Zigbee Certification#

This document provides guidelines for certifying Zigbee 3.0 devices.

Why Certify Zigbee Devices#

Zigbee Certification declares that your device is compliant with the Zigbee Specification and is interoperable with all other Zigbee Certified devices on the market. This ensures that certified products are backwards and forwards compatible with all other certified Zigbee products. The governing body for Zigbee Certification is the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), formerly known as the Zigbee Alliance. More details on the process of Certification and why getting Zigbee certified is important can be found on the CSA website: https://csa-iot.org/certification/why-certify/. Upon certification, you can display the Zigbee Certified Product logo on your product and in marketing campaigns.

How Does Zigbee Certification Work#

Zigbee certification overviewZigbee certification overview

Zigbee Certification comprises three separate certifications#

  1. 802.15.4 MAC/PHY Compliance: Testing with the 802.15.4 specification and this is handled by Silicon Labs. Every chip die family undergoes this testing

  2. Zigbee Compliant Platform (ZCP): This is the compliance of vendor stacks (Like EmberZNet) meeting Zigbee networking compliance. We send our software stacks for ZCP certification so the Zigbee ZCP can be inherited for certain platforms. Please reach out to our support team regarding how you can receive ZCP through inheritance for your platform.

  3. Zigbee 3.0 / Zigbee Certified Product: This testing that ensures the Application Layer Compliance and Zigbee Cluster Library Compliance. This is not done by Silicon Labs and must be done by end product manufacturers.

System Architecture Considerations#

Silicon Labs supports Zigbee certification through System-on-Chip (SoC), Network Co-processor (NCP), and Radio Co-processor (RCP) configurations.

  • For SoC and NCP, Silicon Labs provides the 802.15.4 PHY and MAC layer certification along with a Zigbee Compliant Platform (ZCP) Certification ID, covering necessary lab testing.

  • For NCP, host processor changes do not affect ZCP certification status.

  • For RCP, Silicon Labs may offer certification by similarity for ZCP. Alternatively, customers have the option to perform the ZCP certification on their preferred platforms, in which case the customer owns their certification ID.

  • Silicon Labs provides the 802.15.4 PHY and MAC layer certification.

  • In all scenarios, customers need to perform the Zigbee 3.0 Product certification.

For more information, please contact Silicon Labs Support.

How to Certify#

Zigbee certification processZigbee certification process

The Process to receive Zigbee Certification is as follows:#

  1. Become a Member.

    There are different tiers of Connectivity Standards Alliance memberships that offer your company varying levels of access and benefits. The minimum membership tier required to get certified is Adopter level. More information on various membership levels can be found on the Connectivity Standards Alliance website: Become a Member | The Future of IOT - CSA-IOT.

  2. Request a Vendor ID From the Alliance Certification Team.

    Once you are a member, you will need to contact the CSA to request your Manufacturer ID/ Vendor ID.

  3. Select a Zigbee Compliant Platform.

    For Silicon Labs Zigbee products, the ZCP documents are found on the CSA website here: Certified Products Search | IOT - CSA-IOT.

  4. Select an Authorized Test House.

    A full list of CSA authorized Test Providers can be found here: Testing Providers | Authorized Test Houses - CSA-IOT.

  5. Send relevant documentation and product to the Test House.

    The test provider will require the product for testing as well as the Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement (PICS) documents. These documents can be read and written using the PICS tool available from the CSA here: PICS Tool | Connectivity Standards Alliance - CSA-IOT. Templates for these documents can be found in the CSA Members Area.

  6. Submit Certification Application to the CSA.

    Once testing is complete you will need to submit an application for certification in the Connectivity Standards Alliance Certification Tool. Instructions for requesting a Certification Tool account and creating/submitting applications can be found in the Connectivity Standards Alliance Members Area.

Note: If you have trouble locating the ZCP certification, please reach out to our support team regarding which platforms can receive ZCP certification.

Note: Before seeking certification, it is strongly advised to pre-test your product using the Zigbee Unified Test Harness (ZUTH), to ensure a smooth certification process.

Zigbee Unified Test Harness (ZUTH)#

As of 2021, the Zigbee Unified Test Harness (https://csa-iot.org/certification/tools/zuth/) is available as the official test tool for Zigbee Product Certification. ZUTH is owned and supported by the CSA, not by Silicon Labs, and any questions about it should be directed to the CSA. The CSA website contains information regarding the test tool, which is used to run Zigbee Product Certification tests. It is highly recommended to run your product through ZUTH prior to sending your device to an authorized test provider.

ZUTH installers are provided by the CSA: https://zigbeecertifiedproducts.knackhq.com/zigbee-certified#zuth-installers/.