What ISED certification costs in 2026

Written by Koby Smutylo, lawyer (Law Society of Ontario, called 2001), ISED Canadian Representative since 2010. Last reviewed 10 September 2026.

The four lines on the invoice

Every certification under RSP-100 involves the same four parties, and each one bills separately: ISED itself, the certification body (CB) that issues the certificate, the test laboratory that produces the report, and, if the applicant's address is outside Canada, the Canadian Representative named on the application under RSP-100 section 4.1. Who does what is set out in representative vs certification body vs test lab. The sections below take the lines in order, with the published figure for each and where it comes from.

ISED's own fees (TRC-49)

ISED's Certification and Engineering Bureau publishes its service fees in Telecommunications Regulation Circular TRC-49, Issue 9, effective 1 September 2023. The amounts are in Canadian dollars and are subject to applicable taxes.

Two points matter in practice. First, almost every certification is processed by a CB, so the fee that actually applies is the C$750 registration fee, which ISED charges for reviewing, approving and recording the CB's certificate in the Radio Equipment List. The C$4,000 figure applies only when ISED itself acts as the certifier. Second, a product that is both wireless and wireline (a gateway with a phone port, say) pays the C$750 once, not twice.

Fees charged under the Service Fees Act are adjusted each 1 April by the change in the All-items Consumer Price Index, so the amount ISED invoices in a given year runs slightly above the figures printed in TRC-49. ISED's fees page carries the indexed amounts; the circular carries the base amounts.

The CB collects the ISED fee as part of its own invoice in most cases, so you will not usually see a separate bill from ISED.

Certification body fees

CBs do not, as a rule, publish a price list; each quotes on the file. Third-party guides that track the market put the CB's review and certificate fee at about US$1,000–3,000 per application (RF Essentials). MarkReady's 2026 cost guide, written from the FCC side, says that filing Canada alongside an FCC certification "adds only $1,000 – $3,000 incremental cost" when the FCC test report is reused, which is consistent: the increment is essentially the CB's Canada review plus the ISED registration fee.

The fee depends on what the CB has to review. A single radio with a clean report costs less than a multi-radio device with RF-exposure evaluation, and a foreign CB working under a mutual recognition arrangement prices the same work as a Canadian CB. Ask the CB whether its quote includes the C$750 ISED registration fee; some show it as a pass-through line and some fold it in. How to pick a CB from ISED's list is covered in how to choose a certification body and test lab.

Test laboratory fees

Testing is the variable that swamps the others, and it depends on the radio, not on Canada. The published ranges:

• RF Essentials: testing to the RSS standards, if done separately from FCC testing, US$3,000–15,000 depending on the device type.
• Compliance Testing (an FCC and ISED lab): unlicensed transmitters such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and LTE devices from about US$9,000, in a range of US$9,000–12,000, with Canada "performed alongside FCC testing for significant cost savings".
• MarkReady (updated April 2026), FCC ranges by device type, which map closely onto the RSS work because the same measurements are taken: a product built on a pre-certified module US$3,000–10,000; a Bluetooth speaker or accessory US$5,000–12,000; a custom single-band radio US$8,000–20,000; a multi-radio device US$15,000–30,000; a cellular phone US$50,000–200,000 and up.

The reason the Canadian increment is small for most applicants is that ISED accepts test data taken to the FCC rules where the RSS standard aligns, so a lab that plans both at the outset runs the Canadian measurements in the same session. A product that arrives with an FCC grant and a report from an ISED-recognized lab pays the CB and ISED lines and little or nothing at the lab. A product that arrives with no report pays the full range above. That is why the first quote to get is the lab's; see from FCC to ISED for what carries over.

Using a pre-certified module moves most of the testing cost to the module maker. The host still needs its own certification if the integration falls outside the module grant's conditions, and its own Canadian Representative letter if the certificate holder is outside Canada; see one representative letter per IC ID.

The Canadian Representative fee

RSP-100 section 4.1 requires an applicant whose address is outside Canada to name a Canadian Representative on the application, and the appointment has to stay in place for as long as the product is on the Canadian market. The fee for that line depends on whom you appoint.

This firm charges US$499 per certified product, paid once. The appointment runs for as long as the product is offered in Canada, with no renewal date and no second invoice, and revisions to the letter (a corrected model number, an added HVIN, a CB's change of wording) are free without a time limit. The pricing is on /pricing/; how long the appointment must last, and why the letter does not expire, is in how long must a Canadian Representative be appointed.

