Canadian Representative for manufacturers in Spain

Written by Koby Smutylo, lawyer (Law Society of Ontario, called 2001), ISED Canadian Representative since 2010. Last reviewed 5 October 2026.

How certification runs from Spain

Under the Canada–European Community mutual recognition agreement, a recognized Spanish body can issue the ISED certificate on Spanish test data. ISED's recognized certification body list currently includes Dekra Testing and Certification S.A.U. at Campanillas, Málaga, and LGAI Technological Center, S.A. (Applus) at Bellaterra, Barcelona. Both organizations appear on the recognized laboratory list too, so each covers both halves of the route. One scope point is worth checking early: neither Spanish body's certification scope currently extends to every radio scope ISED recognizes, so a product in maritime and aviation services or needing hearing aid compatibility may still have to be certified elsewhere. That combination is unusual outside Germany and North America, and it means the common reason to send a file abroad — no domestic body to issue — does not apply here.

The alternative is the one most manufacturers with a live US programme take anyway: let the North American certification body already handling the FCC file issue the ISED certificate from the same measurements. Either route ends in the same place, with the CB asking for your ISED Company Number and the Canadian Representative letter.

Confirm your body's status on ISED's current list before you plan around it. Recognitions carry expiry dates and are renewed on a rolling basis, so a list checked last year is not evidence about this year.

What the Canadian Representative is, and is not

It is not your EU authorised representative under the Radio Equipment Directive doing the same job in another jurisdiction. The RED representative holds the EU declaration of conformity and the technical documentation and answers to EU market surveillance authorities. The ISED Canadian Representative is narrower: it answers ISED enquiries about one specific certification and provides audit samples at no charge to ISED, from an address in Canada. It does not hold your technical file.

Naming the EU authorised representative on the ISED application is a predictable reason for a certification body to return the file. See the requirement explained.

Practical notes

Entity naming. Use the legal form exactly as registered — S.A., S.L., S.L.U. — matching what the CB puts on the application. A mismatch between the commercial register and the certification paperwork is a common cause of returns.

Before you print. Canadian labelling is where a Spanish file adapted from an FCC one usually slips, because the Canadian manual notices must appear in English and French under RSS-Gen section 9.3.1, whatever language your domestic market uses. The free checklist is nine checks before you print; if you would rather someone else ran it, the label and manual review is US$249 per IC certification number.

Fee and timing. US$499 per certified product, paid once, lasting as long as the product is offered on the Canadian market — no renewal, no second invoice, revisions free. Card through Stripe clears immediately; wires from Spanish banks arrive in one to two banking days. We invoice in US dollars. Madrid runs six hours ahead of Ottawa, so an order placed in the Spanish morning is normally issued by the Spanish afternoon.

Audit samples. Shipped from Spain to ISED's laboratory in Canada at the applicant's cost and documented as a regulatory sample; we coordinate. See ISED audit samples.

Our certification body is Spanish. Do we still need a Canadian Representative?

Yes. Recognition under the Canada–EU MRA is what lets a Spanish body issue the certificate. Section 4.1 turns on the applicant's company address, not the certification body's.

Can we test in Spain and certify in Spain?

On ISED's current lists, yes — the same two organizations appear as recognized laboratories and as recognized certification bodies. Check both lists for current status, and check the certification scope covers your product's radio services, before committing a schedule to it.

Is our RED authorised representative enough?

No. They are different roles with different scopes. The RED representative holds your EU technical documentation; the Canadian Representative answers ISED about a specific certification from a Canadian address.

Do we need the French manual notices if we only sell in Spanish-speaking markets?

For Canada, yes. RSS-Gen section 9.3.1 requires the notices and information to the user in both English and French, whoever you expect to buy the product.

Does a permissive change need a new letter?

No. Models added under an existing IC certification number stay covered by the existing letter. A new IC number is a new certification and needs a new letter.