Does each IC ID need a separate Canadian Representative letter?
One letter per IC certification number. Every model, HVIN and PMN certified under that number is covered by the same letter and the same appointment. A new IC certification number is a new certification and needs its own letter. Module integrators do not need a letter for the module maker's certification, only for any certification they hold themselves.
The unit of appointment is the certification
RSP-100 section 4.1 ties the representative to the "certified product(s)" on the Application and Agreement for Certification Services. Each certification application produces one certificate with one IC certification number (the format is company number, hyphen, product identifier, for example 12345A-ABC123). The representative is recorded against that application. So the natural unit is the certificate, and one letter per certificate is what CBs expect.
What one letter covers
Everything under the IC number: the PMN (product marketing name), the HVIN (hardware version identification number), and every model number the CB has accepted as part of the certification, including models added later by permissive change under RSP-100 section 10 that keep the same IC number. If you add models, ask us to reissue the letter with the updated list — free, with no time limit and no cap on how many times you ask; the appointment itself is unchanged.
When you need a new letter
A new IC certification number. That happens with a genuinely new product, with a change significant enough that the CB requires a new certification rather than a permissive change, or when a new legal entity becomes the certificate holder (a transfer, covered in changing your Canadian Representative). Applicants filing several a year can put them on a single invoice.
Product families
If the CB certifies a family of models under one IC number because they share the same radio hardware, one letter covers the family. If the CB requires separate certifications for variants (different radio modules, different frequency bands), each certification needs its own letter. Your CB decides the certification structure; the representative letters follow it.
Modules and host products
A certified RF module has its own IC number held by the module manufacturer. The module maker needs a Canadian Representative for that certification if it is outside Canada. A host-product integrator that uses the certified module under the modular approval rules in RSP-100 section 8 does not need a representative for the module's certification, because it is not the applicant for it. The integrator needs a representative only if it holds a certification of its own: for a host that requires its own certification, or for a Class II permissive change it files on the module. We see integrators ordering letters they do not need; check with your CB first.
Several certifications, one company
Each certification gets its own letter, and each appointment runs independently for as long as that product is offered on the Canadian market. Keep a register of IC numbers and letter dates; we keep one too and will send it on request.
Terminal equipment
Terminal equipment registrations under DC-01 have their own registration numbers and the same one-letter-per-registration logic applies.
Sources. RSP-100, Issue 12, section 4.1 (representative recorded on the certification application), section 8 (host/modular product requirements), section 10 (modification of certified products).
We have 12 models under one IC number. Is that one fee?
Yes. One certification, one letter, one US$499 fee, regardless of the number of models or HVINs.
Our OEM customer sells our product under its own brand. Who needs the letter?
Whoever is the applicant on the certification. If you certify and the customer rebrands under your IC number (with the labelling handled per RSS-Gen), your letter covers it. If the customer files its own certification, it needs its own representative.
Can one letter list several IC numbers?
It can, but most CBs prefer one per certification file. We issue a separate letter per certification at the standard fee.