China CCC Certification Products

You don't apply to SAMR itself. The manufacturer, seller or importer contracts directly with a CCC certification body that SAMR has designated for that product. That body arranges type testing at a designated laboratory and, where the product's rule requires it, a factory inspection. It then issues the certificate, normally within 90 days of accepting the application (CCC Administrative Provisions, SAMR Order No. 61 of 2022, Arts. 10, 12-16).

Who can apply

• The applicant can be the producer, the seller or the importer of a product on the catalogue (Art. 10).
• For contract manufacturing (OEM/ODM), either the brand owner or the contract factory can apply.
• If a seller or importer applies, it must also submit a copy of its contract with the manufacturer. In the OEM case, the contract between the two companies is required (Art. 11).

The steps

1. Find the rule and a certification body. Each product group has its own CNCA implementation rule, for example CNCA-C01-01:2024 for wires and cables or CNCA-C07-01:2024 for household appliances. Eight general rules apply alongside them, covering:

   • choosing the certification mode (00C-003)
   • using the factory's own test resources (00C-004)
   • factory quality-assurance requirements (00C-005)
   • factory inspection (00C-006)
   • ODM (00C-002)
   • self-declaration (00C-008)

   CNCA keeps an index of all of these (CNCA list of implementation rules, updated August 2026). Each certification body publishes detailed procedures under the rule, which it must file with CNCA first. These procedures set the document list, timelines, fees, how products are grouped into certification units, and the list of critical components (CNCA-C01-01:2024, §12).

2. Submit the application and technical file. At minimum this includes:

   • the application form or contract
   • registration documents for the applicant, the manufacturer and the factory
   • technical documentation as the body's procedures require
   • if there is no initial factory inspection, a self-assessment of the factory's quality-assurance capability (C01-01 §5.2)

3. Type testing. The body sets a test plan: which samples, how many, which standards and which lab. You normally send representative samples, but the body can take samples at the factory or seal them there. Testing is done at a designated lab. You are legally responsible for making sure the samples match series production (Art. 13; C01-01 §6.1). Critical components that are themselves CCC products need their own CCC certificates (C01-01 §6.1.2).

4. Factory inspection. Where the mode requires it, registered CCC inspectors check the factory's quality-assurance capability and whether production matches the tested sample (Art. 15). The mode depends on the product's risk and on how the body grades the factory. Not every product needs an initial inspection: for cables, the basic mode is type test plus post-certification surveillance, and the body adds an initial inspection depending on the factory grading (C01-01 §3).

5. Decision and certificate. The certificate is valid for 5 years (Arts. 16, 22).

6. CCC mark. You must keep records of how the mark is used and apply it as the product rule specifies (Art. 32).

After certification

• Surveillance: expect follow-up factory inspections (preferably unannounced), sampling at the factory or sampling from the market. How often depends on the factory's grading (Arts. 17, 19; C01-01 §7).
• Changes to the certified product: changes to critical components, safety-relevant design or the production site need the body's approval first, sometimes with retesting or a new inspection (Art. 24). Adding new models goes through an extension application (Art. 25). Selling a changed product without a change or extension application can be fined up to ¥30,000 (Art. 54).
• Renewal: apply within the 90 days before the certificate expires. If the last surveillance was clean, the body reissues it directly (Art. 22; C01-01 §8.1).
• Imports: CCC certificates and marks are checked at entry (Art. 40).

Exemptions You can apply to your local market regulation bureau for an exemption certificate (免予办理强制性产品认证证明) for certain uses. These are:

• R&D or testing
• spare parts for repairing a final user's equipment
• equipment for a factory production line
• display-only exhibits
• temporary imports
• parts for products that will be exported in full (Art. 42)

Personal belongings and diplomatic goods need neither CCC nor an exemption (Art. 41).

Self-declaration route Some products could use self-declaration instead of a certificate (rule CNCA-00C-008:2019). As noted in the previous answer, 16 of them must hold a full certificate from 1 January 2027.

Approach: The regulatory datasets I can search don't cover the CCC procedure, so I worked from the CCC Administrative Provisions on SAMR's site and from CNCA's index of implementation rules. I used the wires-and-cables rule (CNCA-C01-01:2024) as the worked example; other products' rules follow the same structure but differ in certification mode and inspection requirements. I didn't pull the list of designated certification bodies for each product. I can do that, or walk through the specific rule for your product, if useful.

The CCC mark is an oval containing the letters "CCC", the abbreviation of "China Compulsory Certification". On a standard-size label the oval's long and short axes are in a ratio of 8:6.3. Since 2018 the mark has carried no suffix for the certification type. The current rules are CNCA's CCC Mark Management Requirements (强制性产品认证标志管理要求), attached to CNCA Announcement 2023 No. 12 and in force since 1 January 2024. They replace the 2018 marking requirements.

Design

• The mark is an oval. The official vector artwork can be downloaded from the CCC section of CNCA's website. It must not be distorted unless the product's implementation rule specifically allows it (Mark Requirements, §1 and §3(4)).
• Category suffixes are gone. From 20 March 2018 the mark stopped carrying the sub-category letters S (safety), EMC, S&E, F (fire) and I (information security). Marks with these letters could be phased out as moulds were replaced and stock ran down (CNCA Announcement 2018 No. 10, §3).

Three forms of the mark

Form	What it is	Colour	Size
Standard-size label	Adhesive label printed by the designated certification body. It has anti-counterfeiting features and must be wipe-resistant and stick firmly. You buy it from the certification body by showing a valid certificate or self-declaration.	White background, black design	Five fixed sizes (below)
Printed or moulded	Applied directly by the certificate holder by printing, moulding, silk-screen, spray paint, etching, engraving or branding. It must be inseparable from the product or nameplate and stay clear, complete and standalone.	Free choice to suit the product or nameplate	Scaled proportionally
Electronic (e-marking)	Shown on an integrated screen, which must be one the product cannot work without. Only for products with an electronic nameplate. The manual must explain how to display it, and the smallest sales package must also carry a label or printed mark.	Free choice	Scaled proportionally

Standard label sizes (A is the oval's long axis and B its short axis, in mm):

Size	No. 1	No. 2	No. 3	No. 4	No. 5
A	8	15	30	45	60
B	6.3	11.8	23.5	35.3	47

Where it goes

• The standard label goes in a conspicuous place on the product's outer surface. The printed or moulded mark goes in a conspicuous place on the outer surface or the nameplate. If the product rule specifies a position, the rule applies (§3(1)-(2)).
• If the product's shape or size means none of the three forms can go on the product, the mark goes on the smallest sales package or in the accompanying documents (§3(4)).
• Imported products must be marked before import, and domestic products before they leave the factory. No product on the catalogue may be sold, imported or used commercially until it is certified (or self-declared) and marked (§3).
• You may also use the mark on packaging, in adverts and in product literature, but not in a way that misleads consumers. The manufacturer must keep records of how the mark is used, and certification bodies check this during surveillance (§4).

Special forms set in product rules Under the 2018 requirements, wires and cables and vehicle brake hoses could simply be printed with the letters "CCC" instead of the oval (2018 No. 10, Annex 1 §6(2)). The 2024 requirements now leave any such variants to each product's implementation rule (§3(4)).

Approach: The regulatory datasets I can search don't cover CCC marking, so I worked from CNCA's 2023 mark requirements and the earlier 2018 announcement on SAMR's site. The official documents show the mark itself only as an image, so I've described it from their text rather than reproducing it.