SASO writes the rule. SABER issues the certificate that proves you met it. If you have been quoted separately for “SASO certification” and “SABER certification”, you are usually being quoted twice for the same job. Here is how the two really connect.
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SASO is a government body. It decides what a product must do before it can be sold in Saudi Arabia. It writes the product rules and approves the bodies allowed to check products against them.
SABER is the online system that SASO runs. It is where the Saudi importer applies, where the certification body is chosen and paid, where the certificate is issued, and where customs checks it. You follow the SASO rules. You work through SABER. It is one requirement and one set of certificates.
When a supplier calls something “a SABER thing” or “a SASO thing”, this is the line they are drawing.
Seven steps. Both names appear in them, at different points, doing different work.
A Saudi product rule is published. It says the standards a group of similar products must meet on safety, performance, marking and labelling.
Rules are drawn by HS code. Your Saudi HS code, at full depth, decides whether that rule applies to your goods.
Only a certification body (CB) with SASO approval for that rule may check products against it. That approval is limited to specific products.
The Saudi importer applies on SABER. They choose an approved CB and pay through the platform.
After checking the product documents, the CB issues the product certificate (PCoC) on SABER. It is valid for one year.
Each shipment needs its own shipment certificate (SCoC). It is issued against the valid PCoC and must match the invoice.
At customs clearance, the certificate is checked on SABER. What the rule required and what SABER shows must match the goods.
Six terms you will hear from suppliers, freight forwarders and agents — and what each one really refers to.
Means your product meets the Saudi product rules. Today it is delivered as a SABER certificate — the term describes meeting the rules, not a separate document.
Means the certificate issued on the platform. Strictly it is the system, not the requirement — but in everyday trade the two names are used to mean the same thing.
The old certificate of conformity from before SABER. It is retired. If someone offers you one today, treat it as a warning sign.
Usually means the SABER product certificate (PCoC). Ask which of the two SABER certificates is meant before you agree terms with a supplier or agent.
The SCoC — the shipment certificate customs asks for. Sometimes called the SC, the shipment certificate, or simply “the CoC”.
A GCC-wide label rule for low-voltage equipment and toys. It is not SASO or SABER certification — it is an extra requirement alongside them.
This still costs exporters containers, because the old certificate is still being sold.
Neither name tells you what your product needs. These answers do — and they are the same six we work through in an assessment.
Confirmed to full Saudi HS code depth, because the rule follows the HS code, not the product name. This answer sets everything that follows.
A certification body must hold SASO approval for that exact rule. A certificate from a CB outside its approval will not pass the check.
We check the lab’s approval, the standard edition and the report date before anything is submitted — not after a rejection.
The Saudi importer’s company registration (CR) is on the certificate. Change the importer and the certificate does not move to the new one.
Arabic labelling, energy labels, rating plates and the G-Mark are SASO rules the platform will not check for you.
The product certificate (PCoC) must still be valid on the day the shipment certificate is issued — which is later than most exporters plan for.
Each of these starts as a wording problem and ends as an expensive one.
They are one requirement through one platform. Paying two agents for the same certificate is a surprisingly common mistake.
It is still sold, and still refused at customs clearance. If the certificate number cannot be checked on the platform, it cannot be used.
SABER records the certificate; it does not check your Arabic label, your standard edition or your model list. The CB and customs do that.
A code chosen for convenience points at the wrong rule. The certificate then approves something your goods are not.
Certificates are tied to a company registration (CR). Certify with one distributor, then replace them, and you repeat the work.
Food, cosmetics and medical products sit with SFDA and never use SABER. Filing them there loses weeks before the real process starts.
This page is the map. These pages go into the detail.
The questions exporters ask when two names appear on one quotation.
No. SASO is the government body that writes the rules and approves the certifiers. SABER is the online platform SASO runs, where certificates are issued. In everyday trade the two names are used for the same requirement, which is why suppliers sometimes quote for both as if they were separate.
No — it is one requirement. Meeting the SASO rule is the job; the SABER certificate is the paper that proves it. If you are quoted for two separate certifications, ask exactly which two documents are being issued.
The SABER Product Certificate (PCoC) and the Shipment Certificate (SCoC). The old certificate from the ICCP programme was retired when SABER took over, and there is no way to convert it into the new one.
The Shipment Certificate (SCoC), for the specific shipment. It can only exist if a valid Product Certificate (PCoC) stands behind it, which is why the yearly product certificate has to be in place before the goods move.
Regulated products need a product certificate and then a shipment certificate. Products with no applicable rule get no product certificate, but still need a shipment certificate on a self-declaration basis. The HS code decides which side you are on.
No. Food, cosmetics, feed and medical products fall under SFDA and follow its own route. Only SASO-regulated goods are certified through SABER.
No. The account is tied to a Saudi company registration (CR), so it belongs to the importer. The exporter supplies the product documents and lab test reports, and in practice a consultant coordinates both sides.
Neither — it is a separate GCC-wide label rule for low-voltage equipment and toys. Where it applies it sits alongside the SABER certificates with its own product documents, and it does not replace them.
Only for the models, importer and period the certificate names, and only if the labels are also correct. A valid certificate with a wrong Arabic label is still a failure once the goods are on sale.
If you need the rule and what it demands of the product, read the SASO certification page. If you need the certificate itself — how long it is valid, cost and checks — read the SABER certificate page. If you are ready to file, read the how-to-apply page.
Send the product, the HS code and any quote you already have. We will tell you what is genuinely required — and what you are being charged for twice.