Blogs
What is an ESMA certificate? UAE product certification explained
Many businesses preparing to sell in the UAE are told they need “ESMA approval”. They then go looking for an authority that no longer runs the scheme. The Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) was merged into the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) in 2020. The certification it was known for still exists, and the market still calls it by the old name. Knowing where it sits now saves weeks of applying to the wrong place. An ESMA certificate, as the market calls it, is UAE product conformity approval. It shows that a regulated product meets the applicable UAE, GCC, or international standards before it is sold. Today, it is issued under two MoIAT schemes: the Emirates Conformity Assessment Scheme (ECAS) and the Emirates Quality Mark (EQM). The legal basis is Federal Law No. 28 of 2001. The schemes are federal, so the same rules apply in every emirate. Because approval comes before market entry, the scheme follows the same principle as pre-shipment conformity verification in other markets.
What is TDRA approval? UAE type approval for wireless and telecom devices
Your device may already carry CE marking, have passed its RED tests, and be sold across Europe, and still be stopped at a UAE port. Almost every device sold today has a wireless function. In the UAE, that function needs its own approval before the product can be imported, sold, or even switched on, and the application cannot start until a UAE-registered dealer is in place. TDRA approval, formally called type approval, is that authorization. It is issued by the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) and confirms that a device meets UAE technical standards and will not interfere with national networks. It applies to radio and telecommunications terminal equipment (RTTE), meaning any equipment that connects directly to a public telecommunications network or contains an intentional radio transmitter. TDRA was known as the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) until it was renamed in 2021. It is a federal regulator, so one approval covers every emirate.
EAR99: What the Designation Means, and When it Still Needs a License
EAR99 tells you what an item is not. Under the US Export Administration Regulations (EAR), it marks goods that fall under the regulations but are not listed on the Commerce Control List (CCL). What it does not tell you is where the item may go, who may receive it, or what it may be used for. Most shipments clear all three without a license. Some do not.
What is a SASO certificate? Saudi standards and certification explained
Until 2025, a shipment that reached Saudi Arabia without its paperwork could often be fixed at the port. That option is gone. Today, regulated goods that arrive without their certificates are sent back at the importer’s expense, so the conformity record attached to your product decides whether it enters the market at all. That record is the SASO certificate, a certificate of conformity showing that a product meets the technical regulations of the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO). SASO was founded in 1972 and is Saudi Arabia’s national standards body. It writes the regulations, but it does not issue the certificates itself; accredited conformity assessment bodies do. For regulated products, certification is mandatory, not advisory.
What is a Saber certificate and how do you register?
When you sell into Saudi Arabia, one of the most valuable documents attached to your product will not carry your company’s name. A Saber certificate is the conformity record that Saudi customs checks before releasing regulated goods. Saudi customs issues it to the Saudi importer; the importer renews it, and it cannot be transferred to anyone else. For a business planning to grow in the Kingdom, choosing the importer matters as much as finding the buyer. Three names are often confused: SASO (Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization) is the standards authority. SALEEM is the national product safety program. Saber is the electronic platform the program runs on. Assessment happens before shipment, making Saber a form of pre-shipment verification, much like Nigeria's SONCAP certificate. Saber covers goods entering Saudi Arabia only. A US or European company doesn't hold one for its home market; it provides the technical file behind it.
What is a SONCAP certificate and how do you get one?
Most exporters searching for a SONCAP certificate think they need one document. They need two, and the second one is not even theirs to hold. A SONCAP certificate is what lets regulated goods clear Nigerian customs under the Standards Organization of Nigeria Conformity Assessment Program (SONCAP). Behind that single name sit a Product Certificate for the exporter, and a SONCAP Certificate for the importer, and both are secured before the goods leave the exporting country. SONCAP applies only to imports into Nigeria. Other markets run their own conformity programs, and SONCAP is one example of the broader shift toward pre-export screening at origin.