How FCC, CE RED, and SRRC certification actually work for IoT modules made in China — costs, timelines, and the module shortcut that saves months.
Certifying an IoT module or wireless product is harder than certifying most electronics because you're not dealing with one regulator — you're dealing with three simultaneously. Here's how the actual process works, and how it fits into the broader electronics quality control framework for China manufacturing.
Why IoT certification is more complex than general electronics
A USB charger needs CE marking for Europe. A Bluetooth speaker needs FCC for the US. But an IoT module with a radio transmitter needs SRRC (China), FCC (US), and CE RED (EU) before it can legally be manufactured in China and sold in both markets. Each has different test labs, different paperwork, and different timelines. They don't coordinate with each other.
The complexity compounds if you're building the module into a host device — now you have the module's certification, your device's certification, and the interaction between the two.
SRRC — the one most foreign buyers don't know about
SRRC stands for State Radio Regulatory Commission, the Chinese authority that regulates radio frequency equipment. Any wireless product manufactured or sold in China requires SRRC approval, including products made in China exclusively for export.
This catches buyers off guard. Your factory in Shenzhen can't ship 5,000 LoRa modules without SRRC, even if every unit is destined for Germany.
SRRC approval covers the radio module itself — the specific chipset, antenna, and firmware combination. If you change any of these, you re-test. Timeline is typically 8–14 weeks from submission. Cost runs RMB 15,000–40,000 (roughly $2,100–$5,500) depending on the lab and frequency band. The certification is held by the entity that applied — factory or brand.
The practical implication: if you're sourcing a module from a Chinese manufacturer, confirm they already hold SRRC for that specific SKU before you place an order. If they don't, factor the timeline and cost into your production schedule. This came up directly in a project where a Japanese distributor was sourcing LoRa gateways — the factory held SRRC for their standard SKU but not for the modified antenna configuration the client needed, which added eight weeks to the schedule.
FCC — the US market path for intentional radiators
In the US, any device that intentionally emits radio frequency energy needs either FCC certification (for devices with their own radio) or a declaration of conformity. For IoT modules — Bluetooth, WiFi, LoRa, LTE-M — you're looking at FCC ID certification, the formal route through an accredited test lab.
Cost: $3,000–$15,000 depending on the number of frequency bands, test complexity, and whether you're using a US-based or China-based FCC-accredited lab. China-based labs (SGS Shenzhen, Intertek Guangzhou, Bureau Veritas) are typically 30–40% cheaper for the same test.
Timeline: 8–16 weeks from lab submission to grant. The FCC's internal queue adds 3–6 weeks on top of lab test time. If you're in a rush, some labs offer expedited service that cuts lab time to 2–3 weeks, but you can't accelerate the FCC queue.
The module shortcut: If you're building a product that uses an already-FCC-certified module — an Espressif ESP32, a u-blox SARA-R4, a Nordic nRF52840 — you don't need to certify the radio again. The module's FCC ID covers the radio. You only need to test that your host device doesn't degrade the module's RF performance (usually a Spurious Emissions test). This is called the "modular approval" path, and it can cut certification cost and time by 60–70%.
The trade-off: you're locked to that specific certified module SKU. If the manufacturer updates the firmware or antenna layout and the FCC ID changes, you need to re-verify.
CE RED — the EU Radio Equipment Directive
The EU's Radio Equipment Directive (RED, Directive 2014/53/EU) covers all radio products sold in Europe. It replaced the old R&TTE directive in 2017. For IoT modules, RED compliance requires demonstrating conformance to three essential requirements: safety (LVD), EMC, and radio spectrum efficiency.
Self-declaration vs. Notified Body: For most IoT modules using common standards (Bluetooth, WiFi, LoRa in standard bands), you can self-declare conformity using harmonized EN standards — this is the cheaper path. A Notified Body is only mandatory if the product doesn't use harmonized standards, or if it operates in frequency bands where harmonized standards don't exist yet.
