§ 68.160   Designation of Telecommunication Certification Bodies (TCBs).

   (a) The Commission may recognize designated Telecommunication Certification
   Bodies (TCBs) which have been designated according to the requirements of
   paragraphs (b) or (c) of this section to certify equipment as required under
   this  part.  Certification  of equipment by a TCB shall be based on an
   application with all the information specified in this part. The TCB shall
   process  the application to determine compliance with the Commission's
   requirements and shall issue a written grant of equipment authorization. The
   grant shall identify the approving TCB and the Commission as the issuing
   authority.

   (b) In the United States, TCBs shall be accredited and designated by the
   National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under its National
   Voluntary  Conformity Assessment Evaluation (NVCASE) program, or other
   recognized  programs  based  on ISO/IEC 17065:2012, to comply with the
   Commission's qualification criteria for TCBs. NIST may, in accordance with
   its procedures, allow other appropriately qualified accrediting bodies to
   accredit TCBs. TCBs shall comply with the requirements in § 68.162 of this
   part.

   (c) In accordance with the terms of an effective bilateral or multilateral
   mutual recognition agreement or arrangement (MRA) to which the United States
   is a party, bodies outside the United States shall be permitted to authorize
   equipment in lieu of the Commission. A body in an MRA partner economy may
   authorize equipment to U.S. requirements only if that economy permits bodies
   in  the  United States to authorize equipment to its requirements. The
   authority designating these telecommunication certification bodies shall
   meet the following criteria.

   (1)  The  organization  accrediting  the prospective telecommunication
   certification  body  shall  be capable of meeting the requirements and
   conditions of ISO/IEC 17011:2004.

   (2) The organization assessing the telecommunication certification body
   shall appoint a team of qualified experts to perform the assessment covering
   all of the elements within the scope of accreditation. For assessment of
   telecommunications equipment, the areas of expertise to be used during the
   assessment  shall  include,  but  not  be  limited to, electromagnetic
   compatibility and telecommunications equipment (wired and wireless).

   (d) Incorporation by reference. (1) The materials listed in this section are
   incorporated by reference in this part. These incorporations by reference
   were approved by the Director of the Federal Register in accordance with 5
   U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. These materials are incorporated as they
   exist  on  the date of the approval, and notice of any change in these
   materials will be published in the Federal Register. All approved material
   is available for inspection at the Federal Communications Commission, 445
   12th St. SW., Reference Information Center, Room CY-A257, Washington, DC
   20554, (202) 418-0270 and is available from the sources below. It is also
   available for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration
   (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call
   (202) 741-6030, or go to:
   http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_loc
   ations.html.

   (2) International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), IEC Central Office, 3,
   rue    de    Varembe,   CH-1211   Geneva   20,   Switzerland,   Email:
   inmail@iec.ch,www.iec.ch or International Organization for Standardization
   (ISO), 1, ch. De la Voie-Creuse, CP 56, CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland;
   www.iso.org;  Tel.:  + 41 22 749 01 11; Fax: + 41 22 733 34 30; email:
   central@iso.org . (ISO publications can also be purchased from the American
   National   Standards  Institute  (ANSI)  through  its  NSSN  operation
   (www.nssn.org), at Customer Service, American National Standards Institute,
   25 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036, telephone (212) 642-4900.)

   (i) ISO/IEC 17011:2004(E), “Conformity assessment—General requirements for
   accreditation  bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies,” First
   Edition, 2004-09-01, IBR approved for § 68.160(c).

   (ii) ISO/IEC 17065:2012(E), “Conformity assessment—Requirements for bodies
   certifying products, processes and services,” First Edition, 2012-09-15.

   [ 64 FR 4997 , Feb. 2, 1999, as amended at  80 FR 33447 , Jun. 12, 2015]

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