Wireless equipment must be certified for two reasons:
- to demonstrate compliance with applicable standards to minimize the potential for harmful interference
- to ensure that the equipment complies with the rules that address other policy objectives, such as human radio frequency exposure limits
Before wireless equipment can be imported, distributed or offered for sale in Canada, a technical acceptance certificate must be issued for it, and it must be listed in the Radio Equipment List (REL).
For more information, visit the Certification and Engineering Bureau website.
On this page:
Technical acceptance certificates and the Radio Equipment List
Together, a technical acceptance certificate (TAC) issued to radio equipment and the listing of that equipment on the Radio Equipment List confirm that the equipment complies with applicable Canadian standards.
Who can hold a technical acceptance certificate?
Manufacturers, distributors, retailers and individuals can all hold a TAC, provided they can submit a complete technical brief as per Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) requirements.
See RSP-100 — Certification of Radio Apparatus and Broadcasting Equipment and RSS-Gen — General Requirements for Compliance of Radio Apparatus for more information.
Your obligations
Holding a TAC means having certain rights and privileges regarding this certificate. It also means you have certain obligations. ISED's Certification and Engineering Bureau performs regular audits or market surveillance of equipment offered for sale to verify that the equipment complies with ISED's technical standards and that it is properly certified and/or registered.
For more information, see: Equipment market surveillance
For general compliance obligations, see: Compliance information for licence and certificate holders
Fees
There are fees applicable for the certification and registration of equipment and for amending a certification/registration.
For more information, see: TRC-49 — Telecommunications and Radio Equipment Service Fees of the Certification and Engineering Bureau
Document hub
Consult our Official publications page for additional information on wireless equipment certification.