Cost: $2,000–$8,000 for a typical IoT module, including lab testing, technical file preparation, and Declaration of Conformity documentation. If you go through a Notified Body, add $2,000–$5,000.
Timeline: 6–12 weeks. Lab testing typically takes 3–5 weeks; document preparation and CE marking take another 2–4 weeks.
One important detail: CE marking on its own doesn't mean the product is certified for every EU country. Some products also need UK CA marking (post-Brexit) and UKCA requires separate test reports from a UK-approved body, though currently the UK accepts CE test reports through a transitional arrangement.
TELEC and KC — brief coverage for completeness
If Japan is a target market, you need TELEC (Telecom Engineering Center) approval. Cost $1,500–$4,000, timeline 6–10 weeks. Japan is strict about radio interference — the testing is thorough.
For South Korea, KC (Korea Certification) is required. Cost $1,500–$3,500, timeline 6–8 weeks. KCC (Korea Communications Commission) manages the radio portion; KCSS (Korea Conformity Laboratories) runs the testing.
Neither is particularly difficult if you have a well-characterized module — the main issue is finding labs in China that are accredited for both. SGS and Intertek have programs.
Pre-certified module suppliers vs. custom modules
The certification landscape has created a clear market for pre-certified radio modules:
Espressif (ESP32, ESP8266): FCC, CE, SRRC certified on standard module variants. Probably the cheapest entry point for WiFi/BLE in a product. Multi-protocol modules (ESP32-C6 does WiFi 6 + BLE 5 + Zigbee/Thread) are certified as a unit.
u-blox (SARA, SARA-R4, NORA): Certified across FCC, CE, and usually 10+ additional markets. Expensive ($8–15 per module at volume) but saves significant certification work for products going to multiple markets simultaneously.
Nordic Semiconductor (nRF52840, nRF9160): Module versions (from Laird, u-blox, Actinius) are pre-certified. The raw SiP is not — you need a module partner.
Quectel (EC21, BG96, RM500Q): Cellular modules with broad carrier approvals. Pre-certified for FCC, CE, PTCRB. Commonly used in industrial IoT where LTE-M or NB-IoT is needed.
Custom module trade-off: Building a custom RF front-end (discrete antenna, custom PCB layout) gives you cost and form factor optimization at volume, but requires full certification from scratch. This makes sense at 50,000+ units/year where the per-unit certification amortization is below $0.10. At 5,000 units, pre-certified modules almost always win on total cost.
Who actually manages the certification process
In practice, certification work falls to one of three parties:
The factory: Chinese factories that produce radio products routinely have SRRC, and many maintain FCC/CE for their standard product lines. If you're doing a minor OEM variant (relabeling, changing enclosure, no RF changes), you can often ride their existing certifications. Ask explicitly: "Does this SKU already have FCC ID and CE RED technical file?"
A third-party certification consultancy: Companies like Eurofins, Intertek, and TÜV Rheinland offer end-to-end service — they manage lab testing, documentation, and submission on your behalf. Useful when you have a custom design and no internal compliance team. Adds 15–25% to total cost but removes the coordination burden.
You (the buyer): If you have a compliance engineer on staff, it's possible to manage the process directly with accredited labs. This is the cheapest option but requires someone who knows what EN 300 328 means.
For most IoT module sourcing projects we handle, the split is: SRRC owned by the factory, FCC/CE managed by a third-party lab we coordinate with, with costs passed through to the client at cost. If you need help scoping certification requirements for a specific module design, that's part of what we do in Sourcing & Supplier Matching — we identify which certifications exist, which need to be obtained, and how to sequence them against your production timeline.
The worst outcome is discovering a missing certification after production starts. It delays your launch by 10–16 weeks and costs more than doing it right the first time. For a real-world example, the Amazon seller IoT sensor case involved managing FCC and CE certification for a BLE sensor module alongside factory qualification — the module's existing FCC grant covered the radio layer, but the end product still required unintentional radiator testing.
For more on navigating the FCC authorization system, see the FCC certification wiki page.
