Canadian Representative for manufacturers in Switzerland

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 Switzerland

Canada maintains mutual recognition agreements and arrangements with a list of partners that includes the European Community, the United Kingdom, the EFTA states of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and Switzerland in its own right. Being outside the EU agreement is therefore not a gap — Switzerland is covered separately — but it is a different instrument, and it is worth knowing which one your certification body is relying on.

On the conformity-assessment side, ISED's recognized laboratory list currently carries one Swiss entry, Eurofins Electric & Electronic Product Testing AG, while the recognized certification body list carries no Swiss entry. So the usual Swiss route is to test at home and have a recognized body elsewhere — in Germany, Austria, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK or North America — issue the certificate on that data. That is a routine arrangement rather than an obstacle: the point of a mutual recognition agreement is that the measurements need not be repeated.

For a manufacturer already running an FCC programme, letting the North American certification body handling that file issue the ISED certificate from the same measurements is often shortest of all.

Check ISED's current lists and the agreements page before planning around any of this. Recognitions carry expiry dates and are renewed on a rolling basis.

One role, not two

Swiss manufacturers selling into the EU as well as Canada carry an EU authorised representative under the Radio Equipment Directive. That is a different role with a different scope: the RED representative holds the EU declaration of conformity and technical documentation and answers to EU market surveillance authorities, while the ISED Canadian Representative answers ISED enquiries about one specific certification and provides audit samples at no charge to ISED, from a Canadian address.

A Swiss applicant selling into Canada needs the Canadian one, in addition to whatever the EU requires. See the requirement explained.

Practical notes

Entity naming. Use the registered legal form exactly — AG, SA, GmbH, Sàrl — as it appears on the CB's application and in the commercial register. Swiss entities registered in more than one language are a frequent source of mismatches; pick the form the CB will use and keep it consistent.

Before you print. Canadian manual notices must be in English and in French under RSS-Gen section 9.3.1. A Swiss manufacturer often has French copy already, which helps — but the Canadian notices are specific texts tied to your RSS-102 evaluation, not a general translation, and FCC exposure wording does not substitute. 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, no second invoice, revisions free. Card through Stripe clears immediately; wires from Swiss banks arrive in one to two banking days. We invoice in US dollars. Zurich is six hours ahead of Ottawa, so a Swiss morning order is normally issued by the Swiss afternoon.

Audit samples. Shipped from Switzerland to ISED's laboratory in Canada at the applicant's cost and documented as a regulatory sample; we coordinate — note that a shipment from outside the EU customs union needs its paperwork done properly. See ISED audit samples.

Is Switzerland covered by the Canada–EU mutual recognition agreement?

No. Canada's agreements page lists Switzerland as a separate agreement of its own, alongside the European Community one. Check the current page for its status.

Can we have the testing done in Switzerland?

On ISED's current recognized-laboratory list there is one Swiss entry. Confirm its status and its scope against your product before booking testing.

Is there a Swiss certification body that can issue the IC certificate?

Not on ISED's current list. Swiss applicants normally have a recognized body elsewhere in Europe or in North America issue the certificate on Swiss test data.

We already have an EU authorised representative. Is that enough for Canada?

No. Different role, different jurisdiction, different documents. You need the Canadian Representative as well.

Can we pay in Swiss francs?

We invoice in US dollars. Card payments convert at your card issuer's rate; wires are accepted from Swiss banks.