§ 68.162   Requirements for Telecommunication Certification Bodies.

   (a) Telecommunication certification bodies (TCBs) designated by the National
   Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), or designated by another
   authority  pursuant to an bilateral or multilateral mutual recognition
   agreement or arrangement to which the United States is a party, shall comply
   with the following requirements.

   (b) Certification methodology. (1) The certification system shall be based
   on type testing as identified in ISO/IEC 17065.

   (2)  Certification shall normally be based on testing no more than one
   unmodified  representative  sample  of  each  product  type  for which
   certification is sought. Additional samples may be requested if clearly
   warranted,  such  as  when certain tests are likely to render a sample
   inoperative.

   (c) Criteria for designation. (1) To be designated as a TCB under this
   section,  an  entity  shall,  by  means of accreditation, meet all the
   appropriate specifications in ISO/IEC 17065 for the scope of equipment it
   will certify. The accreditation shall specify the group of equipment to be
   certified and the applicable regulations for product evaluation.

   (2) The TCB shall demonstrate expert knowledge of the regulations for each
   product with respect to which the body seeks designation. Such expertise
   shall  include  familiarity with all applicable technical regulations,
   administrative provisions or requirements, as well as the policies and
   procedures used in the application thereof.

   (3) The TCB shall have the technical expertise and capability to test the
   equipment it will certify and shall also be accredited in accordance with
   ISO/IEC 17025 to demonstrate it is competent to perform such tests.

   (4) The TCB shall demonstrate an ability to recognize situations where
   interpretations of the regulations or test procedures may be necessary. The
   appropriate key certification and laboratory personnel shall demonstrate
   knowledge  of  how  to obtain current and correct technical regulation
   interpretations. The competence of the telecommunication certification body
   shall be demonstrated by assessment. The general competence, efficiency,
   experience, familiarity with technical regulations and products included in
   those technical regulations, as well as compliance with applicable parts of
   the ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO/IEC 17065 shall be taken into consideration.

   (5) A TCB shall participate in any consultative activities, identified by
   the  Commission  or  NIST,  to  facilitate  a common understanding and
   interpretation of applicable regulations.

   (6) The Commission will provide public notice of specific elements of these
   qualification criteria that will be used to accredit TCBs.

   (d) External resources. (1) In accordance with the provisions of ISO/IEC
   1706 the evaluation of a product, or a portion thereof, may be performed by
   bodies that meet the applicable requirements of ISO/IEC 1702 and ISO/IEC
   17065, in accordance with the applicable provisions of ISO/IEC 17065, for
   external resources (outsourcing) and other relevant standards. Evaluation is
   the selection of applicable requirements and the determination that those
   requirements are met. Evaluation may be performed by using internal TCB
   resources or external (outsourced) resources.

   (2) A recognized TCB shall not outsource review and certification decision
   activities.

   (3) When external resources are used to provide the evaluation function,
   including the testing of equipment subject to certification, the TCB shall
   be responsible for the evaluation and shall maintain appropriate oversight
   of the external resources used to ensure reliability of the evaluation. Such
   oversight shall include periodic audits of products that have been tested
   and other activities as required in ISO/IEC 17065 when a certification body
   uses external resources for evaluation.

   (e) Recognition of TCBs. (1)(i) The Commission will recognize as a TCB any
   organization that meets the qualification criteria and is accredited and
   designated by NIST or its recognized accreditor as provided in § 68.160(b).

   (ii) The Commission will recognize as a TCB any organization outside the
   United  States that meets the qualification criteria and is designated
   pursuant to an bilateral or multilateral Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA)
   as provided in § 68.160(c).

   (2) The Commission will withdraw the recognition of a TCB if the TCB's
   accreditation  or  designation by NIST or its recognized accreditor is
   withdrawn, if the Commission determines there is just cause for withdrawing
   the  recognition,  or  if  the TCB requests that it no longer hold the
   recognition. The Commission will limit the scope of equipment that can be
   certified by a TCB if its accreditor limits the scope of its accreditation
   or if the Commission determines there is good cause to do so. The Commission
   will notify a TCB in writing of its intention to withdraw or limit the scope
   of the TCB's recognition and provide a TCB with at least 60 day notice of
   its  intention to withdraw the recognition and provide the TCB with an
   opportunity to respond. In the case of a TCB designated and recognized
   pursuant to an bilateral or multilateral MRA, the Commission shall consult
   with the Office of United States Trade Representative (USTR), as necessary,
   concerning  any  disputes arising under an MRA for compliance with the
   Telecommunications Trade Act of 1988 (Section 1371-1382 of the Omnibus Trade
   and Competitiveness Act of 1988).

