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CISPR (International Special Committee on Radio Interference) is the IEC committee that writes the world’s most widely used radio-frequency emission standards. Founded in 1934 to protect radio broadcasting from electrical interference, it now publishes both the limit standards applied to products (CISPR 11, 14, 25, 32) and the measurement infrastructure standards (CISPR 16 series) that define the receivers, antennas and test sites used to verify them. Donald N. Heirman, whose legacy this site preserves, served as CISPR chairman.
What is CISPR and why was it founded?
CISPR was established in Paris in 1934, when the growth of electrical equipment began to threaten the young medium of radio broadcasting. Its founding purpose - setting internationally agreed limits on radio disturbance so that receivers everywhere enjoy the same protection - remains its purpose today. CISPR operates as a special committee of the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) with its own numbering series. Its publications are voluntary international standards, but they gain legal force when adopted regionally: in the EU as EN 550xx harmonized standards, and in many other countries by direct national adoption. The committee’s chairmen have included Donald N. Heirman, who led CISPR after decades of US and international standards work; see his biography for the full career.
How is CISPR structured?
CISPR divides its work among subcommittees, each owning a product area or a horizontal discipline:
- CISPR/A - radio-interference measurements and statistical methods; owns the CISPR 16 series that defines instrumentation and test sites.
- CISPR/B - interference from industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) RF equipment, heavy industrial equipment, overhead power lines and high-voltage apparatus; owns CISPR 11.
- CISPR/D - electrical and electronic equipment on vehicles; owns CISPR 12 and CISPR 25.
- CISPR/F - household appliances, tools, lighting equipment; owns CISPR 14-1, 14-2 and CISPR 15.
- CISPR/H - limits for the protection of radio services; the horizontal committee that coordinates limit-setting rationale across product committees.
- CISPR/I - information technology, multimedia equipment and receivers; owns CISPR 32 and CISPR 35.
This split explains why CISPR numbers look scattered: each subcommittee maintains the publications for its own product families.
Which CISPR publications matter most?
| Publication | Scope | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CISPR 11 | Industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) equipment - emissions | Group 1/Group 2 and Class A/Class B classification; basis of EN 55011 |
| CISPR 14-1 / 14-2 | Household appliances and electric tools | 14-1 emissions, 14-2 immunity |
| CISPR 16 (multi-part) | Specification for radio disturbance measuring apparatus and methods | Defines EMI receivers, LISNs, antennas, test sites; referenced by all CISPR product standards |
| CISPR 25 | Vehicles, boats and internal combustion engines - protection of on-board receivers | Component and whole-vehicle emission limits; the core automotive EMC standard |
| CISPR 32 | Multimedia equipment - emissions | Replaced CISPR 22 (ITE) and CISPR 13 (broadcast receivers); current edition CISPR 32:2015+A1:2019 |
| CISPR 35 | Multimedia equipment - immunity | Companion to CISPR 32; replaced CISPR 24; first published 2016 |
What happened in the CISPR 22 to CISPR 32 transition?
CISPR 32 merged two aging product categories - information technology equipment (CISPR 22) and broadcast receivers plus associated equipment (CISPR 13) - into a single scope called multimedia equipment (MME). The first edition appeared in 2012, the second edition in 2015 with amendment A1 in 2019, and the superseded standards were withdrawn in 2017. The merger reflected market reality: a smart TV is simultaneously a receiver, a computer and a network device, and testing it under two different standards no longer made sense. The practical differences and transition timeline are covered in detail in our article CISPR 22 vs CISPR 32: what changed and why it matters.
How do CISPR standards relate to the other families?
CISPR provides emission limits and methods internationally; the IEC 61000 series provides most immunity methods; ANSI C63 provides the US measurement procedures; and FCC Part 15 sets the US legal limits. A product sold worldwide typically needs CISPR-based testing for the EU and much of Asia, plus FCC testing per ANSI C63.4 for the US. The measurement hardware - EMI receivers built to CISPR 16-1-1, LISNs per CISPR 16-1-2 - is largely shared across both regimes; see EMC testing basics for how a compliance test actually runs.