{
  "id": "protocols:sar-lookup",
  "collection": "protocols",
  "slug": "sar-lookup",
  "name": "Looking up a phone's SAR from the primary record",
  "summary": "How to get the tested SAR for a specific handset from the FCC equipment authorization database using the device's FCC ID, instead of relying on third-party lists.",
  "status": "verified",
  "lastVerified": "2026-08-12",
  "data": {
    "aliases": [
      "how to find phone SAR",
      "FCC ID lookup"
    ],
    "goal": "Retrieve the authoritative, model-specific SAR values for a device and interpret them against the correct limit.",
    "quantity": "specific-absorption-rate",
    "equipment": [],
    "steps": [
      "Find the FCC ID: in device settings under regulatory or legal information, or printed on the device or its SIM tray.",
      "Search the FCC Equipment Authorization System by that ID and open the RF Exposure exhibits for the grant.",
      "Read the reported head SAR, body-worn SAR and, where present, simultaneous-transmission SAR, each with its test separation distance.",
      "Compare against the correct limit: 1.6 W/kg over 1 g in the U.S., 2 W/kg over 10 g under ICNIRP — the two are not interchangeable.",
      "Note the body-worn test separation distance; the reported value applies at that distance, not at zero.",
      "For a European 10 g figure, search the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection SAR database, which publishes the manufacturers' declarations per model; a selection is mirrored in this dataset's device SAR records."
    ],
    "pitfalls": [
      "Comparing a U.S. 1 g SAR with a European 10 g SAR and concluding one phone is safer",
      "Treating SAR as a measure of everyday exposure; it is measured at maximum transmit power, which is rare in normal use",
      "Using aggregator sites whose values are stale or attached to the wrong hardware revision"
    ],
    "interpretAgainst": [
      "limits:fcc-sar-partial-body",
      "limits:icnirp-2020-sar-local"
    ],
    "related": [
      "emitters:smartphone",
      "questions:what-is-sar-and-does-a-low-sar-phone-matter"
    ]
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "fcc-eas",
      "title": "Equipment Authorization Search (FCC ID lookup, includes SAR test reports)",
      "publisher": "Federal Communications Commission",
      "url": "https://www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/fccid",
      "kind": "government",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    },
    {
      "id": "fcc-2-1093",
      "title": "47 CFR § 2.1093 — Radiofrequency radiation exposure evaluation: portable devices",
      "publisher": "U.S. Government Publishing Office (eCFR)",
      "url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/section-2.1093",
      "kind": "regulation",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    },
    {
      "id": "icnirp-2020",
      "title": "Guidelines for Limiting Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields (100 kHz to 300 GHz)",
      "publisher": "International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection",
      "url": "https://www.icnirp.org/en/publications/article/rf-guidelines-2020.html",
      "year": 2020,
      "kind": "guideline",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    },
    {
      "id": "bfs-sar-database",
      "title": "SAR search — declared SAR values of mobile phones",
      "publisher": "Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz (German Federal Office for Radiation Protection)",
      "url": "https://www.bfs.de/EN/service/sar-suche/sar_suche_node.html",
      "kind": "government",
      "retrieved": "2026-08-12"
    }
  ],
  "links": {
    "self": "https://emfbase.com/api/protocols/sar-lookup",
    "html": "https://emfbase.com/protocols/sar-lookup",
    "markdown": "https://emfbase.com/protocols/sar-lookup.md",
    "collection": "https://emfbase.com/api/protocols"
  }
}