On September 5, 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued an official FAQ for further explaining the new version of Type Approval Format of Radio Transmitting Equipment and Type Approval CMIIT ID Coding Rules of Radio Transmitting Equipment (issued by MIIT on August 21, 2023, and will come into force on December 1, 2023). The contents of the FAQ include:

Q: Why revise these two regulations?

A: The certificate and CMIIT ID requirements were first published in the regulations’ 1999 edition. The most currently effective regulation is the Circular on Strengthening the Management of Radio Transmitting Equipment issued in 2009. Some contents of the Circular have been out-of-date with the management system reform and optimization. Especially after the issuing of Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Deepening the Reform of the Management System for the Electronic and Electrical Industry and Provisions on the Administration of Radio Transmission Equipment, the requirements needed  revision for consistency.

Q: What are the main changes to the new version of the certificate?

A: The type approval certificate format was adjusted to the form with a home page plus an attached page, with the content of the certificate increased accordingly. The changes are mainly reflected in:

First of all, the technical information for equipment listed is more clear. With the development of new radio technology and new applications and the popularity of converged terminal equipment, the original certificate style is difficult to reflect relevant information; In the new version of the certificate, the main information such as the name of the certified unit and equipment is reflected in the home page, and the specific information such as technical parameters is reflected in the attached page, which is convenient to completely specify the different technical systems and corresponding technical parameters.

Secondly, new OEM information is added. The old certificate only contains the name of the applicant, and does not involve OEM enterprises; The new certificate adds a second page that includes the equipment production enterprise information, enterprise attributes, as well as the enterprise address, to facilitate the applicant to handle the subsequent change of relevant information and carry out supervision and inspection of the production capacity of the enterprise.

Thirdly, the new certificate style meets the relevant requirements of the electronic certificate standard and promotes the transition from the paper-type approval certificate to the electronic certificate.

Q: What has changed for the new CMIIT ID?

A: It is adjusted from 10 or 11 digits to 12-digit. The newly revised Type Approval CMIIT ID Coding Rules of Radio Transmitting Equipment adjust the type approval code format style to CMIIT ID: AABCCDDDEEEE, where AA represents the year code (2 digits), B represents the equipment code (1 capital letter), CC represents the territory code (2 digits), DDD represents the enterprise code (3 digits, including at least 1 digit), EEEE stands for autonomous code (4 digits, first capital letter or number, last three digits).

The changes in the new type of approval code are mainly reflected in the following aspects:

- The original code is obtained together with the certificate, and the new version of the code is obtained in advance when the applicant submits the type approval application;

- The number of code bits increased from 10-11 to 12;

- The code type has been added with the enterprise code;

- The year code was simplified to 2 digits;

- The type of device code is simplified from the original 10 categories to 8 categories;

- Adjust the original 1-digit origin identification to a 2-digit territorial code to facilitate the identification of the registration information of the applicant enterprise;

- Change the original serial number bits into autonomous codes, which can be prepared by the applicant by the rules.  

Q: How can an enterprise do a self-coding? What requirements are there?

A: According to the newly revised Type Approval CMIIT ID Coding Rules of Radio Transmitting Equipment, the applicant can independently prepare the type approval code per the coding rules. When enterprises make their coding, they should adhere to the following:

The independent preparation of the type approval code shall comply with the radio management laws and regulations, shall not violate public order and good customs, and shall not cause ambiguity.

The autonomous code section should be generated by the applicant according to the rules. The applicant should strengthen the management of the autonomous code to avoid submitting duplicate or invalid codes in the application. After the application for type approval is accepted, the applicant shall not change the type approval code by himself.

The year code is the year when the application is submitted, and for applications that are approved in a different year than the application time, the application should still be filled in according to the submission time.

For applicants that give up the preparation of autonomous code, the system will randomly generate autonomous code.

The type approval code can be obtained at the time of submission of the application, but the actual effect is still after the certificate is obtained, only after the type approval certificate can the enterprise produce and sell the relevant radio transmission equipment.

Q: Will the previous certificate and ID still be valid after the new requirements become effective?

A: After the new type approval certificate and coding rules are officially implemented, during the validity period of the certificate, the old certificate and the original code (CMIIT ID number) are still valid, and there is no need for adjustment.

If the old certificate needs to be extended or changed, the applicant can apply by following the relevant regulations of radio management, and the CMIIT ID number will remain unchanged after obtaining the new version of the certificate.

For the newly applied equipment, the new type approval certificate and code will be obtained under the new regulations.

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