Apple says its iPhone 12 model was certified by multiple international bodies as compliant with global radiation standards after a French watchdog ordered it to stop selling the handset on the grounds it breaches European exposure limits.

The ANFR radiation watchdog told Apple on Tuesday to halt sales of iPhone 12s in France after tests which it said showed the phone's Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) - a measure of the rate of radiofrequency energy absorbed by the body from a piece of equipment - was higher than legally allowed.

The ANFR said it would send agents to Apple stores and other distributors to check the model was no longer being sold.

It said it expected Apple "to deploy all available means to put an end to the non-compliance" and a failure to act would result in the recall of iPhone 12s already sold to consumers.

Apple said it had provided ANFR with multiple Apple and independent third-party lab results proving its compliance with all applicable SAR regulations and standards in the world.

It said it was contesting the results of AFNR's review and would continue to engage with the agency to show it is compliant.

The AFNR said accredited labs had found absorption of electromagnetic energy by the body at 5.74 watts per kilogram during tests simulating when the phone was being held in the hand or kept in a trouser pocket.

The European standard is a specific absorption rate of 4.0 watts per kilogram.

ANFR added the tests showed the phone complied with so-called body-SAR standards when it was in a jacket pocket or bag.