Other providers price the same appointment differently. TianHeng Consulting, for example, publishes US$199 for one IC ID for one year, US$399 for three years and US$599 for five years, and US$500 per year for unlimited IC IDs of one company, as well as multi-year packages. Some labs and CBs offer representation as a line item on their own quote; some distributors supply it as part of a sales agreement. A term-priced letter is cheaper in year one and costs more over the life of a product that sells for longer than the term, so compare on the number of years you expect the product to be on the market, not on the first invoice. Whichever route you take, the person or firm named has to be reachable by ISED and able to respond to audit requests for the whole time the product is sold; see why a lawyer as your Canadian Representative.

Terminal equipment (DC-01) registration

Equipment connected to the public switched network follows a registration route under DC-01 rather than certification under RSP-100. ISED's fee is the same C$750 per new wireline registration and C$375 per amendment under TRC-49, and a dual wireless-and-wireline product pays once. DC-01 section 6 requires a Canadian representative for an applicant outside Canada on the same footing as RSP-100; this firm handles a DC-01 registration at the same US$499 per registration. See DC-01 terminal equipment and the Canadian Representative.

What you do not pay for

TRC-49 lists no fee for an ISED company number; registering in the Spectrum Management System and obtaining one is an administrative step, not a billed service (how to get one). There is no annual fee to keep a certification listed in the REL. ICES-003 digital devices under supplier's declaration of conformity do not need a Canadian Representative at all, so there is no representative line for a product with no certified radio in it; see ICES-003 SDoC and the Canadian Representative. Audit samples requested under RSP-100 section 12 are supplied at the applicant's cost, but that is a product cost, not a fee; see audit samples: who provides, who pays.

Adding it up

Two worked cases, using only the published figures above and stating the currencies as they come:

A Wi-Fi/Bluetooth product with an FCC grant and a report from an ISED-recognized lab. CB review US$1,000–3,000; ISED registration C$750 plus tax; Canadian Representative US$499 once. Around US$2,000–4,000 for Canada, with no new testing. That matches the US$1,000–3,000 increment MarkReady reports, plus the representative.

The same product tested from nothing. Add the lab: US$3,000–15,000 on the RF Essentials range, or US$9,000–12,000 on Compliance Testing's for an unlicensed transmitter. Most of that would have been spent on the FCC side anyway, which is why the sensible order is to plan FCC and ISED together and have the lab quote both.

Later changes cost less. A permissive change or a multiple listing is C$375 at ISED plus the CB's fee for reviewing it; the Canadian Representative letter for an existing certification is revised at no charge. A new IC certification number, whether for a new product or because a change goes beyond a Class IV permissive change, is a new certification and a new letter.

How much does ISED certification cost in total?

For a product with a reusable FCC report, about US$2,000–4,000: CB review (published at US$1,000–3,000), ISED's C$750 registration fee, and the Canadian Representative (US$499 once from this firm). Without a report, add testing, which labs publish at roughly US$3,000–15,000 for common device types.

What does ISED itself charge?

Under TRC-49 (Issue 9, effective 1 September 2023): C$750 to register a new listing certified by a CB, C$375 for an amendment such as a permissive change, multiple listing or transfer, and C$4,000 per application when ISED certifies directly. Amounts are in Canadian dollars, plus tax, and are indexed to CPI each 1 April.

Is there an annual fee to keep an ISED certification?

No. ISED charges when a listing is created or amended. There is no yearly renewal fee for the certification or for the REL listing.

Does the Canadian Representative fee recur?

From this firm, no: US$499 per certified product, paid once, for as long as the product is on the Canadian market, with revisions free. Some other providers price the appointment by term (one, three or five years) or as an annual unlimited plan, so a renewal invoice is a feature of those plans rather than of ISED's rules.

Is ISED certification cheaper if I already have FCC certification?

Usually, by a wide margin. ISED accepts test data taken to the FCC rules where the RSS standard aligns, so the Canadian work becomes the CB's review, ISED's registration fee and the representative letter rather than a second round at the lab.

What does a permissive change cost?

ISED charges C$375 for the amendment. The CB charges its own review fee, which it quotes. The Canadian Representative letter for the same IC number is revised without charge by this firm.

Do I pay ISED directly?

Rarely. The CB usually collects the ISED registration fee as part of its invoice and remits it, so it appears as a line on the CB's quote. Ask whether the quote includes it.