2026 BSMI Type Approval: Revised Instruction Guidances for Electrical and Electronic Products

What Changed in the 2026 Amendment

BSMI (Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection) amended its Instruction Guidances for Type Approval of Electrical and Electronic Products on May 20, 2026 (115年05月20日), with immediate effect. The guidance was consolidated from eleven points to ten. The most notable change under the current version is a formal information security documentation category, sitting alongside the existing electrical safety, electromagnetic compatibility, and digital reception requirements, with a defined compliance deadline of January 1, 2028 for a named set of energy-related products.

The 2028 Deadline

The information security category requires verification certificates or specification sheets for key components such as active chips, communication chips, and communication modules, along with functional block diagrams, a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM), a list of key hardware components, and a self-assessment checklist. BSMI has fixed January 1, 2028 as the date by which EV charging equipment, power conversion systems, solar photovoltaic inverters, and stationary lithium energy storage devices must include this documentation in their type approval applications. This follows BSMI’s broader cybersecurity work in this space, including a dedicated cybersecurity testing specification for storage power conversion systems introduced in 2024 and the regulation of EV charging equipment as an inspected commodity from July 1, 2026.

Overview: The BSMI Type Approval Process

Step 1: Confirm Product Category

Applicants determine whether their product qualifies as a large commodity, a system-complex commodity, or a small-quantity commodity, since this classification affects testing options later in the process.

Step 2: Prepare Technical Documentation

Applicants compile technical files across the four documentation categories: electrical safety, electromagnetic compatibility, digital reception function, and information security, including manuals, specifications, photographs, and circuit or block diagrams for each.

Step 3: Submit Information Security Documentation (Where Applicable)

Applicants provide component verification certificates, functional block diagrams, an SBOM with a key component list, and a self-assessment checklist for information security, required immediately for applicable products and mandatory from January 1, 2028 for EV charging equipment, power conversion systems, solar inverters, and stationary lithium storage devices.

Step 4: Undergo Type Testing

Standard products are tested by designated laboratories. Large or system-complex products may be tested on-site, and small-quantity or peripheral-facility-limited products may apply for supervised testing overseas.

Step 5: Receive Type Approval Certificate

Once testing and document review are complete, BSMI issues a type approval certificate valid for three years.

Step 6: Comply With Post-Approval Sampling Inspection

Approved products remain subject to ongoing sampling inspection, at a rate of one in ten batches generally, or one in twenty batches for information technology products and products tested only for electromagnetic compatibility.

Key Takeaways

• The information security documentation category, including the SBOM obligation, extends BSMI’s ongoing cybersecurity focus for connected electrical and electronic products into the general type approval framework.
• EV charging equipment, power conversion systems, solar inverters, and stationary lithium storage device manufacturers have until January 1, 2028 to prepare information security technical files, a deadline worth building into certification planning now.

Source

BSMI, Instruction Guidances for Type Approval of Electrical/Electronic Products amended May 20, 2026. Available at: https://www.bsmi.gov.tw/wSite/laws/review.jsp?lawId=2c9081fe1c7959a1011c87b78cb00357&mp=1