941225 D05 v02r05Release 8 LTE devices, FDD and TDD
941225 D05A v01r02KDB inquiry sheet for LTE Release 10
941225 D06 v02r01Portable devices with wireless router (hotspot) capabilities
941225 D07 v01r02UMPC mini-tablet devices, diagonal 20 cm or less

D06 covers the device that routes traffic from nearby Wi-Fi clients through its own WWAN connection, as distinct from an access point routing over a wired link. Two rules fix the geometry, and they answer different questions.

  • Form factor sets the separation distance. Where the overall length and width exceed 9 cm by 5 cm, hotspot-mode SAR is measured at 10 mm; for smaller devices 5 mm or less is required. Where this is unclear, D06 directs the applicant to a KDB inquiry rather than to engineering judgement.
  • A 25 mm antenna rule sets the surfaces. SAR is measured on all edges and surfaces with a transmitting antenna located within 25 mm of that surface or edge. A face with no antenna within 25 mm never goes on the test list.

Because test distance plus 1-g measurement also covers hand-held exposure, a separate 10-g extremity evaluation is not necessary. With hotspot mode active during a call, D06 warns, up to four transmitters may transmit simultaneously, and hotspot traffic is typically transparent and unattended: the lab cannot assume the user has put the device down. Departing from these procedures is not a free choice either, since D06 requires a PAG (pre-approval guidance, KDB 388624) when they are not followed.

Deciding which configurations are actually required

Section titled “Deciding which configurations are actually required”

The FCC never asks for the full combinatorial matrix. KDB 941225 hands the arithmetic to KDB 447498 D01, where the decision runs as a cascade, applied separately to each band, exposure condition and test position.

  1. Standalone exclusion, section 4.3.1: no SAR evaluation when [(max. power of channel, including tune-up tolerance, mW) / (min. test separation distance, mm)] · √f(GHz) ≤ 3.0 for 1-g SAR, over 100 MHz to 6 GHz at separations of 50 mm or less. For hotspot mode the distance here is the phantom-to-device distance, 10 mm or 5 mm, never the 25 mm antenna-to-surface distance.
  2. Channel reduction, section 4.4.1: the other channels of a band are skipped when the reported 1-g SAR of the mid-band or highest power channel is ≤ 0.8 W/kg for a band up to 100 MHz wide, ≤ 0.6 W/kg from 100 to 200 MHz, ≤ 0.4 W/kg at 200 MHz and above.
  3. Simultaneous transmission, section 4.3.2: when the sum of the reported standalone 1-g SAR of all simultaneously transmitting antennas stays within the limit, the configuration is excluded outright. When the sum exceeds it, antennas are taken pair by pair and the SAR to peak location separation ratio, SPLSR, is computed as (SAR1 + SAR2)^1.5 / Ri, Ri being the distance in millimetres between the two peak SAR locations. The configuration is excluded when the ratio is ≤ 0.04 for every pair, or ≤ 0.10 where 10-g SAR applies. Pairs that fail are measured.

One threshold governs entry to the matrix: simultaneous transmission SAR is addressed when the maximum duration of overlapping transmissions, network handovers included, exceeds 30 seconds.

Two cautions. Where a battery-operated router needs an approved external dongle or card for hotspot mode, D06 assigns that transmitter a reported SAR of 1.6 W/kg, the whole 1-g limit: the sum test is withdrawn and the pair ratio must be used. And since 13 August 2022 either 447498 D01 v06 or the newer 447498 D04 Interim v01 may be applied, each in full and with no mixing; the ratio and channel thresholds are identical in both, the first-stage arithmetic is not. Treat that pairing as dated rather than permanent: the KDB 447498 listing states that after the transition period all applications must use new procedures to be published as 447498 D01 v07, replacing v06, and that the FCC will give notice of the transition period when v07 becomes available. Check the publication listing before you fix a test plan, because the choice of guidance document is the first thing a TCB looks at.

Phones and most connected wearables transmit on several radios at once: cellular, Wi-Fi, BLE. The simplest demonstration adds the standalone results:

SAR_total = SAR_cellular + SAR_WiFi + SAR_BLE

The sum is conservative because it assumes the peaks of each radio fall at the same point, which they usually do not. When the sum exceeds the limit, the KDB 447498 pair ratio above can still exclude the configuration; pairs that fail are measured with the transmitters active together. IEC 62209-3 is about the measurement system, not about this summation.

Hearing Aid Compatibility is a separate US requirement in 47 CFR 20.19. The rule references ANSI C63.19 in three editions: 2007 (800 MHz to 3 GHz), 2011 (698 MHz to 6 GHz) and 2019 (614 MHz to 6 GHz). HAC measures how a handset couples with hearing aids, not the energy absorbed by tissue, so the criteria and test set-ups are different and the two results are independent. The HAC guide covers the rule; see the glossary for SAR, HAC and MPE.

