FCC ID and FCC equipment authorization for radios

What is FCC equipment authorization?

It is the Federal Communications Commission's approval of a device that sends radio waves. The FCC or a recognized certification body issues it after reviewing the maker's test data, and it covers every identical unit the maker builds. No grant means the radio cannot be marketed in the U.S.12

There are two paths. Certification is the one radios use. Supplier's Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) lets the maker test and declare compliance without an FCC filing, and it mostly serves devices that do not intentionally transmit.12 Operating licenses are a separate matter: see the two-way radio licensing guide.

Which radios need FCC certification?

Every transmitter sold to non-federal users needs a grant. That includes FRS and GMRS handhelds under Part 95, business radios under Part 90, and the cellular radio inside a PoC phone under Parts 22, 24 and 27. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in the same device are certified under Part 15.3456789

A radio that can transmit only on amateur frequencies needs no equipment authorization, though its operator needs an amateur license. A radio that can also transmit outside the amateur bands needs a grant.23 Details on the services themselves are in FRS and GMRS.

Who issues the grant? Telecommunication Certification Bodies

Telecommunication Certification Bodies (TCBs) are private organizations recognized by the FCC to issue grants. A TCB must be accredited to ISO/IEC 17065 and the test labs to ISO/IEC 17025. The maker picks a TCB, sends test reports and receives the grant.101

Since September 8, 2025, under the FCC integrity rule, TCBs, test labs and accreditation bodies must certify that a "prohibited entity" does not own or control them, and they report equity interests of 5 percent or more. The FCC does not recognize those that fail the test.11 A Chinese maker can still certify a radio through a recognized TCB. Testing at a lab owned or controlled by a prohibited entity is barred.11

What does an FCC ID look like?

An FCC ID has two parts in a fixed order: the grantee code the FCC assigns to the company, then the product code the company chooses. The grantee code is the first three or five characters. The product code is the rest.1213

Example of the structure: in an ID such as ABC-RADIO1, ABC stands for the company and RADIO1 for the product. The label must read "FCC ID" followed by the identifier, readable without magnification.14

How do you look up an FCC ID?

Search the FCC's equipment authorization database with the grantee code, the product code or the company name. The grant page shows the frequency range, the power, the test reports and the grant date. That is enough to check who made a radio and which bands it may use.13

1. Find the FCC ID on the radio's label, in its electronic menu, or on the packaging.
2. Open the FCC ID search page and enter the grantee code first, then the product code.13
3. Open the grant and read the frequency range and the rule part. A PoC radio should list cellular parts (22, 24 or 27) and Part 15 for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. An FRS radio should list Part 95.
4. Compare the company name on the grant with the brand on the box.
5. Open the test reports for the bands and output power tested, and check the grant date against the model's release.
6. Check that the grant covers what the listing advertises. A listing that claims LTE bands or GMRS channels needs a grant for them.

Where must the FCC ID appear? Labels and e-labels

The FCC ID goes on a permanent label. A device with a display can show it electronically, reachable within three steps of the settings menu with no special codes. The packaging or the device must still carry the ID, or a model number plus a web page, for identification at import and sale.1415

In practice a small handheld without a screen needs a physical label, and many PoC handhelds with a screen can use the e-label.

What are the FCC marketing rules?

"Marketing" means sale, lease, offer, advertising, importation, shipment or distribution for those purposes. Under 47 CFR 2.803 a device cannot be marketed without a valid authorization. A marketplace listing counts when it comes with warehousing, order processing or fulfillment, even if a third party sells.16

Narrow exceptions exist: market trials, conditional sales with prominent disclosure and no delivery before certification, trade-show display with a "not authorized" notice, and evaluation kits sold only to developers and integrators.16

What are the import rules for radios?

The importer, the ultimate consignee or the customs broker must show that a device meets one of the entry conditions in 47 CFR 2.1204. The usual one is a valid authorization. Proof is kept for one year and handed over on request. Failure can mean refused entry, redelivery and civil or criminal remedies.17

The FCC may examine or test an imported device. Later owners must make it available on request within one year of entry.17 A limited quantity, up to 4,000 units, may enter for testing and evaluation, not for sale.17

What is the FCC Covered List?

The Covered List names communications equipment and services that the FCC and other agencies treat as national security risks. The FCC may not grant new authorizations for listed equipment. The first list, dated March 12, 2021, named Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua.1920

Later entries include Kaspersky software (2022, 2024), foreign-produced routers (March 23, 2026) and foreign-produced drones, power inverters and robotic devices.19 Subsidiaries and affiliates are included. For radios, the entries to watch are Hytera, and Huawei and ZTE for LTE equipment.

Is Hytera banned in the United States?

Hytera is on the Covered List since March 12, 2021, but only for its video surveillance and telecommunications equipment "to the extent it is used" for public safety, security of government facilities, surveillance of critical infrastructure and other national security purposes.19 Radios you already own stay legal to use.22

Hytera's position, recorded in the FCC notice of June 26, 2026, is that its land mobile and digital mobile radios are not "video surveillance and telecommunications equipment" and so are not covered. The FCC did not rule on that point in the notice. For brand details see Hytera.22

Three FCC actions shape the picture.

