RSS-310 Issue 6: stand-alone receivers, Category II, and when you need a Canadian Representative
Alongside RSS-Gen Issue 6, ISED published RSS-310 Issue 6 on July 30, 2026. RSS-310 is the standard for licence-exempt Category II equipment, which is exempt from certification. The practical consequence for foreign manufacturers is that Category II devices do not go through a certification application at all, so no Canadian Representative letter arises for them. The representative requirement continues to apply where it always has: to Category I equipment certified under RSP-100 by an applicant located outside Canada.
What changed in Issue 6
Stand-alone receivers, previously handled in RSS-Gen, now sit in RSS-310, with their own treatment — under RSS-310 they are exempt from labelling and test-report requirements. Requirements for passive RFID tags also moved into RSS-310 from RSS-Gen. The revision removes sections that duplicated RSS-Gen, simplifies the labelling and manual provisions, and replaces the old blanket exemptions for extremely low-power transmitters with targeted exemptions from specific documentation requirements. As with RSS-Gen, a one-year transition applies: compliance with either Issue 5 or Issue 6 is accepted until the transition ends.
Category I and Category II
Canadian device compliance turns on this distinction. Category I equipment requires certification: an application through a certification body, an IC certification number, listing in the Radio Equipment List, and, where the applicant's address is outside Canada, a Canadian Representative under RSP-100 section 4.1. Category II equipment must still comply with the applicable technical standard, and the manufacturer keeps records demonstrating that compliance, but there is no certification application and therefore no representative letter in that pathway.
Which category a product falls into is determined by the applicable RSS standard; your testing laboratory or certification body confirms it. Products often assumed to be exempt — Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and most intentional transmitters — are Category I.
What to check
If your product line mixes transmitters and receive-only devices, the RSS-310 revision is a reasonable prompt to confirm each product's category with your lab before budgeting for certification. The Category I products will need a Canadian Representative letter in the certification file where the applicant is outside Canada; the Category II products will not.
Does a Category II device need a Canadian Representative?
No. Category II equipment is exempt from certification, so there is no certification application and no representative letter in that pathway. The requirement applies to Category I certification applicants located outside Canada.
Are stand-alone receivers now exempt from labelling in Canada?
Under RSS-310 Issue 6, stand-alone receivers subject to RSS-310 are exempt from labelling and test-report requirements. They must still comply with the standard itself; confirm the details for your product with your testing laboratory.
My product transmits and receives. Does RSS-310 apply?
Generally no. Transceivers are governed by the product-specific RSS standard for their radio technology and are typically Category I, requiring certification. RSS-310's receiver provisions concern stand-alone (receive-only) apparatus.
Related reading: RSS-Gen Issue 6 — what changed and how the transition works and the ISED certification process overview.