Canada's system sorts by nature into three piles: RF follows the RSS series, EMC follows the ICES series, and RF exposure is separately governed by RSS-102. Each pile has its own applicability test; one product may touch two or even three piles at once.
There is also a file often mistaken for a technical standard: RSP-100. It is the certification procedure document — how to apply, how to file changes, how to label — and sets no technical limits itself. Look up limits in the corresponding RSS or ICES; do not search for figures in a procedure file.
The transition period follows RSS-Gen's general arrangement plus each standard's publication notice. How long a version change allows for transition, and whether old goods face retrospective action, is written more in the notice on the publication day and the standard text itself — do not flip only RSS-Gen and miss the transition clause in the standard.
RSS-247 is the common main standard for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and ZigBee devices, covering 902–928, 2400–2483.5, 5150–5350 and 5470–5895 MHz — essentially the one for 2.4 G and 5 G wireless products. ZigBee in Canada is judged mainly by modulation and power; most go by DTS under RSS-247, though low-power short-range may fall under RSS-210 — matching by the device's actual modulation and power tier is safer.
6 GHz has its own file. Indoor licence-exempt LAN devices at 5925–7125 MHz follow RSS-248, a Class 1 device, distinct from RSS-247 — do not apply the 5 G clause to 6 G.
Other modes have their own homes: licence-exempt low-power generic SRD follows RSS-210; cellular systems at 824–849 and 869–894 MHz follow RSS-132; V2X direct communication at 5850–5925 MHz follows RSS-252. Match by the product's actual mode — the wrong standard equals a wasted test.
A device using multiple modes at once must be walked through each standard. Reporting only the main mode leaves the other functions uncovered, and a spot check that turns them up still breaks the certification status. List all RF functions at project kickoff before choosing standards.
Issue 4, published July 2025, made its first substantive change by removing the 5600–5650 MHz emission restriction. The old version forbade devices from transmitting in this band to protect weather radar; lifting it opens 5470–5725 MHz fully. This is a loosening, not a tightening.
It also clarified the applicability and power-control requirements for in-vehicle LE-LAN devices at 5150–5250 and 5250–5350 MHz, and refined the spurious clauses: the 5150–5250 MHz spurious requirement, the indoor-product spurious label, and the 5250–5350 MHz limit split each land in different sub-clauses — check by band when changing the design.
Issue 4 also divides devices into hybrid devices and simple combinations of frequency-hopping plus digital transmission, with clauses in different sub-clauses. The old directional-antenna and antenna-array gain-calculation passages were deleted outright and now reference the general test-method standard — compute by the referenced method, do not dig the old-version formulas back out.
RSS-102 Issue 6 was published December 2023 and made mandatory from December 2024; its architecture became a main standard plus a set of companion measurement files, with the former supplementary procedures merged in.
What really trips companies is the lowered exemption threshold. At 2450 MHz with spacing within 5 mm, the SAR-exempt power drops to 3 mW; at 5800 MHz it is only 1 mW. A large number of Bluetooth products thereby fall from exempt into the mandatory-test range — count this in at project evaluation.
For what must be tested, follow the corresponding companion file; the methodology and pass limits sit inside the system — do not directly apply another country's report.
① EMC follows ICES-003, currently Issue 7, published October 2020 and mandatory from October 2021 — not a new rule this year. For unintentional-radiator products, this is the main standard.
② The label must start with "IC:", followed by the number body; writing "ISED" is non-compliant. The number body is two segments — company code plus product code — with set digit rules.
③ For Quebec-bound products, there is also a French-language legal requirement; this is a legal obligation, not a buyer preference — consider packaging and manual together.
④ After certification, the regulator runs post-certification spot checks, and the re-check basis is exactly these standards. A wrong standard number or a missing one still fails the check — certification day is not the end.
BlueAsia reminds exporters that standard version changes carry a transition period, within which old and new can both be used for application; once the node passes, new applications recognise only the new version. Old goods face no retrospective action, but you cannot file a new project against an old report.
Contact: King Email: king.guo@cblueasia.comAddress: Building C, Hongjingda Industrial Park, No. 107 Beihuan Road, Shiyan Street, Bao'an District, Shenzhen, China BlueAsia delivers more than service!
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