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ftp.fcc.gov                                                 PUBLIC NOTICE
                                                                         
                                        Federal Communications Commission
                                                         1919 M St., N.W.
                                                   Washington, D.C. 20554
                                                                         
                                                     DA 98-1132
                                             Released:  June 15, 1998
                                                               
                                                                 
       FCC ACCEPTS ACCREDITATION OF EUROPEAN LABORATORIES
             FOR DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY TESTING

As a result of the US-EU Mutual Recognition Agreement, accredited European test laboratories
may now perform Declaration of Conformity testing.

The Commission's equipment authorization rules allow manufacturers to self-approve certain
equipment, such as personal computers and peripherals, through the Declaration of Conformity
(DoC) procedure.  Under the DoC procedure, equipment compliance testing must be performed at
an accredited laboratory.  The laboratory performing the compliance tests must be accredited by
either the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) or the National Voluntary
Laboratory Accreditation Program (NIST/NVLAP) in order for the manufacturer to declare
compliance.  An accredited laboratory located outside of the United States may use the procedure,
provided it meets at least one of the following conditions in Section 2.948(d) of the FCC Rules: 1)
There is a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between that country and the United States and
that laboratory is covered by the agreement;  2) there is an agreement between accrediting bodies
that permits similar accreditation of U.S. facilities to perform testing for products marketed in that
country; or 3) the country already accepts the accreditation of U.S. laboratories.  We have
recognized the accreditation of laboratories in many countries, including Canada, Japan, New
Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan.  We have not previously recognized the accreditation of
laboratories in Europe.   

The United States has been involved in negotiations for several years with the European Union
(EU) on a Mutual Recognition Agreement for product approvals.  The agreement covers six
industrial sectors, including electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and telecommunications
equipment.  On May 18, 1998, this agreement was signed in London.   Accordingly, European
laboratories from the fifteen EU member states are now eligible to perform DoC testing under
Section 2.948(d) of the FCC rules. The EU member states that are a party to this agreement are: 
Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands,
Austria, Portugal, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.  A European Laboratory may begin
testing equipment under the DoC procedure, provided the Laboratory has been accredited and
deemed competent to perform tests to the applicable FCC requirements by A2LA, NVLAP or a EU
Designated Accrediting Body.

Questions concerning this notice may be addressed to Art Wall at (301) 725-1585, ext. 205, fax:
(301) 344-2050, email: awall@fcc.gov.

By the Chief, Office of Engineering and Technology