• FCC 22-84 (effective February 6, 2023): no new authorizations for covered equipment. For Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua the FCC said it would grant only conditional authorizations, after the Commission approves a plan that keeps the equipment out of the prohibited uses. As of June 26, 2026 the notice says the Commission had not approved any such plan.2022
• FCC 25-71 (effective December 26, 2025): the FCC can limit an existing authorization so that importing and marketing stop, without revoking the grant. It also covers modular transmitters and devices that contain covered modules.21
• DA 26-635 (effective July 16, 2026): importing and marketing of previously authorized covered equipment added to the list in 2024 or earlier is prohibited. For use-based entries such as Hytera, it applies to equipment used for the named purposes. The notice states that it does not affect continued use or operation.22

What did FCC 26-50 change in 2026?

FCC 26-50, effective October 13, 2026, closes the component-part route: a device with logic-bearing hardware made by a Covered List producer can be refused. A change by a Covered List producer needs full certification. It also gives a new definition of critical infrastructure.18

The rule also reaches online marketplaces. A marketplace that sells its own goods or holds the stock must show a valid FCC ID on listings from March 1, 2027. A marketplace that only sells for third parties, without holding the goods, must do so from June 1, 2027.1816 Exclusions cover unchanged listings from before the rule, non-high-volume sellers and used devices.18

What does it mean for radios you already own?

You may keep using a radio that was legally bought and carries an existing authorization. The July 2026 notice says the ban does not affect continued use or operation. What stops is importing and marketing of covered equipment for the prohibited purposes, and the FCC rejected Hytera's request to exempt spare parts, updates and replacements.22

For an organization this means a fleet of owned Hytera radios can stay in service. New purchases for public safety, government or critical-infrastructure work should be checked with the dealer first.

What is the US Cyber Trust Mark?

The Cyber Trust Mark is a voluntary FCC label for wireless consumer IoT products, a logo with a QR code that links to a registry. The rules took effect on August 29, 2024. Products cannot carry the mark yet, because the FCC is still standing up the program.2526

The ioXt Alliance became Lead Administrator on April 13, 2026, and the window for label administrator applications opened on August 11, 2026.26 The program excludes products primarily used for manufacturing, industrial control or enterprise applications, smartphones, routers, and equipment from Covered List producers.26 In practice, a PoC handset sold to businesses fits the enterprise-application exclusion.

What does the FCC say about imported radios that transmit outside their bands?

Enforcement Advisory DA 18-980 (September 24, 2018) tells sellers not to import, advertise or sell low-cost VHF/UHF radios without FCC authorization, and tells owners of such radios not to use them. Radios covering 136–143, 400–419 or 451–520 MHz are outside the amateur bands and need a grant.23

The advisory also expects a certified radio to be labeled and not easily modified to operate outside its grant. It cites the Baofengradio.US citation of August 1, 2018.23

The amounts are adjusted for inflation each January.2324

FCC timeline: 2018 to 2027

The dates below follow the FCC orders, the Federal Register and the Covered List. Most of them fall between 2021 and 2027. The 2026 entries matter most for radio makers and sellers, because they cover imports of covered equipment and the FCC ID on online listings.

Check the current text on fcc.gov and the Federal Register, because later notices can move these dates.

What does it mean for radio makers, including Chinese makers?

A maker needs certification through a recognized TCB before any U.S. sale, a grantee code and test data under the right rule part.1012 Makers not on the Covered List certify like anyone else. Each brand's grant status is visible in the FCC ID database.

A Covered List producer cannot get new grants, and any change it makes needs full certification. A third party cannot get a clean grant by building around a covered module or a logic-bearing covered component.2118

What does it mean for importers and Amazon sellers?

Before shipping, confirm a valid grant that covers the radio's bands and services, keep proof for one year, and list the correct FCC ID. From March 1, 2027 and June 1, 2027 marketplaces must show a valid FCC ID on listings, and fulfillment services count as marketing.161718

Selling radios that cover non-amateur bands without a grant falls under DA 18-980 and the penalties in the table above.23

What does it mean for U.S. companies buying radios?

Check each model's FCC ID before you buy and read the grant for the bands and rule parts you need. A business VHF or UHF radio also needs a Part 90 license. Hytera fleets you own stay in service. For new public safety or government purchases, ask the dealer about current grants.22

PoC handsets already carry FCC grants for their cellular radios. Carrier and FirstNet certifications are commercial program gates, not FCC rules.

What does it mean for consumers?

Look for the FCC ID on the radio's label or in its electronic menu, and look it up. Use an FRS, GMRS, MURS or CB radio only as certified. A radio able to transmit outside its authorized bands is not legal to use.23 See FRS and GMRS for the services.

Questions

Sources

1. 47 CFR 2.907: Certification · eCFR, FCC
2. 47 CFR 2.906: Supplier's Declaration of Conformity · eCFR, FCC
3. 47 CFR 15.201: Equipment authorization requirement · eCFR, FCC
4. 47 CFR 95.1761: GMRS equipment authorization · eCFR, FCC
5. 47 CFR 95.561: FRS equipment authorization · eCFR, FCC
6. 47 CFR 90.203: Certification required · eCFR, FCC
7. 47 CFR 24.51: Equipment authorization (broadband PCS) · eCFR, FCC
8. 47 CFR 27.51: Equipment authorization · eCFR, FCC
9. 47 CFR 22.377: Certification of transmitters · eCFR, FCC
10. 47 CFR 2.960: Recognition of TCBs · eCFR, FCC