RSS-Gen is the master radio-compliance document in Canada — the general requirements every certified radio apparatus is measured against, sitting above the band- and technology-specific RSS standards. When ISED revises RSS-Gen, it moves the baseline for essentially every radio placed on the Canadian market. In early 2026 ISED released a draft Issue 6 of RSS-Gen together with a draft Issue 6 of RSS-310, its companion standard for licence-exempt Category II equipment, and opened them for public comment.
What exactly did ISED put out?
Two draft standards for public comment: RSS-Gen Issue 6, General Requirements for Compliance of Radio Apparatus, and RSS-310 Issue 6, Licence-Exempt Radio Apparatus: Category II Equipment. The drafts were posted for consultation in early 2026 and the comment period closed on May 29, 2026. As of this writing the consultation is closed and ISED has not published a final Issue 6 of either document — so the drafts describe where Canada is heading, not a rule in force today.
How does the RSS-Gen and RSS-310 boundary move?
This is the change most likely to catch people out, because it is a scheme-boundary shift rather than a numeric tweak. The draft removes receiver-only devices and passive RFID tags from RSS-Gen and places them under RSS-310, and draft RSS-310 Issue 6 is expanded to take them in — its scope grows to cover stand-alone receivers and passive RFID tags. If your product is a receiver or a passive tag, the standard that governs it, and the compliance path that follows, may not be the one you used last time. Draft RSS-310 also reworks the exemption framework, including removing certain blanket exemptions for ultra-low-power transmitters that Issue 5 had granted. Confirm the exact thresholds against the draft before assuming a product stays exempt.
What changes on the RSS-Gen side itself?
Beyond the scope move, the RSS-Gen draft tightens and modernizes several areas that bear directly on test and documentation. It clarifies the compliance obligations triggered by equipment changes — internal circuitry or firmware modifications, connection of non-listed antennas, and use of external power sources. It broadens labelling to include electronic/e-labelling options such as QR codes and labels carried in the user manual or on packaging. And it updates the radiated-emission test-site requirements toward the ANSI C63.25.x site-validation family, with CISPR 16-1-4 as an accepted alternative, alongside changes to the upper measurement range for unwanted emissions. The Preface of the draft enumerates the full list; the point for planning is that a lab qualified only to the older site criteria may need to demonstrate conformance to the newer ones.
Is Issue 6 in force yet, and when would it bite?
No. These are drafts, the comment period has closed, and ISED's decision is pending. Until ISED publishes a final Issue 6 and states its transition arrangements, current certifications remain governed by RSS-Gen Issue 5 and RSS-310 Issue 5. ISED normally pairs a new RSS issue with a transition window during which either the old or new issue may be used; that window, once published, is the date that actually matters for a certification schedule. Watch the ISED RSS pages for the final documents and their coming-into-force provisions.
What should manufacturers and labs do now?
- Inventory the affected products. Flag any receiver-only devices, passive RFID tags, and ultra-low-power transmitters — these are the items whose governing standard or exemption status may change under the draft.
- Check your test lab against the site-validation move. Confirm the lab can demonstrate radiated-emission site compliance to the ANSI C63.25.x family (or CISPR 16-1-4) rather than only the older criteria.
- Review labelling for e-label eligibility. If you want to use QR-code or manual/packaging labelling, map your products against the draft's electronic-labelling provisions.
- Diary the final. The binding dates are the eventual final-Issue-6 publication and its transition window — not the closed comment deadline. Read the Preface of each final document as the authoritative change list.