SABER Extends Shipment Certificate Validity to 90 Days: What It Means for Fire Equipment Imports
On 15 September 2026, the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) announced that its SABER platform has extended the validity of the SABER shipment certificate from 60 to 90 days. Importers now have 30 more days to complete the procedures for each shipment. The change matters to anyone bringing fire and safety equipment into the Kingdom, and to contractors who rely on suppliers that do.
Key takeaways
- The SABER shipment certificate is now valid for 90 days instead of 60, according to SASO news dated 15 September 2026.
- The shipment certificate is the electronic service needed to complete customs clearance for a shipment.
- Since 1 October 2025, a shipment certificate must be issued before the customs declaration for all products, regulated or not.
- The extension changes the time window only. Conformity requirements stay the same.
What changed on SABER
SASO describes the shipment certificate as the electronic service an importer needs to finish clearing a shipment through customs. Its validity was 60 days and is now 90 days. The announcement does not give an effective date separate from the publication date.
The change builds on an earlier SASO decision, published on 26 August 2025, that required suppliers to obtain the shipment certificate before submitting the customs declaration from 1 October 2025. Under that decision, a product covered by a technical regulation first needs a product conformity certificate from an accredited conformity assessment body, followed by a new shipment conformity request. A product outside the technical regulations needs a self-declaration on SABER before the shipment certificate steps.
What it means for the Saudi market
Fire equipment shipments can be held at ports while documents are reviewed or vessels are rescheduled. Thirty extra days reduce the chance that a certificate expires before the goods arrive or before clearance is complete, so fewer certificates need to be reissued. That eases schedule pressure on fire fighting and fire alarm contractors waiting for pumps, valves or alarm panels to start installation.
The extension does not relax anything else. SASO has a dedicated technical regulation for fire control materials and equipment, and a product covered by it still needs a valid conformity certificate before the shipment request. Our article on the SASO fire control materials technical regulation covers its scope.
AZEIDK Expert Take
If your project depends on imported equipment, review the steps in our SABER platform guide for fire and security products, then ask the supplier before you issue the purchase order: is the product registered on SABER, which certificate does it need, and when will the shipment certificate be issued relative to the arrival date? Then check that what reaches site matches the datasheet and approvals in the submittal. See AZEIDK technical supply of fire safety systems and technical selection of systems and equipment when comparing alternatives. For pumps, our guide on checking UL and FM fire pump approvals helps, and manufacturer, distributor, supplier and contractor roles explains who is responsible for what.
Sources
- SABER extends shipment certificate validity for beneficiaries to 90 days (in Arabic), Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO), 15 September 2026
- SASO requires suppliers to issue a shipment certificate before the customs declaration from 1 October 2025 (in Arabic), SASO, 26 August 2025
- Technical Regulation for Fire Control Materials and Equipment, SASO, regulation document
