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Does a dishwasher need FCC approval?

A dishwasher's digital control board is one of the appliance types the FCC exempts from the technical standards. The baseline conditions still apply: it must cause no harmful interference.

The FCC exempts a digital device used exclusively inside an appliance such as a dishwasher, dryer, or air conditioner from the standards, not from all obligations.

FCC equipment authorization

Exempt from the technical standards (baseline still applies)

The digital electronics fall in one of the 47 CFR 15.103 exempt categories, so the device is exempt from the specific technical standards. It is still bound by the baseline conditions.

  • Exempt means exempt from the specific technical standards, not from all obligations. The device must still meet the general conditions of 47 CFR 15.5 (cause no harmful interference, and stop on an FCC finding of interference).
  • This identifies the authorization path and cites the rule. It does not perform or certify testing and does not issue the authorization. A specialized FCC test lab or a Telecommunication Certification Body does that.
Sources
47 CFR § 15.103

Exempted devices are 'subject only to the general conditions of operation in §§15.5 and 15.29, and are exempt from the specific technical standards and other requirements contained in this part.' Listed types include a digital device used exclusively in a transportation vehicle (a); as a public utility / industrial-plant control or power system (b); as industrial, commercial, or medical test equipment (c); exclusively in an appliance such as a microwave oven, dishwasher, clothes dryer, or air conditioner (d). Paragraph (j) removes the exemption for Covered List producers.

CFR 2024 annual edition, title 47 vol. 1 (GPO/govinfo). Retrieved 2026-08-26.

47 CFR § 15.5

General conditions of operation: operation is subject to the conditions that no harmful interference is caused and that interference must be accepted; the operator must cease operating the device upon notification by a Commission representative that it is causing harmful interference.

CFR 2024 annual edition, title 47 vol. 1 (GPO/govinfo). Retrieved 2026-08-26.

This page classifies a dishwasher from its typical design. To check a specific product, including a variant that adds a radio, run the free FCC Requirement Check.

Run the free FCC check →
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