# UK Ofcom EMF licence condition

> The mechanism that makes the ICNIRP general-public exposure limits legally enforceable in the United Kingdom, applied as a condition on spectrum licences since 2021.

- Canonical URL: https://emfbase.com/standards/ofcom-emf-licence-condition
- Collection: Standards & frameworks
- Record id: `standards:ofcom-emf-condition`
- Status: verified
- Last verified: 2026-08-12
- JSON: https://emfbase.com/api/standards/ofcom-emf-licence-condition
- Also known as: UK EMF limits, Ofcom EMF rules, UK ICNIRP limits

## Key values

- **Organization:** Ofcom
- **Edition:** in force since 2021
- **Jurisdiction:** UK
- **Frequency range:** 100 kHz – 300 GHz
- **Status of values:** Legally enforceable in at least one jurisdiction

## Scope

Most Ofcom spectrum licences carry a condition requiring compliance with the ICNIRP general-public limits, for licensees authorised to transmit above 10 W EIRP (6.1 W ERP). The condition covers exposure of members of the public; it does not cover exposure of the licensee or of workers, which fall under separate occupational rules. The UK sets no numeric limit of its own — the numbers are ICNIRP's, and Ofcom supplies the enforcement route.

## Sources

- `ofcom-emf-policy` Ofcom (2021). *Ofcom's rules on EMF exposure (EMF licence condition)*. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/spectrum/electromagnetic-fields/policy — regulation, link checked 2026-08-12
- `ofcom-emf-guidance` Ofcom (2021). *Guidance on EMF compliance and enforcement*. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/spectrum/electromagnetic-fields/compliance-and-enforcement-guidance — government, link checked 2026-08-12
- `icnirp-2020` International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (2020). *Guidelines for Limiting Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields (100 kHz to 300 GHz)*. https://www.icnirp.org/en/publications/article/rf-guidelines-2020.html — guideline, link checked 2026-08-12

Data licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Dataset version 2026.08.1. Retrieved from EMFBase, https://emfbase.com.

This record is reference data, not medical or legal advice. Regulatory limits, scientific guidelines and precautionary values are labelled separately and answer different questions.