For inventors and first-time founders
Before your product can be sold in the US, it has to pass FCC testing, and often safety and battery tests too. We design it to pass, scan it in our own lab before the paid test, then manage the accredited lab and hand you the paperwork Amazon and retailers accept.
Start here
Answer six questions. You get a plain-English list of what usually applies to a product like yours.
Your starting list 8 items
This is a starting list, not legal advice. Your free checklist review confirms it for your product.
Get my free certification checklist reviewCost and time
Most of the cost is lab time, and it depends on what your product contains. Here are published US lab estimates.
Your price
Published US lab estimates, checked November 2026. A failed test can cost 50 to 100% of the fee again, which is why we scan before the lab. Your checklist review includes a cost range for your product.
Get my free certification checklist reviewFCC rules
Products without a transmitter are tested by a lab, then you declare they comply.
Products that transmit need an FCC ID, granted after lab tests and a review.
The FCC ID goes on the product, or on screen within three steps of settings.
You can take pre-orders with a clear notice, but can't ship until the grant.
Under 47 CFR 2.803, pre-order pages and packaging must say the device "cannot be delivered to end users, displayed, or operated until the device receives certification from the FCC". Keep the records for five years. Since 7 Aug 2025, equipment from companies on the FCC's Covered List can't use SDoC and must be certified.
The module shortcut
A pre-certified Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or cellular module already holds its own FCC ID. Using one is often the cheapest, fastest way to market. It is not the end of testing.
Most of the radio testing, and the cost of certifying your own transmitter.
The whole product still needs the FCC 15B emissions test with the module running.
Change the antenna or the layout around it and you may need new radio tests.
"My module is certified, so my product is certified." It isn't. The FCC requires the product maker to show the whole product complies with the module installed.
Safety and batteries
For most consumer electronics, no federal law requires a UL mark. In practice you'll still need one: retailers, insurers and building inspectors expect a listing from a recognized safety lab, and workplace equipment must have it under OSHA rules.
UL, ETL or CSA tests your product to the safety standard, often UL 62368-1.
Every lithium battery type must pass it to ship, and summaries don't expire.
Since 2024, a secure battery door and warning labels are required by law.
UL 2054 and IEC 62133-2 are battery safety standards that retailers often ask for on top of UN 38.3. Reese's Law (16 CFR 1263) applies to any consumer product with a coin or button cell made or imported since 23 Oct 2023, with package warnings since 21 Sep 2024.
Designed to pass
Industry labs commonly report that around half of products fail their first formal EMC test. Most failures trace back to a few design decisions made long before the lab.
We scan every board revision in our own pre-compliance setup, so problems show up on our bench, not on the lab's clock.
Switching regulators placed and filtered so they don't radiate noise.
Edge rates and routing tuned so clock harmonics stay below the limits.
Filters at every port, so cables don't act as antennas.
Solid ground planes and short return paths on every layer.
Seams, vents and coatings that keep emissions in and static out.
Protection at every button, screen and port people touch.
Layout and power design: PCB design. Wireless and security basics: Embedded firmware.
The lab
An accredited lab or FCC-recognized certification body issues your results. We pick the right one, book the slot early, write the test plan with you and stay on the call when your product is tested.
A lab recognized by the FCC and, for safety, by OSHA for your standard.
Lab queues run weeks, so we reserve your slot while the design is finished.
Since 2025, FCC rules bar labs owned by certain foreign entities.
The FCC is also considering ending recognition of mainland-China test labs from December 2028, according to a draft order reported in October 2026. We use labs that won't leave you exposed.
If a test fails
A failed test isn't the end, but paying for the same test twice hurts. Here is how we handle it.
We find exactly which frequency failed and which part of the design causes it.
We change the board or enclosure and re-scan in house until it clearly passes.
We book the retest only when our own scan shows a clear margin to the limit.
A hidden trigger: swapping a part for a cheaper or in-stock one can break compliance, even on the same circuit. We re-scan after every part change.
Amazon and retail
Your FCC ID, or SDoC details, entered in the listing's FCC compliance field.
A UN 38.3 test summary for every listing with a lithium battery.
Test reports where reports are asked for, not a declaration in their place.
Sellers often get stuck sending the wrong document again and again. We hand you a clean pack: test reports, certificates, the SDoC, the UN 38.3 summary and labels, named the way reviewers expect.
Selling abroad
CE marking under the radio or EMC rules, plus an EU contact since December 2024.
CE is still accepted with no end date, plus a UK address and PSTI security.
ISED radio certification, which can reuse your FCC test data to save time.
Plan for two EU dates: the radio cybersecurity rules (EN 18031) apply until 11 Dec 2027, when the Cyber Resilience Act takes over, and built-in batteries must be user-replaceable from 18 Feb 2027.
Status, November 2026
The Cyber Trust Mark is a voluntary FCC security label for connected products. ioXt Alliance has run it since April 2026, and products can't apply yet; the FCC hopes labeled products reach shoppers within a year. We build the security basics in now, such as unique passwords and safe updates, so your product is ready when it opens. They also satisfy the UK PSTI law.
How it works
FAQ
Published US lab estimates put a product without a radio at about $3,000 to $5,000, a product with a pre-certified module at about $6,500 to $10,000, and a product with its own Bluetooth or Wi-Fi radio at about $9,000 to $12,000. A failed test can cost much of that again. Your free checklist review includes a range for your product.
Lab testing typically takes 4 to 6 weeks, and the grant adds about 1 to 3 weeks after testing. Booking the lab early and pre-scanning first are the two biggest time savers.
SDoC (Supplier's Declaration of Conformity) is for products that don't transmit: a lab tests the product and you declare it complies. Certification is for products with a radio: a lab tests it and an FCC-recognized body grants an FCC ID.
The module's FCC ID covers its radio, but your finished product still needs the FCC Part 15B emissions test with the module running, and you must use it within its grant conditions, such as the approved antenna.
No federal law requires a UL mark on most consumer electronics. Retailers, insurers and inspectors usually expect a safety listing from a recognized lab such as UL, ETL or CSA, and workplace equipment needs one under OSHA rules.
Yes, with conditions. FCC rules allow pre-orders if your page and packaging clearly say the device can't be delivered or operated until it receives FCC certification. You can't ship to backers until the grant arrives.
We read the lab report, find the cause, fix and re-scan on our own bench, and book one retest only when the product clearly passes. Retests can cost 50 to 100% of the original fee, so a clear margin first matters.
For wireless products, an FCC ID or SDoC details in the listing's FCC compliance field. For lithium batteries, a UN 38.3 test summary. Upload the document type Amazon asks for; sending a declaration instead of a test report is a common reason for rejection.
Yes. Every lithium cell or battery type must pass UN 38.3 to be shipped, and the maker must provide a test summary. Summaries don't expire unless the battery design changes.
Free checklist review
Tell us about your product. Within two business days you get a written list of the certifications it needs, a first cost and time range, and the design risks we'd check first. No obligation, under NDA.
Share as much or as little as you like. An engineer reads every enquiry and replies within one business day, under NDA before you share details.