Japan VCCI Testing: A Complete Guide to EMC Compliance in Japan
Reading Time: 6 minutes
Japan’s Voluntary Control Council for Interference (VCCI) offers a self-declaration route, but two enforcement levers drive serious up-front engineering discipline: registered test sites face periodic Council audits, and random post-market sampling can pull units from retail shelves for re-test. This guide covers:
- Membership workflow, confirmation reporting, and VCCI mark usage.
- Class A/B radiated and conducted limit curves with detector-selection logic.
- Site registration procedures, post-market surveillance triggers, and dossier-retention rules.
Governance & Scheme: Quick Hits
Membership Gate
Only VCCI members can ship Class A or Class B multimedia equipment (MME) into Japan; annual dues buy access to the online Product Conformity Registration System and use of the VCCI mark.
Self-Verification Workflow
A member measures its product at a VCCI-registered facility, assembles the report, uploads a confirmation report through the portal, and waits for the Council’s acceptance e-mail before distribution.
Technical Rule Set
VCCI’s limits mirror CISPR 32; immunity is outside scope. Class B targets Japanese residences, Class A covers commercial/industrial sales.
Market-Channel Link
Mis-classify equipment and customs may detain shipments; retail chains default to Class B paperwork.
Council Oversight
VCCI samples ±100 models each fiscal year from retail shelves for re-test; failures trigger public disclosure and shipment stops.
Class-Specific Emission Limit Framework
| Class B — 3 m SAC/OATS |
| Radiated limits: At 10 m the limits are 30 dBµV/m (30–230 MHz) and 37 dBµV/m (230–1000 MHz) using a quasi‑peak detector. Corrected to the common 3 m geometry, they become 40.5 dBµV/m and 47.5 dBµV/m (20 log d1/d2). Above 1 GHz: Use an average detector 6 dB lower than the QP curve. Conducted limits (150 kHz–30 MHz) • 150 kHz–500 kHz: 66 dBµV (QP) / 56 dBµV (AVG) falling logarithmically to 56 dBµV / 46 dBµV. • 500 kHz–5 MHz: 56 dBµV (QP) / 46 dBµV (AVG). • 5 MHz–30 MHz: 60 dBµV (QP) / 50 dBµV (AVG). |
| Class A — 10 m OATS below 1 GHz |
| 30–230 MHz ≤ 40 dBµV/m, 230–1000 MHz ≤ 47 dBµV/m; site factor Δ ≈ 9 dB vs 3 m after distance correction. |
| Detector Strategy |
| QP mandatory to 1 GHz; average required above 1 GHz. Site MU must be subtracted if it exceeds 0.4 dB of limit margin. |
| LISN Specifics |
| CISPR 16-1-2 LISN with (50µH+5Ω) shunted by 50Ω, verification every 12 months. |
Measurement Facilities & Geometry Registration
Accurate VCCI data depend on a chamber that the Council can trust, so the facility, not merely the product, must earn its own registration under procedural guide VCCI-32-2. The process proves site fidelity from 30 MHz to 6 GHz, locks antenna geometry for each equipment class, and obliges periodic uncertainty audits to keep the listing active.
1, Initial listing – Submit VCCI-32-2 pack
- chamber photos
- NSA/CISPR 16 correlation data
- time-domain site VSWR, and
- shielding-effectiveness plots.
2. Geometry options:
- 3 m SAC accepted for Class B to 6 GHz if floor absorbers achieve ≥ 6 dB damping over limit line.
- 10 m OATS mandatory for Class A below 1 GHz; above 1 GHz you may revert to 3 m SAC with correlation file.
3. Antenna scan profile:
- 1–4 m height sweep
- Both polarizations
- 2 ° azimuth steps ≤ 1 GHz
- Fixed 1.5 m height above 1 GHz.
4. Renewal cadence
- Full re-registration every 3 years
- Intermediate NSA spot-check each 12 months.
5. Site MU target
- Expanded uncertainty must be < 6 dB up to 1 GHz and < 5 dB above 1 GHz or the facility is downgraded to “conditional.”
