USA: FCC RF Exposure Consultation Opens — Comments Due Oct 22

USA: FCC Opens Public Consultation on RF Exposure Issues Remanded in Environmental Health Trust v. FCC

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the United States has opened a public consultation on radiofrequency (RF) exposure issues that were remanded to the agency by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Environmental Health Trust v. FCC, 9 F.4th 893 (D.C. Cir. 2021). The Public Notice (DA 26-997), issued by the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) in ET Docket No. 13-84, was released on September 17, 2026, and published in the Federal Register on September 22, 2026 (91 FR 60128). Interested parties may submit comments until October 22, 2026.

Regulatory Background

Since 1996, the FCC has been responsible for rules governing human exposure to RF energy emitted by FCC-regulated transmitters and devices. These rules draw on guidance from the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) and standards developed by ANSI and IEEE. For portable devices such as smartphones, the FCC limit is a Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) of 0.08 W/kg averaged over the whole body and a peak spatial-average of 1.6 W/kg over any 1 gram of tissue.

In 2013, the FCC opened a Notice of Inquiry to evaluate whether these rules should be revisited. After reviewing close to 1,000 submissions, the Commission terminated the inquiry in December 2019, concluding that the evidence supported keeping the existing RF exposure limits unchanged.

That decision was challenged in court. In 2021, the D.C. Circuit upheld most of the FCC's findings including its conclusion that RF exposure below current limits does not cause cancer and did not vacate the 2019 decision. However, the court remanded the matter so the FCC could give a reasoned explanation of why its limits adequately protect against non-cancer effects, specifically addressing:

1. Its decision to retain existing testing procedures for cell phones and other portable devices;

2. The effects of RF exposure on children, long-term exposure, the ubiquity of wireless devices, and technological developments since the guidelines were last updated; and

3. The environmental impacts of RF radiation.

   
   

The FCC took no formal action on the remand for several years. Earlier in 2026, advocacy groups returned to court seeking an order compelling the agency to act, and this Public Notice is the FCC's response.

Scope of the FCC RF Exposure Consultation

The FCC RF exposure consultation is deliberately narrow. The Commission is refreshing the record only on the three remanded issues and is not seeking comment on aspects of the 2019 decision that the court upheld, nor on evidence that was not before the court. In summary, the FCC is asking stakeholders to comment on:

• The 2019 finding that the record did not justify changes to the RF exposure rules.

• The studies cited by the court, including five articles on potential non-cancer effects and whether they are representative, reliable and rigorous enough to warrant a rule change.

• Environmental effects, including the probative value of a 2014 U.S. Department of the Interior letter on communications towers and migratory birds.

• Other record evidence filed between the 2013 Notice of Inquiry and the 2019 termination, and whether it supports or undermines the current rules.

• Testing procedures for determining whether cell phones and other portable devices comply with the RF exposure guidelines, with measurement guidance referenced in the OET Knowledge Database (KDB).

  
  

The notice also sets out detailed methodological questions replication, dose response, dosimetry, confounding factors, blinding, sample size, and the distinction between correlation and causation and states that the FCC will give greater weight to submissions from parties with demonstrated scientific expertise, while giving limited weight to broad meta analyses and unverifiable testimonial submissions. The Commission specifically invites input from health and safety agencies and standard setting bodies such as NCRP, IEEE and ICNIRP.

A parallel initiative is running at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which has published a separate Request for Information on RF/EMF health effects with comments due October 21, 2026.

How to Participate

Comments must reference ET Docket No. 13-84 and may be filed electronically through the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs, or on paper addressed to the Secretary of the FCC. The proceeding is treated as "permit-but-disclose" under the FCC's ex parte rules, meaning that any written or oral presentation made to FCC staff must be documented in the docket within two business days. Questions may be directed to the FCC's RF Safety Program at rfsafety@fcc.gov.

What This Means for Manufacturers

For manufacturers of smartphones, tablets, wearables, IoT modules, laptops and other RF-emitting equipment, the key message is continuity: the FCC's RF exposure rules remain legally in force. The court did not vacate them, and this consultation does not propose new limits or new test methods. Products currently undergoing FCC equipment authorization must continue to demonstrate compliance with the existing SAR and MPE requirements.

That said, this proceeding deserves close monitoring. Testing procedures for portable devices are one of the three remanded issues, which means the FCC's eventual response could, in principle, lead to future refinements of SAR evaluation methods or KDB guidance. Manufacturers with product roadmaps extending into 2027 and beyond particularly for devices used close to the body or by children should follow the docket and the outcome of the FCC's review.

Industry participants and testing laboratories with RF dosimetry expertise may also wish to file comments, as the FCC has signalled that technically qualified submissions will carry the most weight.

Certification Impact Summary

Area	Current Status	Impact of the Consultation
RF exposure limits (SAR 1.6 W/kg over 1 g; 0.08 W/kg whole body)	In force	No change proposed
SAR / MPE testing procedures (OET KDB guidance)	In force	Under review as a remanded issue; no immediate change
FCC equipment authorization (Certification, SDoC)	Unchanged	No new documentation or test requirements
Existing FCC grants	Valid	Not affected
Devices used by children / close to the body	Same limits apply	Topic under review; monitor outcome
Environmental assessment of RF sources	Unchanged	Under review; relevant mainly to infrastructure/towers
Overall compliance risk (short term)	—	Low
Overall compliance risk (medium/long term)	—	Moderate depends on the FCC's final response to the remand

Timeline and Required Actions

Key Milestones

Date	Milestone
1996	FCC adopts RF exposure rules for regulated transmitters
2013	FCC opens Notice of Inquiry on RF exposure rules (ET Docket No. 13-84)
December 2019	FCC terminates the inquiry and retains existing limits
2021	D.C. Circuit decides Environmental Health Trust v. FCC, remanding three targeted issues
2026	Advocacy groups petition the court to compel FCC action on the remand
September 17, 2026	FCC releases Public Notice DA 26-997
September 22, 2026	Notice published in the Federal Register (91 FR 60128)
October 21, 2026	Comment deadline for the parallel HHS Request for Information
October 22, 2026	Comment deadline for the FCC RF exposure consultation
After October 2026	FCC reviews the record and issues its response to the court's remand

Required and Recommended Actions

Action	Who	When
Continue certifying products under current FCC RF exposure rules	All manufacturers	Ongoing
Review the Public Notice and assess relevance to your product portfolio	Regulatory / compliance teams	Now
Prepare and file technical comments via ECFS (ET Docket No. 13-84)	Manufacturers, test labs, industry associations with RF expertise	By October 22, 2026
Coordinate with industry associations on joint submissions	Manufacturers	Before October 22, 2026
Monitor the docket for reply filings, ex parte notices and the FCC's final response	Regulatory teams	After October 22, 2026
Track any future updates to OET KDB SAR/MPE guidance	Certification and test-lab partners	Ongoing
Factor possible testing-procedure changes into long-term product roadmaps	Product and engineering teams	2027 planning cycle

Conclusion

The FCC's new public consultation reopens a long dormant question: whether the agency can adequately justify its RF exposure rules on non cancer health effects, children's and long term exposure, testing procedures and environmental impacts. While the scope is narrow and existing limits remain fully applicable to equipment authorization, the outcome could shape how RF exposure compliance is demonstrated in the U.S. market in the years ahead. Manufacturers and certification stakeholders should review the notice, consider submitting technically grounded comments before October 22, 2026, and keep a close watch on the FCC's next steps.