Pencil Book a demo

Backed by Combinator

Reading your BOM for compliance shouldn't be your job.

Upload a BOM. Pencil screens it against the rulebook and gives you back rule findings cited to the clause.

Book a demo See a finding

For 20 to 200 person hardware teams shipping FCC Part 15, RED or battery products.

What the rulebook cites

  • FCC Part 15 47 CFR §15.212
  • FCC equipment authorization FCC KDB 996369
  • EU RED Directive 2014/53/EU Art. 3(2)
  • EU EMC Directive 2014/30/EU Art. 3(2)
  • RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU Art. 4(1)
  • Battery, transport UN 38.3 §38.3.2.2
  • Battery, cell safety IEC 62133-2
  • Flammability UL 94
  • ISED (Canada) RSP-100 §10.2

These are some of the clauses a finding can cite.

How it works

Upload a BOM. Get rule findings cited to the clause.

Aster Sensor Hub · BOM upload
aster-sensor-hub-bom.xlsx
U3Wi-Fi and BT module, ESP32-C6-MINI-1radio 2.4 GHz
BT1Li-ion cell, 186503.6 V
R12Resistor 0603, tin-lead finish10k
J2USB-C receptacle

Sheet 'Raw materials' excluded: no part rows found.

Screening · Aster Sensor Hub
FCC Part 1547 CFR §15.212 checked
EU RED2014/53/EU Art. 3(2) checked
RoHS2011/65/EU Art. 4(1) asking
BatteryUN 38.3 §38.3.2.2 checked
Findings · Aster Sensor Hub
Rule findingAsks

Row states a leaded (tin-lead) finish, plating or solder.

Directive 2011/65/EU Art. 4(1), Annex II, Annex III

R12 · Resistor 0603, tin-lead finish

Question

Does the enclosure carry a UL 94 flammability rating?

UL 94

Draft rule, so it asks.

Uploaded BOM vs on file
R12Finish: tin-lead to lead-freechanged
BT1Li-ion cell, 18650unchanged
U3ESP32-C6-MINI-1unchanged

Still open from the earlier report: enclosure UL 94 rating.

  1. 1.

    Upload a BOM

    Pencil reads the spreadsheet you already have and pulls part names, values and parameters off your columns. You don't fill in a template first.

  2. 2.

    Pencil screens it against the rulebook

    Each regime in the rulebook gets checked row by row. A rule finding names the clause, directive article or CFR section it came from.

  3. 3.

    You can tell a verdict from a question

    A reviewed rule gives you a verdict. A rule still waiting on expert review puts the question to you.

  4. 4.

    Ship the next revision

    Upload the updated BOM and Pencil diffs it against the one on file, then shows you what changed and what is still open.

What it checks

You can see where every answer came from.

  • Reads the BOM you already have

    Keep your own format. Pencil reads the spreadsheet as it is, pulls the parameters that matter, and tells you what it skipped and why.

  • Cited to the clause

    A rule finding names the clause, directive article or CFR section it came from, so you can go read it yourself.

  • Unreviewed rules ask you

    A rule that no expert has reviewed yet will ask you about the row. It will never clear the row on its own.

  • Carries open questions forward

    Upload the next BOM and Pencil diffs it against the one on file, showing what changed and what is still open from before.

  • Closes rows you actually fixed

    Upload the fixed BOM. Pencil re-checks the rows it can read again and closes the ones that are now clean.

  • Provisional until you confirm

    A grant or test report on file stays provisional until you confirm it. Confirming re-runs the analysis against the document itself.

Proof

What a finding looks like.

Findings · Aster Sensor Hub · US, EU
Rule finding

Part number is scoped to FCC only: EU in scope and uncovered

47 CFR §2.803 · 47 CFR §15.201 · Directive 2014/53/EU Art. 3(2)

U7 · Wi-Fi/BT module, HR-WB201-FCC

Fix planned Not applicable

One finding from a sample BOM, screened once.

A transmitter no grant covers needs a first-time authorization. Marketing it first is the violation.

The part number scopes itself to one of the product's two markets. Pencil names the market it misses and what settles it: a modular grant this host meets, or a new filing through a TCB.

Product and BOM are fictional. Markets are set to US and EU. The rule, its wording and its citation are exactly what Pencil prints.

  • A catch with no clause behind it

    A row cites a safety datasheet for cell P28A. Nothing on the sheet is a P28A. Pencil asks you which one is right.

    This one reads the sheet against itself, so there is no clause to cite.

  • A battery row pulls in its own scope

    One cell on the BOM brings transport and cell-safety testing. Pencil asks how the pack is built and whether it moves by air.

    Most rules in the knowledge base are still awaiting expert review. A rule under review asks, and never clears a row.

  • What this page shows

    One fictional product, one BOM, screened once. No customer data appears here, and there are no customer logos to show yet.

    We will add customer logos when we have them.

Built for the people named on the filing

Run your own BOM through Pencil.

For 20 to 200 person hardware teams shipping FCC Part 15, RED or battery products, especially if a filing or recert has gone wrong.

Book a demo

Prefer email? Write hello@getpencil.ai.