Common claim (this page made several of them before October 2026)What the text says
IEC 62209-1 and IEC 62209-2 are the current SAR measurement standardsIEC/IEEE 62209-1528:2020 cancels and replaces IEC 62209-1:2016, IEC 62209-2:2010 with AMD1:2019 and IEEE Std 1528-2013; IEC 62209-2:2010 is withdrawn since 4 February 2021. AMD1:2026 followed on 2 September 2026.
IEC 62209-3 covers simultaneous multi-band transmittersIEC 62209-3:2019 covers vector measurement-based systems (3D field reconstruction), 600 MHz to 6 GHz.
IEC 62209-4 defines reduced-scope methods using simulationNo IEC 62209-4 appears in the IEC catalogue entries checked. Test reduction procedures are one of the listed changes of IEC/IEEE 62209-1528:2020.
EN 62209-1, EN 62209-2 and EN 62209-3 are listed in the OJ under the REDThe RF exposure rows for body-close devices in the annex to Decision (EU) 2022/2191 are EN 50360 and EN 50566 only; the EN 62209 family is not cited.
1999/519/EC was aligned with ICNIRP 2020The recommendation dates from 12 July 1999 and has not been revised; its SAR range runs to 10 GHz, where ICNIRP 2020 stops SAR at 6 GHz.
The EU switches to power density above 6 GHz1999/519/EC uses power density from 10 GHz; the 6 GHz switch is ICNIRP 2020 and the FCC rule.
ICNIRP 2020 sets 10 W/m^2 above 6 GHz, or up to 200 W/m^2 for the publicICNIRP 2020 table 2: 20 W/m^2 absorbed power density over 4 cm^2 for the general public (100 W/m^2 occupational); 10 W/m^2 is the 1999/519/EC and FCC MPE figure.
Under ICNIRP 2020, local exposure is averaged over 30 minutes for the publicLocal SAR and Sab are averaged over 6 minutes; only whole-body SAR uses 30 minutes.
The EU limb limit is averaged over 6 minutes and the FCC limit over 30, so they are equalThe FCC extremity limit (4 W/kg, 10 g cube) includes the pinnae, which the EU text does not list as a limb; the time averaging also differs.
IEC 62232 is the standard for mmWave phone power densityIEC 62232 addresses base stations; the device procedure is IEC/IEEE 63195-1:2022.
The FCC limits follow IEEE C95.1-2019The note to 47 CFR 1.1310(d) bases the SAR limits on ANSI/IEEE C95.1-1992 and NCRP Report No. 86.
  • Limits differ in mass and time, not just value. EU recommendation: 2 W/kg over 10 g, six-minute average. FCC: 1.6 W/kg over a 1 g cube, up to 30 minutes, with the ear treated as an extremity.
  • The method is IEC/IEEE 62209-1528. It replaced IEC 62209-1, IEC 62209-2 and IEEE 1528 in 2020; the consolidated edition 1.1 with AMD1:2026 is dated 2 September 2026.
  • Two product standards carry the presumption in the EU. EN 50360:2017 with A1:2023 and EN 50566:2017; for EN 50566 the citation with A2:2025 is live since 7 September 2026 and the A1-only citation goes on 7 March 2028.
  • Power density takes over at 6 GHz under ICNIRP and the FCC, at 10 GHz in the EU recommendation. The device measurement procedure is IEC/IEEE 63195-1:2022.
  • The declared separation distance must follow real use and match the user documentation.

For practical implementation on the EU side, see RED tests. For the US side, see FCC tests and FCC pitfalls. For term definitions, see the Glossary.

Sources & references

  1. IEC/IEEE 62209-1528:2020, SAR measurement procedure, human models, instrumentation and procedures (4 MHz to 10 GHz), IEC webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/62753
  2. IEC/IEEE 62209-1528:2020+AMD1:2026 CSV, consolidated edition 1.1, IEC webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/116521
  3. IEC 62209-2:2010, withdrawn 2021-02-04, replaced by IEC/IEEE 62209-1528:2020, IEC webstore.iec.ch/publication/6590
  4. IEC 62209-3:2019, vector measurement-based systems (600 MHz to 6 GHz), IEC webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/30773
  5. IEC/IEEE 63195-1:2022, power density measurement procedure (6 GHz to 300 GHz), IEC webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/62755
  6. Directive 2014/53/EU (RED), Article 3(1)(a) and Article 16, EUR-Lex eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/53/oj
  7. Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2191, harmonised standards for radio equipment, EUR-Lex eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2022/2191/oj
  8. Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/2669, EN 50360 and EN 50566 with A1:2023, EUR-Lex eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2023/2669/oj
  9. Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/2003, EN 50566 with A2:2025, EUR-Lex eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2026/2003/oj
  10. Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC on the limitation of exposure of the general public to electromagnetic fields, EUR-Lex eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reco/1999/519/oj
  11. ICNIRP 2020 Guidelines, exposure to electromagnetic fields 100 kHz to 300 GHz, ICNIRP www.icnirp.org/en/publications/article/rf-guidelines-2020.html
  12. 47 CFR 1.1310, radiofrequency radiation exposure limits, FCC / eCFR www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-1/subpart-I/section-1.1310
  13. 47 CFR 2.1093, radiofrequency radiation exposure evaluation: portable devices, FCC / eCFR www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-2/subpart-J/section-2.1093
  14. 47 CFR 20.19, hearing loss compatible wireless handsets, FCC / eCFR www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-20/section-20.19
  15. FCC OET Bulletin 65, evaluation of RF field exposure, FCC OET www.fcc.gov/general/oet-bulletins-line
  16. FCC KDB Publication 941225, SAR test procedures for 3GPP and 3GPP2 devices (D01 3G, D05 LTE, D06 hotspot mode, D07 UMPC mini-tablet), FCC OET apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/kdb/forms/FTSSearchResultPage.cfm?switch=P&id=26930
  17. FCC KDB Publication 447498, RF exposure procedures for mobile and portable devices (D01 v06, D04 Interim v01), FCC OET apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/kdb/forms/FTSSearchResultPage.cfm?switch=P&id=20676

