§ 2.962   Requirements for Telecommunication Certification Bodies.

   (a) Telecommunication certification bodies (TCBs) designated by 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 requirements of this
   section.

   (b) Certification methodology. (1) The certification system shall be
   based on type testing as identified in ISO/IEC 17065 (incorporated by
   reference, see § 2.910).

   (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 (incorporated by reference, see § 2.910)
   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 TCB shall be
   demonstrated by assessment. The general competence, efficiency,
   experience, familiarity with technical regulations and products covered
   by those technical regulations, as well as compliance with applicable
   parts of ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO/IEC 17065 shall be taken into
   consideration during assessment.

   (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 the specific methods
   that will be used to accredit TCBs, consistent with these qualification
   criteria.

   (7) A TCB shall be reassessed for continued accreditation on intervals
   not exceeding two years.

   (d) External resources. (1) In accordance with the provisions of
   ISO/IEC 17065 the evaluation of a product, or a portion thereof, may be
   performed by bodies that meet the applicable requirements of ISO/IEC
   17025 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 using internal TCB resources or external (outsourced)
   resources.

   (2) A 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 a TCB. (1)(i) The Commission will recognize as a TCB
   any organization in the United States that meets the qualification
   criteria and is accredited and designated by NIST or NIST's recognized
   accreditor as provided in § 2.960(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 MRA as provided in
   § 2.960(c).

   (2) The Commission will withdraw its recognition of a TCB if the TCB's
   designation or accreditation is withdrawn, if the Commission determines
   there is just cause for withdrawing the recognition, or if the TCB
   requests that it no longer hold its designation or 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 at least 60 days for the TCB to
   respond. In the case of a TCB designated and recognized pursuant to an
   bilateral or multilateral mutual recognition agreement or arrangement
   (MRA), 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 the
   Telecommunications Trade Act of 1988 (Section 1371-1382 of the Omnibus
   Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988).

   (3) The Commission will notify a TCB in writing when it has concerns or
   evidence that the TCB is not certifying equipment in accordance with
   the Commission's rules and policies and request that it explain and
   correct any apparent deficiencies. The Commission may require that all
   applications for the TCB be processed under the pre-approval guidance
   procedure in § 2.964 for at least 30 days, and will provide a TCB with
   30 days' notice of its intent to do so unless good cause exists for
   providing shorter notice. The Commission may request that a TCB's
   Designating Authority or accreditation body investigate and take
   appropriate corrective actions as required, and the Commission may
   initiate action to limit or withdraw the recognition of the TCB as
   described in § 2.962(e)(2).

   (4) If the Commission withdraws its recognition of a TCB, all
   certifications issued by that TCB will remain valid unless specifically
   set aside or revoked by the Commission under paragraph (f)(5) of this
   section.

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

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

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

   (3) A TCB may establish and assess fees for processing certification
   applications and other Commission-required tasks.

   (4) A TCB may only act on applications that it has received or which it
   has issued a grant of certification.

   (5) A TCB shall dismiss an application which is not in accordance with
   the provisions of this subpart or when the applicant requests
   dismissal, and may dismiss an application if the applicant does not
   submit additional information or test samples requested by the TCB.

   (6) Within 30 days of the date of grant of certification the Commission
   or TCB issuing the grant may set aside a grant of certification that
   does not comply with the requirements or upon the request of the
   applicant. A TCB shall notify the applicant and the Commission when a
   grant is set aside. After 30 days, the Commission may revoke a grant of
   certification through the procedures in § 2.939.

   (7) A TCB shall follow the procedures in § 2.964 of this part for
   equipment on the pre-approval guidance list.

   (8) A TCB shall supply an electronic copy of each certification
   application and all necessary exhibits to the Commission prior to grant
   or dismissal of the application. Where appropriate, the application
   must be accompanied by a request for confidentiality of any material
   that may qualify for confidential treatment under the Commission's
   rules.

   (9) A TCB shall grant or dismiss each certification application through
   the Commission's electronic filing system.

   (10) A TCB may not:

   (i) Grant a waiver of the rules;

   (ii) Take enforcement actions; or

   (iii) Authorize a transfer of control of a grantee.

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

   (g) Post-market surveillance requirements. (1) In accordance with
   ISO/IEC 17065 a TCB shall perform appropriate post-market surveillance
   activities. These activities shall be based on type testing a certain
   number of samples of the total number of product types which the
   certification body has certified.

   (2) The Chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) has
   delegated authority under § 0.241(g) of this chapter to develop
   procedures that TCBs will use for performing post-market surveillance.
   OET will publish a document on TCB post-market surveillance
   requirements, and this document will provide specific information such
   as the number and types of samples that a TCB must test.

   (3) OET 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) TCBs may request samples of equipment that they have certified
   directly from the grantee of certification in accordance with § 2.945.

   (5) If during post market surveillance of a certified product, a TCB
   determines that a product fails to comply with the technical
   regulations for that product, the TCB shall immediately notify the
   grantee and the Commission in writing of its findings. The grantee
   shall provide a report to the TCB describing the actions taken to
   correct the situation, and the TCB shall provide a report of these
   actions to the Commission within 30 days.

   (6) TCBs shall submit periodic reports to OET of their post-market
   surveillance activities and findings in the format and by the date
   specified by OET.

   [ 80 FR 33444 , June 12, 2015]

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