The SABER Platform: A Complete Guide to Conformity Certificates and Why Shipments Are Held Without Them

If you import into Saudi Arabia and do not know SABER, you are one shipment away from an expensive problem. SABER is the electronic platform of the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO), designed to confirm that imported products conform to Saudi standards before entry.

Two types of certificate — do not confuse them

1. Product Certificate of Conformity

Issued per product (model), proving conformity with the relevant technical regulation. Typically valid for one year and used for all shipments of that product during that year.

2. Shipment Certificate of Conformity

Issued per shipment, and only obtainable once a product certificate exists. This is what customs asks for on arrival.

The common mistake: an importer issues the product certificate and assumes they are done. The goods arrive without a shipment certificate and are held.

The practical steps

1. Identify the technical regulation and HS code for your product — this determines the requirements and risk level.
2. Choose an approved conformity assessment body from SASO's accredited list.
3. Submit documents: commercial registration, invoice, product and label images, test reports from an accredited laboratory, and certificate of origin.
4. Obtain the product certificate after review.
5. Issue a shipment certificate for each shipment before it arrives.

Time and cost

Cost varies by product category, risk level and number of models. Low-risk products are simpler and cheaper, while electrical goods, toys and cosmetics require more test reports. In practice, allow two to four weeks for a first product — considerably less for subsequent shipments.

Five mistakes that hold your shipment

• Non-compliant labelling: the label must carry the required data in Arabic (product name, country of origin, importer details) per the regulation.
• Test reports from a non-accredited laboratory: the assessment body will reject them.
• HS code mismatch between certificate, invoice and customs declaration.
• Issuing the shipment certificate after the goods arrive — leading to demurrage and delay charges.
• Relying on the factory's promise that "the product is compliant". Legal responsibility sits with the importer, not the factory.

Products with additional requirements

• Food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and medical devices: SFDA procedures through its own systems.
• Wireless and telecom devices: approval from the Communications, Space and Technology Commission.
• Energy efficiency: energy efficiency labelling for covered appliances.

Practical advice

Start SABER procedures the same day the order is confirmed, not after production ends. The weeks the factory spends producing are your ideal window to finish the paperwork — that way the certificate arrives before the goods, not after.