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between EU and US SAR limits?
For the general public, Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC sets localised head and trunk SAR at 2 W/kg averaged over any 10 g of contiguous tissue, limbs at 4 W/kg, whole body at 0.08 W/kg, all averaged over any six minutes. 47 CFR 1.1310(c) sets 1.6 W/kg averaged over any 1 g cube, 4 W/kg over 10 g for extremities (hands, wrists, feet, ankles and pinnae), 0.08 W/kg whole body, with averaging over up to 30 minutes. Because the averaging masses differ, a result against one limit cannot be converted into a result against the other with a fixed factor: both values have to be reported.
When does SAR stop and power density take over?
It depends on the text. Under the FCC rules SAR applies from 100 kHz to 6 GHz, and portable devices above 6 GHz are evaluated against the MPE power density limits of 47 CFR 1.1310 table 1. ICNIRP 2020 also switches at 6 GHz, to absorbed power density. Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC, which has not been revised, keeps SAR up to 10 GHz and uses power density only from 10 to 300 GHz.
Which IEC standard replaced IEC 62209-1 and IEC 62209-2?
IEC/IEEE 62209-1528:2020, published on 19 October 2020, cancels and replaces IEC 62209-1:2016, IEC 62209-2:2010 with its 2019 amendment, and IEEE Std 1528-2013. It covers 4 MHz to 10 GHz, head and body. The IEC lists IEC 62209-2:2010 as withdrawn on 4 February 2021. An amendment followed: the consolidated IEC/IEEE 62209-1528:2020+AMD1:2026, edition 1.1, was published on 2 September 2026.
What is IEC 62209-3 for?
IEC 62209-3:2019 specifies vector measurement-based systems, which determine peak spatial-average SAR by three-dimensional field reconstruction (the probe-array systems often called fast SAR). It covers 600 MHz to 6 GHz and devices used up to 200 mm from the head or body. It is a measurement-system standard, not a method for summing SAR from simultaneous transmitters.
Which SAR standards are cited in the Official Journal under the RED?
Two product standards: EN 50360:2017 with A1:2023 for devices used next to the ear (300 MHz to 6 GHz), and EN 50566:2017 for hand-held and body-mounted devices (30 MHz to 6 GHz). For EN 50566, Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/2003 added the citation with A1:2023 and A2:2025 on 7 September 2026; the citation with A1:2023 alone is deleted from 7 March 2028. The measurement standards of the IEC 62209 family are not cited themselves.
How does a lab decide which simultaneous transmission configurations need SAR testing?
KDB 447498 D01 sets the criteria and KDB 941225 applies them to cellular and hotspot devices. The sum of the reported standalone 1 g SAR of every antenna transmitting simultaneously in a given operating mode and exposure condition is compared with the limit: within the limit, that configuration is excluded from simultaneous measurement. Above it, the antennas are taken pair by pair and the SAR to peak location separation ratio (SAR1 + SAR2)^1.5 / Ri is computed, Ri being the distance in millimetres between the two peak SAR locations; the configuration is excluded when the ratio is 0.04 or less for every pair, or 0.10 or less where 10 g SAR applies. Pairs that fail are measured. The question only arises when overlapping transmissions, network handovers included, last more than 30 seconds.
What separation distance should be declared for a body-worn product?
47 CFR 2.1093(d)(1) requires the evaluation to use a minimum separation distance applicable to the operating configurations and exposure conditions of the device, so the distance follows the real use and the user documentation, not the test convenience. For hotspot mode, KDB 941225 D06 fixes it: 10 mm where the device exceeds 9 cm by 5 cm, 5 mm or less for smaller devices.
Is Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) linked to SAR?
No. HAC is a separate US requirement in 47 CFR 20.19, measured to ANSI C63.19 (the 2019 edition covers 614 MHz to 6 GHz). It concerns how a handset couples with hearing aids, not the energy absorbed by tissue. The two campaigns are distinct and a product can pass one and fail the other.