Canadian Representative for manufacturers in Italy
Italy sits in a particular spot on ISED's lists: there are eight recognized Italian test laboratories but no recognized Italian certification body. So the usual Italian route is to measure at home and have a recognized body elsewhere — in Spain, Germany, the UK or North America — issue the certificate on that Italian test data. Whoever issues it, RSP-100 section 4.1 applies: an applicant with a company address outside Canada appoints a Canadian Representative, and the certification body asks for the letter before the IC number is issued.
How certification runs from Italy
The Canada–European Community mutual recognition agreement does two separable things: it lets recognized European laboratories produce test data ISED accepts, and it lets recognized European bodies issue ISED certificates. Italy currently has the first in quantity and not the second at all. ISED's recognized laboratory list currently carries eight Italian entries — among them Dekra Testing and Certification S.R.L. at Thiene, IMQ SpA, Nemko S.p.A., Kiwa Cermet Italia S.p.A., TÜV Rheinland Italia S.r.l., Emilab S.r.l. and PRS Lab S.r.l. — while the recognized certification body list carries no Italian entry.
In practice that means your test report travels and your certificate is issued elsewhere. It is a routine arrangement rather than a problem — the MRA exists precisely so that the report does not have to be repeated — but it is worth knowing when you plan a schedule, because the certificate issue sits with a body in another country and another working calendar.
The other common route is to let the North American certification body handling your FCC file issue the ISED certificate from the same measurements. For a manufacturer already certifying in the United States, that is usually the shortest path.
Check ISED's current lists before you commit to either. Recognitions carry expiry dates and are renewed on a rolling basis.
Canadian Representative versus the RED authorised representative
Italian regulatory departments administer the Radio Equipment Directive's Article 11 authorised representative routinely, and the two roles are easy to conflate. They are not the same. The RED representative holds the EU declaration of conformity and technical documentation and is the contact for EU market surveillance. The ISED Canadian Representative answers ISED enquiries about one specific certification and provides audit samples at no charge to ISED, from a Canadian address — and holds none of your technical file.
Putting the RED representative on the ISED application is a common reason a certification body returns a file. See the requirement explained.
Practical notes
Entity naming. Use the registered legal form exactly — S.p.A., S.r.l., S.r.l.s. — as it will appear on the CB's application. Inconsistency between the registro delle imprese extract and the certification paperwork causes returns.
Before you print. The Canadian manual has to carry its required notices in English and in French under RSS-Gen section 9.3.1. This is the most common finding on a first Canadian filing and the most expensive to find late, because a translated manual is a new print file rather than an edit. Run nine checks before you print, or have us run them: label and manual review, US$249 per IC certification number.
Fee and timing. US$499 per certified product, paid once, for as long as the product is offered on the Canadian market. No renewal date, no second invoice, revisions free with no time limit. Card through Stripe clears immediately; wires from Italian banks arrive in one to two banking days. We invoice in US dollars. Rome is six hours ahead of Ottawa, so a morning order in Italy is normally issued by the Italian afternoon.
Audit samples. Shipped from Italy to ISED's laboratory in Canada at the applicant's cost, documented as a regulatory sample; we coordinate. See ISED audit samples.
Can an Italian laboratory's test report be used for Canadian certification?
Yes, where the laboratory is recognized by ISED. That is what the Canada–EU MRA is for, and Italy is well served: eight Italian laboratories appear on ISED's current list. Check each one's scope against your product, because the scopes differ — some are limited to RSS-Gen, RSS-210 and RSS-247, others cover RF exposure measurement under RSS-102 as well.
Is there an Italian certification body that can issue the IC certificate?
Not on ISED's current recognized certification body list. Italian applicants normally use a recognized body elsewhere in Europe or in North America, working from the Italian test data.
Does using a foreign certification body change who needs the representative?
No. Section 4.1 turns on the applicant's company address. If that address is outside Canada, the representative is required whichever recognized body issues the certificate.
Is our RED authorised representative the same thing?
No. Different scope, different jurisdiction, different documents. The Canadian Representative answers ISED about a specific certification; the RED representative holds your EU technical documentation.
What happens to the appointment if we stop selling in Canada?
The obligation runs while the product is offered on the Canadian market. Tell us when a product is withdrawn and we close the appointment for that certification.
Sources. RSP-100, Issue 12, section 4.1. ISED recognized certification bodies and recognized testing laboratories (read 5 October 2026; check current status). Canada–European Community Agreement on Mutual Recognition. RSS-Gen, Issue 6, section 9.3.1. Directive 2014/53/EU (RED), Article 11.