§  2.960   Recognition of Telecommunication Certification Bodies (TCBs).

   (a) The Commission may recognize Telecommunication Certification Bodies
   (TCBs) which have been designated according to requirements of
   paragraph (b) or (c) of this section to issue grants of certification
   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 review the application to determine compliance with
   the Commission's requirements and shall issue a grant of equipment
   certification in accordance with § 2.911.

   (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 (incorporated by
   reference, see § 2.910) 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 § 2.962 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 (incorporated by reference, see § 2.910).

   (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).

   [ 64 FR 4995 , Feb. 2, 1999, as amended at  80 FR 33444 , June 12, 2015]