SIRIM and MCMC Labels on Smart Devices
What Each Label Means and How to Check It

Two labels, two regulators

People often say a gadget is “SIRIM” as shorthand for “checked and safe”. For smart home devices that shorthand hides two separate systems. One is run by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and covers communications equipment, which includes anything with a wireless radio. The other is run by the Energy Commission, Suruhanjaya Tenaga, and covers the electrical safety of regulated equipment that ordinary people buy and use at home.

SIRIM QAS International appears in both stories, which is where the confusion comes from. On the communications side, MCMC’s Check Your Label FAQ names it as the only body authorised to certify communications equipment. On the electrical side, SIRIM QAS describes itself as the certifying agency appointed by the Energy Commission for regulated electrical appliances, and the Energy Commission says it approves equipment on the strength of type test reports from SIRIM or other laboratories it recognises. Same organisation, two different marks.

The MCMC label: what it says about a device

The mark is called the MCMC label: a mandatory certification mark showing that communications equipment is certified to the standards required under the Communications and Multimedia (Technical Standards) Regulations 2000. It consists of the MCMC logo with the manufacturer's or supplier's identification number, and may be a physical label or a digital e-label in the operating system of a device with a display. To check a specific device, do not rely on the look of the label alone: look up its serial number, IMEI, TAC or Self-Labelling Program number through MCMC's Check Your Label service at cyl.mcmc.gov.my, or through SIRIM eComM at ecomm.sirim.my.

MCMC’s Check Your Label campaign lists the kinds of equipment that must carry the label, and the list includes wireless devices, wireless routers and smart TVs. In smart home terms that covers almost everything on the shopping list: a Zigbee hub, a WiFi plug, a Bluetooth lock, a battery door sensor that reports to a hub, a video doorbell and the router the whole house depends on. The campaign also spells out why it cares. Uncertified equipment may be unsafe, may cause radio interference, may degrade the service you get from your provider, and may be counterfeit or cloned.

What a label does and does not tell you

A valid label tells you the device’s communications side was certified for the Malaysian market through the proper channel. It does not tell you the device is well made, that its app is secure, that the cloud service will last, or that it suits your home. MCMC makes this point itself in its FAQ about Android TV boxes: the certification and the label cover the communications module, such as Bluetooth and WiFi, and are not an approval of the apps installed on the box.

Read every label in that narrow way. A smart lock with a valid MCMC label has a certified radio; whether it fits your door, keeps working on a flat battery and lets you in with a key is a separate question, which the smart lock vs digital lock guide covers. Equally, nobody should describe a product as “MCMC approved” in a general sense. The honest statement is that a particular model shows a label whose number checks out.

The SIRIM-ST label: the electrical safety side

Under regulation 97(1) of the Electricity Regulations 1994, no person may manufacture, import, display, sell or advertise domestic equipment, or low-voltage equipment usually sold directly to the public, unless the Energy Commission has approved it. Regulation 98 lets the Commission require the holder of that Certificate of Approval to mark or label the equipment. SIRIM QAS says only appliances with both the Commission’s Certificate of Approval and SIRIM certification are affixed with the SIRIM-ST label.

The Energy Commission publishes the categories that need a Certificate of Approval. The list includes plug tops, switches and dimmers, socket outlets, multiway adaptors, lamp fittings, drivers for lamps, fans, water heaters and adapters or chargers. Several smart products sit close to those headings: a smart plug that goes between the wall socket and an appliance, a smart wall switch or dimmer, the charger that comes with a battery lock or camera, and the driver behind a smart LED strip. Which category a given product falls into is a question for the seller and the label, not for guesswork, so ask.

Which label to look for, device by device

Use the table below as a checking list when the box arrives. It tells you where to look; it does not say any product has passed anything.

Cameras get extra attention because they sit on walls for years and are often bought online; the WiFi camera vs professional CCTV guide goes into the certification rules for cameras in detail. For wall switches, the no-neutral smart switch guide explains the switch-box side of the job.

How to look a label up

Looking at the label is not enough on its own, because labels can be copied. MCMC’s campaign gives four steps: find the MCMC label, retrieve the IMEI or locate the serial number, key it in on the recce.my website or the Check Your Label app, and make sure the result shows the equipment as certified.

1. Photograph the label and the serial number on the device or its box before you throw the packaging away.
2. Open the Check Your Label app or website and enter the serial number, IMEI or supplier number.
3. Compare the model the search returns with the model on your box. A different model is a warning sign.
4. For a plug-in or switch product, open the SIRIM QAS app and check the SIRIM-ST label information.
5. Keep the screenshots with your receipt. They help if a device fails or a question comes up later.

If a search returns nothing, or returns a different product, stop before the device goes on the wall. Ask the seller for the certificate reference for that model.

Buying online and from overseas

Most label problems start with the listing. A product page can show a nice photo and still ship a unit with no label, or a version made for another market. MCMC’s FAQ is direct about online shopping: do not buy communications equipment unless you are sure it has been certified by the certifying agency registered with MCMC. It also says certification is the responsibility of the maker, importer or their agent before the equipment is supplied in the local market.

Buying from an overseas store for your own use does not remove the requirement. The same FAQ says you can apply to SIRIM QAS for a Special Approval, subject to terms and conditions, and only where the equipment is found suitable for use here. A device made for another market can also bring a separate problem: it may be tied to a different app region, which the China vs Global version guide explains.

If a device you already own has no label

MCMC’s FAQ says that, under the law, using or operating uncertified communications equipment is an offence, and it runs the Check Your Label campaign to get people to buy certified, labelled equipment. If you find a device with no label, check first whether the label is on the box, in the manual or in the app’s settings as an e-label. If it truly has none and the number does not check out, take it up with the seller rather than adding it to your system.

For anything that plugs into the mains or sits in a switch box, an unlabelled product is also an electrical safety question. Stop using a smart plug or adaptor that runs hot, smells or looks damaged, whatever its label says.

A label checklist for your first purchases

If you are only now choosing your first devices, the starter setup guide helps you keep the first purchase small, and the ecosystems comparison helps you pick the app family before you buy.

How ClickBina helps

When we set up a hub, lock, sensor or plug, we can check its MCMC label and look the number up with you before it is paired. We do the smart device, app and low-voltage side of the job. For smart switches and anything wired into the mains, we supply the devices and set up the app, and the switch or wiring work is done by an electrical contractor registered with Suruhanjaya Tenaga that we coordinate.

Sources & references

• MCMC Check Your Label: what is the MCMC label (mandatory certification mark, physical or digital forms, risks of uncertified equipment).
• MCMC Check Your Label: how to check (equipment that must carry the label; the four checking steps).
• MCMC Check Your Label: FAQ (SIRIM QAS as certifying body, Special Approval for own-use imports, the label covering the communications module).
• MCMC: Certification label (Guide to MCMC Label).
• Electricity Regulations 1994 (regulations 97 and 98, approval and labelling of equipment).
• Energy Commission: equipment that requires a Certificate of Approval.
• Energy Commission: the role of SIRIM (type test reports).
• SIRIM QAS: SIRIM-ST label awareness campaign (who gets the SIRIM-ST label; checking it in the app).