   (3)  The  Commission may request that a TCB's Designating Authority or
   accreditation body investigate and take appropriate corrective actions as
   required, when it has concerns or evidence that the TCB is not certifying
   equipment in accordance with Commission rules or ACTA requirements, and the
   Commission may initiate action to limit or withdraw the recognition of the
   TCB.

   (4) If the Commission withdraws the recognition of a TCB, all certifications
   issued by that TCB will remain valid unless specifically revoked by the
   Commission.

   (5) A list of recognized TCBs will be published by the Commission.

   (f) Scope of responsibility. (1) TCBs shall certify equipment in accordance
   with the Commission's rules and policies.

   (2)  A  TCB  shall  accept  test  data from any source, subject to the
   requirements in ISO/IEC 17065 and shall not unnecessarily repeat tests.

   (3)  TCBs  may  establish and assess fees for processing certification
   applications and other tasks as required by the Commission.

   (4) A TCB may rescind a grant of certification within 30 days of grant for
   administrative errors. After that time, a grant can only be revoked by the
   Commission. A TCB shall notify both the applicant and the Commission when a
   grant is rescinded.

   (5) A TCB may not:

   (i) Grant a waiver of Commission rules or technical criteria published by
   the Administrative Council, or certify equipment for which Commission rules
   or  requirements, or technical criteria do not exist, or for which the
   application of the rules or requirements, or technical criteria is unclear.

   (ii) Take enforcement actions.

   (6) All TCB actions are subject to Commission review.

   (g) Post-certification requirements. (1) A Telecommunications Certification
   Body shall supply a copy of each approved application form and grant of
   certification to the Administrative Council for Terminal Attachments.

   (2)  In  accordance  with  ISO/IEC  17065 a TCB is required to conduct
   appropriate surveillance activities. These activities shall be based on type
   testing  a  few samples of the total number of product types which the
   certification body has certified. Other types of surveillance activities of
   a product that has been certified are permitted provided they are no more
   onerous than testing type. The Commission may at any time request a list of
   products certified by the certification body and may request and receive
   copies of product evaluation reports. The Commission may also request that a
   TCB perform post-market surveillance, under Commission guidelines, of a
   specific product it has certified.

   (3) The Commission may request that a grantee of equipment certification
   submit  a  sample  directly  to  the  TCB  that performed the original
   certification  for  evaluation. Any equipment samples requested by the
   Commission and tested by a TCB will be counted toward the minimum number of
   samples that the TCB must test.

   (4)  A  TCBs may request samples of equipment that they have certified
   directly from the grantee of certification.

   (5)  If  during,  post-market  surveillance  of a certified product, a
   certification  body determines that a product fails to comply with the
   applicable technical regulations, the certification body shall immediately
   notify the grantee and the Commission. The TCB shall provide a follow-up
   report to the Commission within 30 days of reporting the non-compliance by
   the grantee to describe the resolution or plan to resolve the situation.

   (6) Where concerns arise, the TCB shall provide a copy of the application
   file to the Commission within 30 calendar days of a request for the file
   made by the Commission to the TCB and the manufacturer. Where appropriate,
   the file should be accompanied by a request for confidentiality for any
   material that may qualify for confidential treatment under the Commission's
   rules. If the application file is not provided within 30 calendar days, a
   statement  shall  be provided to the Commission as to why it cannot be
   provided.

   (h) In the case of a dispute with respect to designation or recognition of a
   TCB and the testing or certification of products by a TCB, the Commission
   will  be  the final arbiter. Manufacturers and recognized TCBs will be
   afforded at least 60 days to comment before a decision is reached. In the
   case of a TCB designated or recognized, or a product certified pursuant to
   an bilateral or multilateral mutual recognition agreement or arrangement
   (MRA) to which the United States is a party, the Commission may limit or
   withdraw its recognition of a TCB designated by an MRA party and revoke the
   Certification of products using testing or certification provided by such a
   TCB. The Commission shall consult with the Office of the United States Trade
   Representative (USTR), as necessary, concerning any disputes arising under
   an MRA for compliance with under the Telecommunications Trade Act of 1988.

   (i) Incorporation by reference: 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.

   (1) 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 17025:2005(E), “General requirements for the competence of
   testing and calibration laboratories,” Second Edition, 2005-05-15.

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

   (2) [Reserved]

   [ 64 FR 4998 , Feb. 2, 1999, as amended at  66 FR 27601 , May 18, 2001;  67 FR 57182 , Sept. 9, 2002;  80 FR 33448 , Jun. 12, 2015]

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Subpart C—Terminal Equipment Approval Procedures

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