CCT numbering: reading the six product group codes MQ, EB, IMA, LAB, ODO, OT

1. Key takeaways

A Panamanian CCT certificate number is built from three segments: the product group abbreviation, a sequential number, and the month and year of issue (mm/aa), under Article 22 of DE 490. There are six product group abbreviations: MQ for médico-quirúrgico, EB for equipos biomédicos, IMA for imagenología, LAB for laboratorio, ODO for odontológico, and OT for otros. Once a sequential number has been assigned it belongs permanently to that product and does not change with the year.

• Six groups describe product categories, not risk. Risk classes A, B, C and D sit on a separate axis and never appear in the certificate number.
• The sequential number is the stable identifier of the product; only the month and year segment moves when a certificate is reissued.
• The mm/aa segment records the month and year of issue, and carries no information about when the certificate expires.
• The certificate number and the CTNI data sheet number are two different identifiers, and both need to be tracked.
• A four-field internal register — number, product group, risk class, data sheet number — is the minimum for reliable record keeping.
• Reading a year out of the certificate number and treating it as an expiry year is a common cause of missed renewals.

2. Legal basis

Article 22 sets the structure in one sentence and then defines its three components in successive paragraphs. Article 34 adds the second identifier that runs alongside it.

3. Expert insights

Insight 1. The six abbreviations are, in effect, Panama’s device catalogue. MQ, EB, IMA, LAB, ODO and OT and the risk classes A, B, C and D are two independent dimensions: the first is the product family, the second the risk level. A certificate number carries only the family, never the risk class. A company that manages its portfolio using certificate numbers alone will lose the risk information along the way, and risk class drives what has to be submitted and how deep the review goes. The remedy is a separate mapping table linking number, family, risk class and Ficha Técnica number.

Insight 2. The rule that the sequential number does not change guarantees one product, one number. The official wording of Article 22, second paragraph, is “El cual siempre pertenecerá al producto como número de identificación y no se altera con los años” — it shall always belong to the product as its identification number and is not altered with the years. The institutional value is traceability: across renewal, updating and correction, the same product keeps the same sequential number, and only the mm/aa segment changes. That makes the sequential number usable as a stable internal primary key, which in turn makes it possible to follow a product’s history across several certificates without relying on names or model designations that change over time.

Insight 3. The mm/aa segment reveals the month and year of issue, not the end of validity. The month and year in the certificate number are the month and year of issue, while validity runs for five years from the date of issue under Article 21, second paragraph. In practice it is common to read the year inside the number as the expiry year and, on that basis, to miss the renewal window entirely. The correct method is to read the issue date from the body of the certificate and count five years forward from there. Where several certificates exist for the same product, the body date of the current certificate is the only reliable starting point.

Insight 4. The data sheet number under Article 34 and the certificate number under Article 22 are two parallel identifiers. The first identifies which specification sheet the certificate rests on; the second identifies which certificate was issued. Change management has to track both, because an updated data sheet affects the conformity assessment while a reissued certificate affects the mm/aa segment. Track only one of the two and a mismatch develops: either the certificate remains formally valid while the basis it rests on is out of date, or the basis has been updated while the certificate has not been brought into line with it.

4. Practical recommendations

• Build an internal register with four fields: certificate number, product group, risk class and Ficha Técnica number.
• Use the sequential number as the stable primary key for the product and treat the mm/aa segment as a version marker.
• Base the renewal plan on the issue date printed in the body of the certificate, never on the year embedded in the number.
• When a new certificate arrives, check that the number follows the three-segment structure required by Article 22.
• When the Ficha Técnica is updated, assess whether re-verification and a certificate update are required (Article 34).

5. Verification checklist

• □ Check that the certificate number has three segments (group, sequential number, mm/aa)
• □ Confirm that the product group abbreviation is one of MQ, EB, IMA, LAB, ODO or OT
• □ Record the sequential number as the stable product key
• □ Read the issue date from the body of the certificate and count five years forward to the renewal point
• □ Record the Ficha Técnica number (Article 34)
• □ Maintain a mapping table linking number and risk class

Related reading: [What the CCT is: definition, five-year validity, no fee, mandatory for public procurement](/panama-medical-device-registration/certificado-de-criterio-tecnico-explained/) | [Family applications and the three situations where the family concept does not apply](/panama-medical-device-registration/family-of-devices-panama-exclusions/) | [Certificate of free sale: the multi-country source rule in Article 36, item 11](/panama-medical-device-registration/certificate-of-free-sale-panama-multi-country/)

Regulatory information verified as of October 29, 2026.

How GRZAN can help. GRZAN provides medical device and IVD registration, quality system, authorised representative and local testing support for the Panamanian market. Our team manages Ministry of Health (MINSA) sanitary registration applications, prepares Spanish-language dossiers, and supports post-market vigilance obligations. Business enquiries: info@grzanglobal.com