Pre-compliance testing
also: pre-scan · EMC pre-scan · pre-compliance
Informal, lower-cost testing of prototypes against certification limits before the formal lab test, to find and fix problems while changes are still cheap.
Formal certification testing at an accredited lab is expensive per day and often booked weeks ahead, and a failure means redesign, retest and another booking. Pre-compliance testing uses simpler setups (a lab's pre-scan service, a rented chamber, or near-field probes and a spectrum analyzer in your own lab) to see how close prototypes are to emissions limits and how they respond to ESD and immunity tests.
It is most valuable on the first full prototype boards, when layout changes are still cheap, and again just before formal testing of DVT units.
Where it bites: pre-compliance results are not certification, and margins can shift between setups, so aim for comfortable margin rather than a marginal pass.
Founder takeaway
Run EMC pre-scans on your first full prototype boards and again before formal testing, and fix anything without comfortable margin.
engineer review pending