How to hire a Canadian Representative for ISED certification
To hire a Canadian Representative for ISED certification, confirm that your company address is outside Canada (RSP-100 section 4.1 is triggered by the applicant's address), choose a person or firm with a real Canadian place of business that will accept the section 4.1 duties for as long as the product is sold in Canada, obtain a signed attestation letter naming your legal entity, company number and product, and give the letter to your certification body with the application. With us the whole process is a web form, US$499 per certified product paid once, and a signed letter the same business day.
What you are hiring
The role goes by several names: Canadian Representative, ISED representative, IC representative, Industry Canada representative, Canadian agent, local representative for Canada. They all describe the same appointment under RSP-100 section 4.1. The representative is the Canada-based contact ISED will use for enquiries about your certified product and for audit samples, and the appointment has to last for as long as the product is offered on the Canadian market.
It is not an importer of record, not a distributor, not a certification body and not a test lab. Those are separate roles that separate companies usually fill. See representative vs certification body vs test lab.
Step 1: Confirm you need one
RSP-100 section 4.1 reads: "A Canadian representative is required when the applicant's company address is not within Canada." The applicant is the legal entity that will hold the certificate. If that entity has a genuine Canadian address, no representative is needed. If it is a US, European or Asian company, one is needed, whether the certification is filed through a Canadian certification body or a foreign certification body recognized under a mutual recognition arrangement. Terminal equipment registered under DC-01 has the same requirement in DC-01 section 6.
Step 2: Decide who will hold the appointment
RSP-100 sets no qualifications beyond a Canadian address and a willingness to accept the duties. The realistic candidates are a Canadian subsidiary, a Canadian distributor, a test laboratory or consultancy, or a professional firm. Ask two questions of each. Will it still exist, at the same address, in seven or ten years, when ISED may send an audit request? And is it willing to accept an obligation that outlives whatever commercial contract you have with it? Distributors and labs often say yes at the time of the application and are surprised later. Our reasoning for a regulated law firm in the role is set out in why a lawyer as your Canadian Representative.
Step 3: Gather what the representative needs
The attestation letter has to identify your company and your product precisely, because the certification body will compare it against the test report and the application. Have ready: your legal entity name exactly as it appears on the CB application and test report; your registered address; your ISED company number, or a note that it is pending; the product's marketing name, model numbers and HVIN; and the certification body's name. The full list, with the reason for each field, is in attestation letter required fields.
Step 4: Order the letter before the test report is final
The letter is required at application, and most CBs will not begin their review without it. Order it when testing is scheduled, not when the report lands. We issue the same business day after payment clears; if your company number or a model number is still to come, we reissue free when it does. Our order form takes about five minutes.
Step 5: Give the letter to your certification body
The CB records the representative on the Application and Agreement for Certification Services (form A in RSP-100) and keeps the letter on file. Some CBs use their own representative declaration instead of a letter; we sign those too. Once the certificate issues and the product is listed in the REL, the representative is not shown publicly, but the CB and ISED hold the record.
Step 6: Keep the appointment current
One letter covers one IC certification number and every model, HVIN and PMN under it. A new IC number needs a new letter. If you add models by permissive change, ask for a revised letter; with us that is free with no time limit. If your company is renamed, the letter is reissued; if the certificate transfers to a new legal entity, the new holder needs its own appointment. See changing your Canadian Representative.
What it costs
Fees vary by provider and structure. Some charge per year, some per product, some per product family. Ours is US$499 per certified product, paid once, for as long as the product is on the Canadian market, with no renewal date and no annual invoice; revisions are free. The pricing page sets out what is and is not included, including the hourly rate that applies only to audit-sample coordination beyond two requests in a twelve-month period.
Switching from an existing representative
You can replace a representative on an existing certification. Obtain the new representative's letter, notify the certification body that issued the certificate, and ask it to update the application record. Do the two in that order so there is no gap. Details in changing your Canadian Representative.
Sources. RSP-100, Issue 12, section 4.1. DC-01, Issue 7, section 6. Practice described is ours since 2010.
How do I find a Canadian Representative for ISED certification?
Ask your certification body or test lab who they work with, or search for "ISED Canadian Representative". Check that the candidate has a real Canadian place of business, states how long the appointment lasts and what happens when models are added, and is willing to sign the CB's own form if the CB requires it.
Can I hire a Canadian Representative online?
Yes. Ours is ordered through a web form, paid by card or wire in US dollars, and the signed PDF letter is emailed the same business day.
Is an "IC representative" the same as a Canadian Representative?
Yes. ISED was Industry Canada until 2015 and certification numbers still begin with "IC", so labs and CBs use the older names. It is the same RSP-100 section 4.1 appointment.
How long does it take to appoint one?
With us, the same business day after payment clears. Allow longer if the representative needs to sign a certification body's own form or you are still waiting for an ISED company number.
Do I need a Canadian Representative if I sell through a Canadian distributor?
If your company is the applicant on the certification, yes. The distributor can be the representative only if it accepts the section 4.1 duties for the life of the product.
Do I need one for each product?
One appointment per IC certification number. Every model and HVIN certified under that number is covered by the same letter.