FCC August Covered List Update Leaves Hikvision and Dahua Entries Unchanged

August notice updates inverters, not Hikvision or Dahua

The Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau released Public Notice DA 26-870 on August 20, 2026. The notice announced a modification to the Covered List entry for certain foreign-produced power inverters after a new national-security determination. It was not a new enforcement action or a new listing decision directed at Hikvision or Dahua.

Still, the notice matters to security-system buyers because its appendix republishes the FCC Covered List as updated on that date. That appendix continues to include entries for video-surveillance and telecommunications equipment produced or provided by Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company and Dahua Technology Company. Each entry is marked with a March 12, 2021 inclusion date.

What the retained entries cover

The list language is purpose-specific. For Hikvision and Dahua, it identifies video-surveillance and telecommunications equipment when it is used for public safety, security of government facilities, physical-security surveillance of critical infrastructure, or other national-security purposes. It also encompasses telecommunications or video-surveillance services produced or provided by those entities or using their equipment.

The wording also matters for corporate due diligence. The FCC states that an entity named on the Covered List includes its subsidiaries and affiliates. Buyers should therefore avoid treating a brand label, distributor listing or country-of-origin field as a complete compliance screen. A project file should identify the actual producer and assess any relevant affiliate relationship.

FCC authorization rules are distinct from buying restrictions

The Covered List is linked to the FCC’s equipment-authorization framework. In its 2022 equipment-authorization order, the FCC concluded that it would not approve an authorization application that would permit marketing and sale of Hikvision, Dahua or Hytera video-surveillance or telecommunications equipment for the specified public-safety, government-security, critical-infrastructure or national-security purposes.

That regulatory mechanism should not be confused with a blanket statement about every existing device, every private deployment or every commercial transaction. The August 20 notice does not announce a universal product recall, an order to remove installed cameras, or a new prohibition applying to all surveillance purchases. Equipment authorization, federal procurement, federal-support eligibility and individual customer requirements need to be evaluated separately.

Federal contractors face a separate Section 889 review

Federal acquisition rules implementing Section 889 of the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act establish separate contracting prohibitions. They cover specified Hikvision and Dahua video-surveillance and telecommunications equipment for the same defined purposes, including where it is a substantial or essential component of a system or critical technology. The rules also restrict agencies from contracting with an entity that uses such covered equipment or services in the circumstances addressed by the regulation, subject to stated exceptions and waivers.

For contractors, this makes the compliance question broader than the camera selected for a single federal installation. Bid teams should review applicable solicitations, representations and certifications early, and should escalate possible exceptions or waivers to counsel or the contracting officer rather than assuming a product’s commercial availability resolves the issue.

Practical steps for integrators and facility teams

For projects involving government facilities, public safety, critical infrastructure or federal funds, teams should create a bill-of-materials compliance record before purchase orders are released. That record should capture manufacturer and model information, radios or wireless modules, intended end use, service and cloud dependencies, and the entity supplying the equipment or service.

Teams should then match that record against the current FCC Covered List, applicable FCC authorization requirements, contract clauses and funding-program rules. Where an approved-products list, agency specification, state law or owner policy imposes stricter conditions, that project-specific requirement controls. This approach can reduce late-stage substitutions, rejected submittals and eligibility problems while preserving a clear audit trail.