When planning for the US market with Bluetooth products, BQB certification is an unavoidable key step. The following guide, incorporating the latest policies from the Bluetooth SIG as of October 2025, will clearly outline the certification process, validity, and important considerations for you.

BQB Certification Process Explained:

1.SIG Membership Registration

This is the starting point for certification. You need to choose the appropriate membership type based on company size and product plans:

·Adopter Member: Suitable for companies needing certification for no more than 1 product per year, no annual fee, but the per-product DID fee is higher.

·Associate Member: Suitable for companies certifying 2 or more products per year, requires paying an annual fee of $7,500 (for companies with annual revenue below $1 billion), but the per-product DID fee is lower.

·Small Business Incentive: For companies with annual revenue not exceeding $1 million and applying for certification for the first time, eligible for incentives, allowing the purchase of DIDs for $2,500 each (limited to 2).

2.Certification Path Selection

Choose the most cost-effective certification path based on product design:

·EPL Listing: Applicable when the product directly uses a Bluetooth module that has already obtained BQB certification and no design modifications have been made to the module. This path requires no repeat testing, the process is primarily document review, and the cycle can be shortened to 1-2 weeks.

·QDID Testing Certification: If your product is a new design or has made hardware modifications to a certified module, you need to take this path and complete all test items at an authorized laboratory.

3.Testing & Document Preparation

·Test Items: Full testing (QDID) mainly includes RF Performance (e.g., transmit power, receiver sensitivity), Protocol Conformance (verifying the correctness of the Bluetooth protocol stack implementation), and Profile Compatibility Testing (e.g., A2DP audio, HFP calls).

·Key Documents: Need to prepare company qualification documents, product technical documentation (e.g., circuit diagrams, BOM, user manual, etc.).

·Sample Requirements: Typically need to prepare 2 finished products and 2 engineering samples supporting test modes.

4.Review & Certification

After passing the tests, the laboratory submits the report to SIG for review. Upon approval, your product receives a unique Design Number (DN) – the new term replacing the old QDID in the 2025 new regulations – and is officially listed on the SIG website, thereafter legally allowing the use of Bluetooth trademarks.

  BQB Certification Validity Interpretation:

1.Certification Itself is Permanently Valid: An important concept is that once a product passes BQB certification, its certified status in the SIG database is permanently valid, with no fixed expiration date. The premise is that the product's hardware design and core software (e.g., Bluetooth protocol stack) remain unchanged, and Bluetooth technology standards do not mandate upgrades.

2.Clarifying the "3-Year Validity" Misunderstanding: The commonly circulated notion of "BQB certification valid for 3 years" is not an official SIG mandatory requirement. This saying may originate from SIG's market surveillance sampling practice conducted approximately every 3 years, or relate to some companies' internal certificate management cycles.

3.Membership Requires Annual Maintenance: It's important to note that the company's SIG membership (especially Associate membership) needs annual renewal to maintain benefits. If membership lapses, you cannot certify new products or modify existing certifications, but this does not affect the validity of already certified products.

We hope this guide helps you more clearly plan and complete BQB certification. If you can share the specific product type (e.g., Bluetooth headset, smart home device, or others), BLUEASIA: +86 13534225140, will provide professional certification consulting services.