Essential FCC Certification for Electronics

The FCC certification is a mandatory certification by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for electronic and electrical products entering the US market. This certification covers products including, but not limited to, computers, fax machines, televisions, radios, and wireless devices.

Before the new regulations were enacted, FCC certification was divided into FCC DOC, FCC VOC, and FCC ID. On July 13, 2017, the new FCC regulations came into effect, dividing FCC certifications into two main categories: SDoC and ID. According to the new regulations, FCC SDoC no longer has qualification requirements for testing laboratories, and the FCC mark is not mandatory on the product body or label; manufacturers or suppliers can choose whether to print it. However, FCC ID remains unchanged.

FCC SDoC applies to general products without wireless functions, such as monitors, household appliances, lighting fixtures, etc. This includes personal computers and their peripheral devices; household appliances; power tools; audio and video products; lighting fixtures; toys; security products, etc., such as monitors, mice, LED lighting, electronic toys, cameras, etc. FCC ID applies to wireless communication devices, Bluetooth devices, radio frequency identification (RFID) devices, wireless remote controls, wireless local area network (WLAN) devices, global positioning system (GPS) devices, ZigBee devices, etc. In other words, any product with wireless communication functions must apply for FCC ID.

Regardless of whether it is FCC SDoC or FCC ID, there are certain requirements for printing labels:

Firstly, FCC SDoC must print the corresponding warning statement on the product body or label:

If the product is too small to add the declaration label on the body or label, it can be included in the packaging as an attachment.

For FCC ID certification, in addition to the warning statement, the FCC ID must also be printed:

XXX - Grantee Code

123 - Equipment Product Code

For manufacturers applying for FCC ID for the first time, a grantee code must be applied for from the FCC.