RSS-Gen Issue 6 is out: what changes and how the transition works
ISED published RSS-Gen Issue 6 — the general compliance standard that applies to essentially every radio device certified in Canada — on July 30, 2026, replacing Issue 5 (2018, as amended). A one-year transition applies: certification applications are accepted under either Issue 5 or Issue 6 until the transition ends. The Canadian Representative requirement for applicants outside Canada is unchanged: it comes from RSP-100, not RSS-Gen.
What RSS-Gen is, and why this matters
RSS-Gen sets the general requirements that ride along with every product-specific RSS standard: definitions, test and measurement conditions, labelling, user-manual notices, and the administrative machinery of certification. When RSS-Gen changes, it touches every certification file: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular and IoT modules alike. Issue 6 is the first full revision since Issue 5 in April 2018.
The main changes
The preface to Issue 6 lists the modifications; the ones most likely to matter to applicants and their labs are, in brief: streamlined labelling, including a new QR-code option and permission to put the label in the manual or packaging for very small devices (we cover the labelling changes in detail in a separate update); clarified electronic-labelling requirements; measurement-equipment calibration requirements and refined procedures for radiated-emissions measurements, with the frequency range for unwanted-emissions measurements extended up to 750 GHz; and the removal of stand-alone receivers from RSS-Gen — they now sit in RSS-310, which was revised the same day.
How the transition period works
ISED provided a transition period ending one year after publication on its website, during which applications for certification are accepted under either Issue 5 or Issue 6. In practice: test campaigns already under way against Issue 5 can proceed and the resulting applications remain acceptable during the transition, while new campaigns should be planned against Issue 6 so the file does not age into non-compliance. Your testing laboratory and certification body will steer the technical details; the decision worth making now is simply which issue your current projects will file under.
What it means for applicants outside Canada
Nothing about the Canadian Representative requirement changed. RSP-100 section 4.1 still requires an applicant whose address is outside Canada to identify and maintain a Canadian Representative, and the attestation letter and its required contents are as before. Existing appointments and letters are unaffected by the RSS-Gen revision. If you are mid-application and your certification body has asked for the representative letter, what it must contain is set out in attestation letter required fields.
Does RSS-Gen Issue 6 change the Canadian Representative requirement?
No. The Canadian Representative requirement comes from RSP-100 section 4.1, not RSS-Gen. Issue 6 changes technical and labelling requirements; the representative requirement, and the attestation letter, are unchanged.
Can I still file a certification application tested against RSS-Gen Issue 5?
Yes, during the transition period. ISED accepts applications under either Issue 5 or Issue 6 until the transition ends, one year after publication. New test campaigns should target Issue 6.
Do already-certified products need to be re-certified under Issue 6?
No. The revision applies to certification applications going forward, subject to the transition period. Products already certified and listed in the Radio Equipment List keep their certification.
For the certification process end to end, see the ISED certification process overview; for US-certified products entering Canada, see from FCC to ISED.