After the Test: Documentation Duties
| Step | Deliverable | Note |
| 1 | Technical Construction File (TCF) | Block diagram, BOM, PCB rev, schematics, ports list, EMC report, site-registration ID. |
| 2 | Confirmation report upload | Portal auto-checks member ID and site ID coherence. Shipment allowed only after acceptance notice. (vcci.jp) |
| 3 | VCCI label | Mark plus Class letter on product or packaging; statement repeated in user manual. (vcci.jp) |
| 4 | Record retention | Keep TCF and test raw data 10 years from last manufacture date. |
| 5 | Market surveillance | Council may purchase or borrow one sample; failed units appear on public list and must cease shipment until retested. (vcci.jp) |
Note: Some labs may have automated systems for test protocol and report generation and global compliance that significantly cut down on these requirements or automate them for you.
Three Quick-Win Design Tweaks for VCCI Compliance
Failure signatures repeat across VCCI investigations, so engineers can pre-empt them with predictable countermeasures. The playbook pairs each dominant emission mode with a calibrated layout or filtering fix to preserve margin without ballooning bill-of-material cost.
| Issue | 180–210 MHz harmonics |
| Seen in | A graphics SDRAM bursts leak through seams |
| Potential Solution | Force memory-controller spread-spectrum ±0.5 %, stitch ground every 3 mm along bezel seam, add dual-aperture ferrite on LVDS harness. |
| Issue | 450 kHz–2 MHz ripple |
| Seen in | Buck converters saturate LISN limit |
| Potential Solution | Synchronise all DC-DC PWM clocks to 300 kHz ±1 %, insert π-filter (22 µH/1 µF/1 µF) at input, reserve copper pour for coaxial return under inductor. |
| Issue | Cable-shield slot resonance > 1 GHz |
| Seen in | Myriad device types and enclosures |
| Potential Solution | Terminate braid 360 ° with spring-finger gasket, back-pot strain-relief to maintain low inductance, and add MnZn ferrite bead (600 Ω @100 MHz) 40 mm from egress. |
Dual-Certification Bridge (VCCI ↔ FCC / CISPR)
Global launches rarely stop at Japan, and misaligned limits create hidden schedule traps. This bridge section quantifies the dB deltas and dossier-reuse paths that shrink retest scope between VCCI, FCC Part 15, and CISPR 32/35.
- Distance factor FCC Part 15 radiated limits are specified at 10 m; converting to 3 m adds ≈ 9 dB margin. It’s why many U.S. Class B designs pass VCCI first shot.
- Limit-line delta – Above 1 GHz VCCI keeps CISPR 32 Class-B shape, whereas FCC applies linear detenters; margin gain shrinks to ≈ 5 dB around 2 GHz.
- Dossier synergies – CISPR 32 test reports accepted by VCCI if facility ID appears on VCCI list; experienced labs add a Japanese cover sheet plus limit-line overlay and upload as confirmation report.
- Immunity gap – Neither FCC nor VCCI mandates EN 55035 immunity; EU directives do. If you plan global release, reserve PCB space for ESD ground stitching and surge arrestors up front.
VCCI Compliance FAQs
Who can file a confirmation report?
Only VCCI members, domestic or overseas, holding a valid ID and paid-up dues.
How many samples are needed for the confirmation test?
One fully populated EUT plus identical spare if disassembly is required; the Council’s market-sampling program later sources its own units from retail.
Do daughtercards or RF modules need separate VCCI reports?
No. Only the finished MME must be registered; the module’s emissions are evaluated as part of the host system.
Does a firmware update trigger a retest?
Required if clock rates, frame timings, or EMC-related GPIO toggling change. Pure UI or language tweaks are exempt.
Are there manual language obligations?
Japanese is mandatory; additional languages optional. A separate paper insert is acceptable if the primary manual is multilingual.
Final Thoughts
VCCI self‑declaration may look easy on paper, yet it layers stringent Class B limits, mandatory site registration, and an active post‑market sampling program. Set radiated margins at 3 m early, archive raw data for ten years, and refresh the confirmation report whenever a design change shifts resonance behaviour. MiCOM Labs can generate fresh VCCI data, audit your dossier, or act as long‑term file custodian, so your engineers stay focused on innovation, not paperwork.
Schedule your consultation today.