The FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) has expanded the accreditation authority of two leading testing laboratory accreditation schemes.
In separate communications issued in late March, OET Chief Julius Knapp granted 2016 requests from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) and the National Voluntary Accreditation Program (NVLAP). The A2LA and NVLAP petitions sought permission to expand the scope of their respective accreditation authority to include testing laboratories located in those countries that are not current signatories to a mutual recognition agreement (MRA) with the U.S.
In granting the expanded accreditation authority, the OET’s Knapp noted the Commission’s lengthy and positive experience in working with the NVLAP and the A2LA, as well as each organization’s demonstrated expertise in assessing the technical and administrative competence of the testing laboratories they evaluate.
The NIST NVLAP program and the A2LA’s accreditation program were originally recognized by the FCC in 1996 as part of an effort to foster compliance with Commission’s Declaration of Conformity (DoC) and certification requirements by expanding manufacturers’ access to qualified testing laboratories.
Read the text of the OET’s letter regarding the extension of NVLAP’s accreditation authority.
