This is the third step in the FCC's Equipment Authorization Integrity proceeding (ET Docket No. 24-136), commonly called the "bad labs" rulemaking. The May 2025 First Report and Order barred labs and TCBs owned or controlled by foreign adversaries, and the FCC reports that 29 labs lost recognition on those grounds. The April 2026 Second Report and Order (FCC 26-28) created a fast-track pre-approval lane for applications tested in U.S. and MRA-country labs. The Third Report and Order, adopted 3–0 at the 29 October 2026 open meeting, replaces ownership as the test with location: where the work is done now decides whether the FCC will accept it.
What did the FCC adopt on 29 October 2026?
- Recognition of test labs, Telecommunication Certification Bodies (TCBs), and laboratory accreditation bodies is limited to entities located in the U.S. or a reciprocal economy.
- Recognized labs, TCBs, and accreditation bodies may not perform covered activities for FCC equipment authorization (test setup, measurements, and test-report approval) in a non-reciprocal economy, even if they are headquartered in the U.S. or a reciprocal economy.
- Narrow carve-outs cover manufacturing, maintenance, and calibration; ministerial back-office functions; wholly segregated global operations; and testing performed for other countries' authorization regimes.
- The FCC declined to adopt lab-specific waivers, product-risk tiers, or a distinction between initial and surveillance testing, and did not adopt an ownership-based ban in this order.
When does the 2028 cutoff apply, and what is grandfathered?
Labs in non-reciprocal economies stay recognized through the transition, but those recognitions terminate on 1 December 2028, whenever they were issued. Applications received on or after 1 December 2028 must rely on testing performed in the U.S. or a reciprocal economy. Certifications granted, and applications received, before that date are not affected. A test report produced today in a non-reciprocal-economy lab is therefore only useful for an application that reaches the TCB before the cutoff.
Who counts as a reciprocal economy?
A reciprocal economy is a country or territory with a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) or a comparable government-to-government reciprocal agreement on equipment authorization with the U.S. The FCC directed its Office of Engineering and Technology to publish and maintain the list. Reporting on the draft order named Taiwan as a reciprocal economy. Mainland China is not one, and the FCC's own figures show how large the shift is: fewer than 4% of devices are tested in U.S. labs, and Chairman Carr's statement put China's share of authorization testing at about 82%.
What is still open in the Further Notice?
- Whether equipment authorized under the Supplier's Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) path must be tested at FCC-recognized or accredited labs. This would pull many unintentional radiators into the same lab-location rules.
- Legal Entity Identifiers for labs, TCBs, and accreditation bodies.
- Extending recognition bans to entities owned or controlled from non-reciprocal economies.
- Stronger post-market surveillance, expanding test capacity in the U.S. and reciprocal economies, and a modernized equipment authorization database.
- Comments are due 30 days after Federal Register publication, with replies due 60 days after.
What should manufacturers do before December 2028?
- Inventory every product that will need an FCC certification filing on or after 1 December 2028, including refreshes, new SKUs, and Class II permissive changes.
- Map where each product is tested today: the lab's location and where test setup, measurements, and report approval actually happen.
- Check those locations against OET's reciprocal-economy list. Do not assume a global lab brand qualifies; the rule turns on where the work is performed.
- Book capacity early. Shifting roughly five of every six RF devices into U.S. and reciprocal-economy labs will compress schedules as the cutoff approaches, and lower-cost offshore testing will no longer be an option.
- Watch the SDoC question in the Further Notice. If it is adopted, unintentional radiators sold on SDoC will need the same planning.
How can CTS help with the transition?
The practical move is to partner with a U.S. lab for wireless certification testing well before the 1 December 2028 cutoff, rather than competing for capacity in late 2028. Compliance Test Services is an independent EMC and RF lab in Saratoga Springs, Utah, with a 3m semi-anechoic chamber; our ISO 17025 accreditation reinstatement is pending following an operator transition. We can help today with transition planning, test plans, pre-compliance scans, and coordinating FCC certification with U.S.-based testing. Contact CTS at compliancetestservices.com/contact/ to map your product roadmap against the 2028 deadline.