ServicesSABER documentation
SABER documentation, prepared at the factory
A container is usually held because a document was missing, out of date, or submitted too late. The goods themselves are normally fine. While you look for the missing paper, demurrage and detention charges accumulate.
SABER is an importer-based platform: your Saudi company, as consignee, holds the account and applies for the certificates, and a SASO-approved Conformity Assessment Body issues them. The documents both parties rely on are produced at the factory. That is where we work.
The two certificates that control release
They are not interchangeable.
| Attribute | Product certificate (PCoC) | Shipment certificate (SCoC) |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | The product, against its HS code | One consignment |
| Validity | One year, while the product is unchanged | That shipment only |
| Granted on | Test reports, technical specifications, and a factory audit where the regulation requires one | The invoice, packing list and certificate of origin |
| What it unlocks | Eligibility to import the product | Customs release of the container |
A shipment needs both. A conformity body will not issue a shipment certificate without a valid product certificate, and customs will not release the container without the shipment certificate.
What delays a certificate
Test reports that do not match the product shipped
A report covering a neighbouring model, or issued by a lab whose scope does not cover the regulation, will stall the product certificate.
A product certificate that has lapsed
Validity runs one year, and only while the product stays the same. Changing a component can end it early.
A shipment certificate requested too late
It is issued against the invoice, packing list and certificate of origin, so those have to be correct before the vessel sails.
All three start at the factory, weeks before the shipment reaches a Saudi port.
What we do
- Compile the technical file: product specifications, bill of materials, component data, markings and labelling, in the form your conformity body asks for.
- Check the factory's existing test reports against the applicable Saudi technical regulation, and identify what is missing before it becomes a hold.
- Arrange testing where reports are absent or out of scope, at the factory's cost or yours, agreed in advance.
- Support the factory through a conformity body's audit where the regulation requires one.
- Keep the invoice, packing list and certificate of origin consistent with the certified product.
- Track product-certificate expiry against your ordering cycle and flag renewal before it bites.
Common questions
Why do containers get held at the port?
Usually one of three: test reports that do not match the product shipped, a product certificate that has lapsed, or a shipment certificate requested too late. All three start at the factory.
Do you issue SABER certificates?
No. SABER is an importer-based platform: your Saudi company holds the account and applies, and a SASO-approved Conformity Assessment Body issues the certificates. We prepare the factory-side documents that body needs, and coordinate the timing.
What do you need from us to start?
The product, its HS code if you have it, and any test reports the factory has already produced. We check them against the applicable regulation and tell you what is missing before you place the order.
For the scheme itself, what SABER is, PCoC versus SCoC as concepts, and how registration works, see our SABER and SASO certification guide. For how this applies to equipment, see production lines and hospitality FF&E.
Find out what is missing before you place the order
Send the product, its HS code if you have it, and any test reports the factory has already produced. We will tell you what a conformity body will ask for, what is missing, and how long it takes to obtain.
Send your product spec