Asking the lab what to test is a reasonable thing to do. Labs know their standards, and they want your device to get through. But a lab quotes what it's asked to quote, and certification bodies are not allowed to consult on your design. So by the time a quote arrives, the scope has been set, and nobody has written down what your device actually is.
The order of events
Most teams do it in this order: quote, test, then find out what the evaluator expected. The teams that have an easier time do it the other way round: description, applicability, criteria, then the quote.
The question isn't "how much will testing cost?" It's "who decided what gets tested?"
What "the case" means
- A device description an evaluator would recognise
- A standards matrix with a reason on every line, including the ones that don't apply
- Test levels with the source of each
- Pass/fail criteria you own, written before testing
What it doesn't do
It doesn't skip required tests, and it may not lower your quote. It may raise it, if your case finds a line nobody listed. What it changes is that every line is there for a reason you can read.
Try it on your own quote
Take the quote on your desk. For each line, write one sentence: why does this apply to my device? Where you can't write the sentence, you've found your first question for the lab.