We extend classic Sommerfeld and Silver-Müller radiation conditions for bounded scatterers to acoustic and electromagnetic fields propagating over three isotropic homogeneous layers in three dimensions. If X= (x1,x2,x3)ϵℝ3, with x3 denoting the direction orthogonal to the layers, standard conditions only hold for the outer layers in the region ∣x3∣ > ∣∣x∣γ, for γϵ(1/4,1/2) and x large. For ∣x3∣ < ∣∣x∣∣γ and inside the slab, asymptotic behavior depends on the presence of surface or guided modes given by the discrete spectrum of the associated operator.