Welcome to the compliance corner, here is what is new related to certification of OPC UA as well as a look forward for Certification the remainder of the year.
The OPC UA CTT for version 1.05 introduces a significant amount of new functionality, making it a major release. A Beta version of this new edition is now available on the OPC Foundation website. In 1.05 profiles had been restructured with many new finer grain ConformanceUnits, which resulted in a major restructuring of the test cases as well as many additions to help with the test coverage of the CTT:
- Over 800 file updates integrated
- 50+ feature requests completed
Some of the extended test coverage includes’
Base Information Model- User Roles & Security
- Log Object Features
- Discovery & GDS workflows, including AliasNames
- PubSub (UADP/UDP) Flexible, Periodic, and Dynamic layouts
- Address Space enhancements, including IRDI/URI dictionary entries, non‑volatile properties, interface support, and event types
This marks the most extensive content expansion of the CTT in several years.
We will have additional releases of test cases and the CTT in 2026, that will further extend the coverage. Some key features that will be included:
UDP UADP Subscriber testing- MQTT JSON Publisher support
- OPC UA FX enhancements for
- Connection Managers
- Offline Engineering
As well as many smaller extensions. The goal is to have 95% coverage for core UA features for test cases by the end of the year.
An important note – Support for certification 1.03 will end at the end of 2026. Vendor should ensure that they are targeting a 1.05 version of OPC UA. With the initial release of 1.05.00 in 2021, the specifications, SDK’s and toolkits are stable and ready for implementations.
Safety Certification Advancing – A major achievement highlighted is the completion and TÜV certification of the OPC UA Safety Compliance Test Tool (UASCTT). With this milestone reached, work has begun to establish an OPC UA Safety Cert Lab. Updated Policies and Procedures for the new test lab are under review, with a broader call for interest expected later this year.
TSN Testing is progressing, TIACC has advanced common test plans and initial discussions on hardware requirements has been completed. Targeting testing for some initial TSN features such as priority and time syncing is planed to be available in late 2026.
The new Information Model Implementation Verifier will be available free to all in the next quarter and will provide:
- Verification of any exposed released OPCF Information Model (verify Type system against the released model)
- Will verify instances against the published types, both well-defined and custom instances.
This new tool will help all users of the companion specifications to ensure their models are at least being loaded correctly (there are over 160 companion specification models). The tool will require no configuration beyond the connection information for the server. The new tool will not replace the CTT, since it will focus on companion specification information models, not the overall functionality of a server.
Join Us at the March IOP in Calgary – The next Interoperability Workshop will be hosted in Calgary, Canada (March 16–20). The event includes:
- OPC UA
- O‑PAS
- OPC UA FX
A few spaces remain—an ideal opportunity for vendors preparing for certification or validating new UAFX implementations.
What is new with the Labs?
The labs were very busy last year, and the trend is continuing into the new year. This is partially the result of end user adopting standards such MDIS and O-PAS that require certification, but it is further enhanced by the fact that end user are demanding that products be certified. The feedback from the end user community indicates that they are very happy with certified products. That certified products integrate easier into existing sites and encounter fewer issues. We envision an increase in certified products in 2026 , especially since OPC UA FX products will start appearing and UAFX also requires certification. The growth in certification was worldwide, in that the Lab in China also saw an increase in demand for certification and testing.
The European Lab passed its audit, which extended it to include Ethernet-APL-certification as well as O-PAS testing.
And for those attending Hannover Messe: visit the OPC Foundation booth to witness the world’s first product certified for the OCF‑001 profile of the O‑PAS Standard—an exciting milestone we are eager to showcase.
The Chinese lab will undergo its mandatory 3 year Audit later this year. This audit will also extend the functionality that can be certified in the lab in China.
Looking Forward
With the growing global push for certification, the expansion of 1.05 testing, and new initiatives in safety, TSN, MQTT, and OPC UA FX, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most transformative years for the OPC Foundation’s compliance programs. The ecosystem is scaling rapidly, and our tools, labs, and processes are evolving just as quickly to support that growth.
If you do have questions on these topics or are interested in getting involved in our activities, please do not hesitate to contact us at compliance@opcfoundation.org
Paul & Alexander