Two countries allows Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) to fulfil product certification requirements: United States and Canada. Let’s inform the SDoC requirements for each country on this post.
For United States
The regulation agency for United States is FCC. FCC has two different approval procedures for equipment authorization:
Certification
Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity (SDoC)
The required procedure depends on the type of equipment being authorized as specified in the applicable rule part.
FCC’s Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) is a procedure that requires the party responsible for compliance ensure that the equipment complies with the appropriate technical standards. The responsible party, who must be located in the United States, is not required to file an equipment authorization application with the Commission or a TCB. Equipment authorized under the SDoC procedure is not listed in a Commission database. However, the responsible party or any other party marketing the equipment must provide a test report and other information demonstrating compliance with the rules upon request by the Commission. The responsible party has the option to use the certification procedure in place of the SDoC procedure.
Test Laboratory requirements for FCC SDoC
For equipment authorized using the SDoC procedure, it is not necessary to perform the testing at an FCC recognized accredited testing laboratory (although the responsible party may use an accredited testing laboratory if it wishes to do so). The testing laboratory that is used must maintain a description of the test facility, as required by Section 2.948(b), which are listed below. The description of the test facility does not need to be submitted to the FCC, unless requested. Test reports must be signed by a representative of the responsible party with the authority to act on behalf of the responsible party. It is not necessary for the representative that signs the test report to be located in the United States.
(b) A laboratory that makes measurements of equipment subject to an equipment authorization under the certification procedure or Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity shall compile a description of the measurement facilities employed.
(1) The description of the measurement facilities shall contain the following information:
(i) Location of the test site.
(ii) Physical description of the test site accompanied by photographs that clearly show the details of the test site.
(iii) A drawing showing the dimensions of the site, physical layout of all supporting structures, and all structures within 5 times the distance between the measuring antenna and the device being measured.
(iv) Description of structures used to support the device being measured and the test instrumentation.
(v) List of measuring equipment used.
(vi) Information concerning the calibration of the measuring equipment, i.e., the date the equipment was last calibrated and how often the equipment is calibrated.
(vii) For a measurement facility that will be used for testing radiated emissions, a plot of site attenuation data taken pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section.
(2) The description of the measurement facilities shall be provided to a laboratory accreditation body upon request.
(3) The description of the measurement facilities shall be retained by the party responsible for authorization of the equipment and provided to the Commission upon request.
(i) The party responsible for authorization of the equipment may rely upon the description of the measurement facilities retained by an independent laboratory that performed the tests. In this situation, the party responsible for authorization of the equipment is not required to retain a duplicate copy of the description of the measurement facilities.
(ii) No specific site calibration data is required for equipment that is authorized for compliance based on measurements performed at the installation site of the equipment. The description of the measurement facilities may be retained at the site at which the measurements were performed.
For Canada
Innovation, Science And Economic Development (ISED) of Canada is regulatory body for electronic products within Canada. As ISED defines ‘The Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) is the conformity assessment scheme used for Category II radio, broadcasting, and interference-causing equipment. The responsible party tests the Category II equipment and ensures that it meets the appropriate technical standards. The responsible party also labels the equipment and fulfils any other administrative requirements as required by the standards (e.g. user manual notices, test report retention). Equipment testing does not have to be performed by a recognized ISED testing laboratory.‘
Category II equipment is exempt from certification and registration. The label placed on each unit of the interference-causing equipment model, according to the applicable ICES standard, represents the manufacturer’s or the importer’s SDoC with ISED requirements.
The “supplier” in the “SDoC” is usually the manufacturer or the importer. However, all persons or entities involved in one of the activities listed in article 4 of the Radiocommunication Act are responsible under the Act for ensuring the specific interference-causing equipment is compliant with the applicable ISED standards.
If your product is a Category II equipment and under the scope one of these ISED standards, you can apply SDoC:
Category II Equipment Standards List
ICES-Gen — General Requirements for Compliance of Interference-Causing Equipment
ICES-001 — Industrial, Scientific and Medical Radio Frequency Generators
ICES-002 — Vehicles, Boats and Other Devices Propelled by an Internal Combustion Engine, Electrical Means or Both
ICES-003 — Information Technology Equipment (ITE) – Limits and methods of measurement
ICES-004 — Alternating Current High Voltage Power Systems
ICES-005 — Lighting Equipment
ICES-006 — AC Wire Carrier Current Devices (Unintentional Radiators)
ICES-008 — Cable Distribution Networks
RSS-Gen — General Requirements and Information for the Certification of Radiocommunication Equipment
RSS-102 — Radio Frequency Exposure Compliance of Radiocommunication Apparatus (All Frequency Bands)
RSS-216 — Wireless Power Transfer Devices (Wireless Chargers)
RSS-310 — Licence-Exempt Radio Apparatus
BETS-3 — Technical Standards and Requirements for Radio Apparatus that Form Part of a Master Antenna Television (MATV) Broadcasting Undertaking
BETS-7 — Technical Standards and Requirements for Radio Apparatus Capable of Receiving Television Broadcasting
ISED’s Interference-Causing Equipment Standard (ICES-Gen — General Requirements for Compliance of Interference-Causing Equipment) lists the requirements of the test report contents:
The test report shall include the following:
- identification of the applicable ICES standard(s), including the issue number and publication date
- the date when the test report was issued
- identification of the manufacturer of the equipment under test (EUT) and of the test laboratory
- identification of the EUT, including the model number, marketing name, brand name, and unit serial number as used for each applicable test case
- description of the EUT and its configuration, operation, and arrangement for each specific test case, as applicable
- a record of the tests and results, including engineering analyses (if applicable), demonstrating compliance with the requirements in the applicable ICES standard. The test report shall indicate the date each test was performed
- where applicable, the test report shall clearly identify which Class of limits (Class A or Class B) was used to demonstrate compliance of the equipment
- where the applicable ICES standard allows the use of alternative options (e.g. test methods), the test report shall clearly indicate which option was used for measurements for each test case
- a list of the test equipment used for each test case, including manufacturer or brand name, model number, serial number, and calibration due date
- Identification (e.g. address) and short description of the test site used for radiated emissions, including information on site validation
- the calculated measurement instrumentation uncertainty for each test case, as applicable
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