SASO Certification for LED Lights Import Saudi Arabia

What is saso certification?

The Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) regulates the import access of LED lighting. All general LED lighting requires dual certification in parallel: SASO IECEE Safety Certification + EER Energy Efficiency Registration, and registration must be completed on the SABER digital platform. If any document is missing, the goods will be detained at the port, rejected, or incur demurrage charges.

Two Core Certifications

SASO IECEE Recognition Certificate (SIRC)

• Control: Electrical safety, electric shock prevention, insulation, fire prevention, etc.

• Validity: Optional 1 year / 3 years.

• Requirements: IECEE laboratories must issue a cb test report and certificate containing Saudi national deviations; reports without deviations are not recognized.

EER Energy Efficiency Registration

• Control: Luminous efficacy, lumen maintenance, Color Rendering Index (CRI), A-G energy efficiency label, etc.

• Validity: SASO 2870/2902 up to 3 years; SASO 2927 street lights up to 5 years.

• Prerequisite: An iecee certificate must be obtained first before a joint application can be made on SABER.

Three Major Applicable Energy Efficiency Standards

• SASO 2870: 60-12,000 lumens general light sources, including LED replacement lamps, halogen lamps, etc.

• SASO 2902: ≥12,000 lumens luminaires, integrated non-replaceable bulb luminaires, industrial high bay lights, etc.

• SASO 2927: Specifically for LED street lights, with added strict requirements such as high-temperature weather resistance, color temperature 3000-6000K, and color rendering index ≥70.

Energy Efficiency Exempt Products (EER Exempt, IECEE Still Required)

Non-general lighting products such as emergency lighting, solar street lights, traffic signals, and LED displays do not require energy efficiency registration, significantly shortening the certification cycle.

SABER Platform Dual Certificate Mechanism

• Product Certificate of Conformity (PCoC): Single model certification, valid for 1 year, issued by a SASO-approved body.

• Shipment Certificate of Conformity (SCoC): Must be obtained for every batch, valid for a single shipment only, essential for customs electronic verification and clearance; customs clearance is not possible with only a PCoC.

SASO Certification Process

1. Determine applicability: Confirm the applicable SASO standard for the product and check whether it is exempt from energy efficiency.

2. IECEE testing: Conduct IECEE laboratory testing to issue a cb report and certificate with Saudi deviations.

3. EER testing: If EER is required, complete energy efficiency testing such as 6000-hour lumen maintenance (approx. 250 days; temporary registration is possible with a laboratory commitment letter).

4. SIRC Application: Apply for the SASO IECEE Recognition Certificate, submitting materials such as a bilingual Arabic-English manual and a Declaration of Conformity.

5. PCoC Application: Register on the SABER platform and apply for the PCoC product certificate.

6. SCoC Application: Apply for the SCoC shipment certificate before each batch is shipped to complete customs clearance verification.

Mandatory Compliance Requirements

• Environmental Protection: Outdoor / industrial luminaires must reach IP66 or above to adapt to Saudi Arabia's high temperature and dusty climate.

• Labels and Documents: Manuals and safety signs must be in Arabic or bilingual Arabic and English; energy efficiency labels must be affixed to the packaging. Printing the words "SASO Certified" is prohibited; only the CoC certificate is recognized.

• Series Certification: Models in the same series with only different color temperatures and identical core accessories can share one test report, reducing certification costs; if any model in the series fails, the entire series certification becomes invalid.

Common Certification Errors to Avoid

• Missing Deviations: CB report lacks Saudi national deviations, leading to direct rejection of the application.

• Mismatched Lumens: Lumen value matching error, misusing the SASO standard and resulting in an invalid certificate.

• Missing SCoC: Only processing the PCoC without handling the SCoC batch by batch, causing the goods to be detained.

• Label/Manual Errors: Printing the SASO logo on the product or providing only an English manual, leading to customs rejection.

• No Registration: The certificate holder has no Saudi commercial registration and cannot complete the SABER registration.

Cycle and Agencies

• Cycle: Products requiring EER energy efficiency testing take about 9-10 months; exempt emergency lighting takes only 6-12 weeks.

• Certification Agencies: IECEE-approved agencies such as TÜV, SGS, Intertek, and UL can all process this.

• CE certification: Not directly recognized by Saudi Arabia; only a CB report with Saudi deviations can serve as the basis for the IECEE application.

Consequences of Violation

Without a valid SCoC certificate, goods will be detained by customs, subjected to mandatory domestic testing (costs borne by the importer), returned, or rejected. All logistics and losses are the responsibility of the exporter.