Saudi SABER and SASO Certificates for Goods from India

Saudi Arabia doesn't ask your exporter for a certificate. It asks your importer for one, through a platform, before the container lands. That single fact explains most of the confusion Indian factories have with SABER, because they're used to buyers asking them to "get the certificate", and here they can't, at least not alone.

This guide splits the work the way the system does. The Saudi importer half comes first, then the Indian exporter half, with numbered steps. Other market marks, like CE and UKCA, sit on the certifications hub.

Last researched 17 October 2026 · Next review 31 January 2027 · Written by Yash Khatri

1. What SABER Is and Who Runs It

SABER is an online platform of the Saudi Product Safety Program, run under the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO). It lets businesses register their facility and their consumer products, imported or made locally, and get the certificates those products need (SABER, About (opens in a new tab), in Arabic). It replaced the old certificate of conformity and pre-shipment inspection, and Saudi customs clears only products logged through it (US ITA (opens in a new tab)).

There are two certificates to keep apart.

Products that fall under no Saudi technical regulation aren't exempt. They still go on SABER, through the importer's self-declaration, and still need a shipment certificate for each import (SABER, non-regulated products (opens in a new tab)).

SABER mostly covers consumer and industrial products. Food, medicines, cosmetics and medical devices are generally under the Saudi Food and Drug Authority instead. Check the HS code in SABER's own code search before you assume either.

2. Two 2026 Rules Indian Factories Miss

SASO publishes its circulars on the SABER home page, in Arabic and English. Two from 2026 change what an Indian factory has to put on the product itself.

The supplier's name and CR number on the product, from 1 October 2026. Citing the Product Safety Law (Royal Decree M/36) and its Executive Regulations of 15 November 2024, SASO told all SABER users that products under ten listed technical regulations must carry the supplier's name, meaning the importer or local maker, and its commercial registration number. The list includes children's strollers and safety seats, small solar PV systems, electric self-balancing boards, simple pressure vessels, lifts, hydraulic binders, tanks, trailers and boats. SASO says it will check this from SABER data and apply the law's penalties (SASO circular (opens in a new tab)). For an Indian factory that means the Saudi buyer's name and CR go into your label artwork, so ask for them before you print.

Unified charging ports, from 1 May 2026. Digital cameras, e-readers, speakers, keyboards, computer mice, portable navigation, portable speakers and wireless routers must meet SASO IEC 62680-1-2:2023 and 62680-1-3:2023, the USB Type-C standards (SASO notice (opens in a new tab)). An Indian electronics assembler with older micro-USB stock should not quote it for Saudi Arabia.

3. What a Saudi Importer Should Check

You hold the SABER account, so the work starts with you.

1. Find the regulation. Search the HS code on SABER. It tells you whether a technical regulation applies and which one. That decides the route.
2. Get the technical file from the supplier early. Test reports, product photos, labels and the declaration of conformity. Ask what standard each test report is against, and which lab ran it. A report from an accredited lab against the right SASO or IEC standard is what a certification body expects.
3. Pick an approved body. SABER lists the certification bodies SASO has approved. Choose one for your product category.
4. Check the labels against the regulation. Arabic labelling, and from October 2026 your own name and CR for the listed products.
5. Book the shipment certificate before loading. A shipment without one has to be re-exported, as logistics firms report (Crane Worldwide (opens in a new tab)), and we didn't find that rule on a SASO page. Treat it as a hard stop.

What should you ask the supplier for, and when? The test reports and label artwork at sample stage, because the product certificate comes before the first order ships. Then the final invoice, packing list and bill of lading per shipment, for the shipment certificate.

How do you check a certificate is real? Log in to SABER. Every certificate lives there, and a PDF someone emails you is only a copy. For a supplier's test report, check the lab's accreditation number on the accreditation body's own site, not on the report.

4. What an Indian Exporter Has to Supply

You can't apply on SABER for your buyer, but the certificate rests on your paperwork. The part that is yours -

• Test reports for each model against the standard the regulation names, from an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited lab. In India, NABL is the accreditation body for test labs.
• A technical file with the model name, photos, materials, rated values for electrical goods, and the bill of materials where asked.
• Labels and manual that meet the regulation, in Arabic where required, with the importer's name and CR for products on the October 2026 list.
• Cooperation with the certification body. Some bodies ask for a factory check or samples. The body's request comes through the importer, and you'll need to answer quickly.
• Shipment documents for each consignment: the final commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading or airway bill, with model numbers that match the product certificate exactly.

5. How an Indian Exporter Gets Goods Through SABER

Step 1 - Ask the buyer for the HS code they'll use in Saudi Arabia and the regulation SABER shows for it. Don't guess the code from your Indian tariff line (see HS codes).

Step 2 - Read the regulation's standard list and labelling article. SABER links each regulation.

Step 3 - Test each model at an accredited lab against those standards. Allow time for retests, which is where most delays sit. Check the current lab fee with the lab.

Step 4 - Prepare the technical file and label artwork, including the Saudi importer's name and CR where the October 2026 circular applies.

Step 5 - Send the file to the importer, who submits it on SABER and picks a certification body.

Step 6 - Answer the certification body's queries and send samples or arrange a check if asked. The body issues the product certificate on SABER.

Step 7 - For each shipment, send the final invoice, packing list and bill of lading to the importer before loading, with model numbers matching the product certificate. The importer gets the shipment certificate.

Step 8 - Before the product certificate expires, ask the importer when they'll renew it. A lapsed one stops the next shipment.

6. Why SABER Applications Stall

• Model numbers don't match. The invoice says "Model 200B" and the product certificate says "200-B". SABER matches strictly.
• Wrong standard on the test report. An IEC report that isn't the edition the SASO standard adopts, or a report against the Indian BIS standard only.
• Labels without Arabic, or without the importer's name and CR on a listed product after 1 October 2026.
• Old ports on electronics in the categories the 1 May 2026 notice covers.
• A trader who can't reach the maker. A merchant exporter is a normal way to buy, but the certification body may want the factory. Ask who makes it before you start (see IEC, RCMC and export registrations).

Saudi Arabia joined the Apostille Convention on 7 December 2022 (HCCH (opens in a new tab)), so where a Saudi bank or buyer asks for a legalised Indian document, an MEA apostille is the usual end of the Indian side. The steps are on document legalisation and attestation. India and Saudi Arabia have no trade agreement in force, so a certificate of origin from India is the non-preferential kind (see getting a certificate of origin in India).

7. A Worked Example

This is an illustration, not a real firm. A Delhi NCR maker of Bluetooth speakers gets an enquiry from a Jeddah retailer in September 2026.

The retailer searches the HS code on SABER and finds the speakers sit under an electrical regulation, so a product certificate is needed. The maker checks the charging port first, because portable speakers are on SASO's May 2026 list, and switches the Saudi order to its USB-C model. It sends the retailer the accredited lab's reports, Arabic label artwork and the manual. The retailer picks a certification body on SABER, the body asks one question about the battery, the maker answers, and the product certificate issues. Each shipment then gets its own shipment certificate from the invoice and bill of lading.

The step that would have sunk it? Quoting the old micro-USB model, which the maker already had in stock.

FAQ

8. Next Steps

If you're the Saudi buyer, search the HS code on SABER today and send your supplier the regulation. If you're the Indian exporter, ask for that regulation before you quote, and check ports and labels before you test.

SABER is strict, and it's predictable once you know whose job each step is. If something here doesn't match what you're seeing on SABER, tell us at team@sourcingfrom.com.

Related reading: document legalisation and attestation, restricted substances and children's product safety.