SASO Certification: What China Electronics Exporters Need to Know
SASO is Saudi Arabia's standards authority. What it covers for electronics: IEC 60335/62368 safety, SASO 2902 lighting efficiency, Type G plugs, 220V/60Hz.
SASO (the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization) is Saudi Arabia’s national standards body. It writes the technical regulations that electrical and electronic products must meet to enter the Saudi market, approves the laboratories and conformity assessment bodies that test against them, and underpins the SABER conformity platform. For an exporter in China, “SASO certification” in practice means proving a product meets the relevant SASO regulation through accredited IEC test reports.
What SASO covers
SASO does not write most standards from scratch — it adopts international IEC standards and adds Saudi-specific requirements (voltage, frequency, plug type, labelling, efficiency). The regulations that matter for electronics:
| Regulation / standard | Scope |
|---|---|
| IEC 60335 | Safety of household and similar electrical appliances |
| IEC 62368-1 | Safety of audio/video, IT and communication equipment |
| SASO 2902:2023 | Lighting efficiency — minimum 90 lm/W, mandatory from 2025-06-01 |
| SASO 2203 | Power adapters and external power supplies |
| SASO labelling rules | Rated voltage, frequency (must state 60Hz), and power on the label |
Saudi-specific requirements
Beyond the IEC safety baseline, SASO enforces requirements that a default China export build usually does not meet:
- Plug type: Type G (BS 1363) three-pin fused plug — see the Type G plug reference.
- Mains: 220V at 60Hz. The 60Hz figure must appear on the rating label; many factories label 50Hz out of habit.
- Arabic manual and label: the user manual must be in Arabic, and the label must show rated voltage, frequency, and power.
- Lighting efficacy: any LED product must demonstrate ≥90 lm/W under SASO 2902:2023.
Who needs it
Any business importing regulated electrical or electronic goods into Saudi Arabia. The product cannot clear customs without a Certificate of Conformity registered on SABER against the applicable SASO regulation. Smart home devices, lighting, power supplies, and appliances are all in scope.
How a China factory supports SASO conformity
The Saudi importer registers conformity on SABER, but the factory supplies the evidence: accredited IEC test reports (IEC 60335 or 62368 as applicable), the technical file, rating-label photos, and — for any radio product — the separate CST type-approval reference. The report must come from an ILAC-accredited lab; an internal factory report will be rejected by the conformity assessment body.
For the end-to-end registration mechanics, timeline, and who pays, see the SASO and SABER certification guide. For a category walkthrough, see sourcing smart home devices for Saudi Arabia.