Halal, Kosher and National Standards in the GCC
Halal opens the market and national certification makes the product legal. Neither substitutes for the other, and customs checks both.
Gulf states
Gulf conformity mark (G-Mark)
A few facts
The mark reaches only as far as its three regulations
Scope comes from the regulation, so confirm it before any testing. These are the limits the page works with.
- 50–1,000 Volts AC, the design range of BD-142004-01 (75 to 1,500 V DC)
- 14 Age limit: BD-131704-01 covers toys for children under 14
- 2024 On 1 January, MC-230503-01 brought taps, showers and toilets under the mark
- 4–10 Weeks where test reports to the GSO or IEC standards already exist
Source: GSO, Gulf Conformity Mark and GCC Conformity Assessment Scheme
How it works
Five steps from an inquiry to a registered certificate
Typical timeline4 to 10 weeks
You send the request
Product name, HS code and technical data, enough for us to scope the route.
Your part
We confirm the route
A specialist confirms the regulations that apply and the document type your product needs.
Our part
Documents and contract
You send the supporting documents; we sign a contract with fixed scope and timeline.
Both sides
Testing and inspection
Laboratory testing, factory inspection and customs clearance, coordinated by us.
Our partYou receive the certificate
Issued, registered, and delivered. We close the project.
Your part
- One named specialist One person owns your file from the first email to the registered certificate.
- Route fixed before testing Scheme, standard and laboratory are settled before a sample is tested, which is where most re-testing starts.
- Registered documents Certificates and declarations issued by accredited bodies and entered in the official register, where customs can look them up.
- Measured by the document The engagement ends when the certificate is issued and registered, whatever the hours took.
The short answer
Three regulations carry the mark across seven states
The G-Mark shows a product meets a GSO technical regulation and may be sold in all seven GSO member states. The Gulf conformity mark, the G-Mark, shows that a product meets a technical regulation of the GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) and may be placed on the market in all GSO member states: the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Yemen. Three product regulations carry it: BD-142004-01 on low-voltage electrical equipment and appliances, BD-131704-01 on children's toys and, since 1 January 2024, MC-230503-01 on water-saving taps, showers and toilets. Products on the regulated list need a Gulf Type Examination certificate from a GSO-notified body and the Gulf Conformity Tracking Symbol; other low-voltage products are self-declared by the manufacturer and registered with GSO. The mark is regional and does not replace UAE ECAS or Saudi SABER.
- Seven member states The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Yemen.
- Three product regulations BD-142004-01 on low-voltage electrical equipment and appliances, BD-131704-01 on children’s toys and, since 1 January 2024, MC-230503-01 on water-saving taps, showers and toilets.
- Notified body or declaration Products on the regulated list need a Gulf Type Examination certificate from a GSO-notified body and the Gulf Conformity Tracking Symbol. Other low-voltage products are self-declared by the manufacturer and registered with GSO.
- ECAS and SABER stay The mark is regional. It does not replace UAE ECAS or Saudi SABER.
Three regulations only
BD-142004-01 covers equipment designed for 50 to 1,000 V AC or 75 to 1,500 V DC; BD-131704-01 covers toys for children under 14; MC-230503-01 covers taps, showers and toilets from 2024. Machinery, medical devices, vehicles and cosmetics sit outside all three.
Outside those three regulations the mark has no use, so confirm scope before any testing.
Notified body or declaration
Household appliances on the regulated list and every toy go to a GSO-notified body for a Gulf Type Examination certificate and the tracking symbol. Other low-voltage products are self-declared and registered with GSO.
A self-declared product still needs its test reports in hand before the first shipment.
National layers stay
The mark is the shared Gulf layer. The UAE still adds ECAS from MoIAT, Saudi Arabia adds a SABER PCoC and an SCoC per consignment, and halal is recognised state by state.
Plan a per-country matrix, with each national registration tied to a local importer.
Already started elsewhere
Partway through a G-Mark application that has stopped moving?
Some G-Mark applications were never in scope, because the product falls under none of the three regulations. Others stop after the type was examined, when a new power board supplier, a different plug or a changed rating plate turns up. A CB report written to the IEC edition may never have been checked against the GSO edition and the Gulf plug and voltage deviations. And some launch plans counted on the mark to replace ECAS or SABER.
A Gulf Type Examination certificate covers the type as the notified body examined it and is not tied to an importer, so a change of distributor leaves it in place. A change to the type is different: the body has to assess it before the certificate still applies. A self-declared product rests on your own registration with GSO and your own signature on the declaration. The national registrations are separate files, each tied to a local importer.
What we handle
- Scope analysis
- Notified body
- Testing
- Registration
What to send us
Everything here is something to find before the project starts. The first reply says which of it can go into the file as it is.
- The technical file
- Test reports: the CB report and the IEC edition it was tested to
- Photos of the plug and rating plate as the product ships today
- The Gulf Type Examination certificate, or your GSO registration for a self-declared product
- Importer details: the Gulf countries you are launching in and the importer named for each
- 2010 Year of foundation
- 1300+ Certification projects
- 40+ Countries served
- 15+ Types of certificates
The people on your file
Meet the teamYou will know the person who handles your certificate.
One specialist owns your file from the first email to the registered certificate. Every one of them has recorded a briefing on their field.
Services
What we do on this route
Each stage is a service of its own, with a page that says what it produces and what it needs from you.
Route assessment
The cheapest stage decides the cost of every stage after it. What a route assessment names, and the four decisions it locks down.
Read the pageProduct testing
Accreditation is per standard and per laboratory, never general. How to choose one the destination accepts, and test once for several markets.
Read the pageTechnical documentation
The file is the certificate’s foundation and it is the manufacturer’s to produce. What it has to contain, and what cannot be written retrospectively.
Read the pageAudit & training
Audits turn a schedule from weeks into months and cannot be compressed. What auditors check, and how to be ready for the first visit.
Read the pageAuthorised representative
Four major markets refuse to certify a foreign manufacturer directly. What the appointment obliges, and why a distributor is the wrong holder.
Read the pageMarking & labelling
A correct certificate and a wrong label still stops at the border. What each market demands on the artwork, and when to check it.
Read the page
Which products need the Gulf conformity mark?
Three groups. The first is low-voltage electrical equipment under BD-142004-01, meaning anything designed for 50 to 1,000 V AC or 75 to 1,500 V DC, in force since 1 July 2016. Inside that scope sits a shorter regulated-products list of household appliances, including air conditioners, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, dishwashers, microwave ovens, kettles, irons, fans, food processors and hair dryers. The second group is toys under BD-131704-01: any product designed or intended for play by children under 14, in force since 1 January 2014. The third is water-consumption conservation products under MC-230503-01, in force since 1 January 2024: taps, showerheads, urinals, flow aerators, WC toilets and flush tanks, which carry the tracking symbol on a Green Label.
A product outside all three regulations does not carry the mark. Industrial machinery, medical devices, vehicles and cosmetics all have Gulf or national rules of their own, and applying for a G-Mark on one of them produces a document no customs officer will ask for.
The standards behind the mark are GSO adoptions of IEC and EN texts: the GSO IEC 60335 series for appliances, and the GSO EN 71 series plus GSO IEC 62115 for toys. A CB scheme report to the IEC edition is the usual starting point, and the notified body checks it against the GSO edition and the Gulf plug and voltage deviations.
Do I need a notified body for G-Mark?
It depends on the list. For products on the regulated list of BD-142004-01, and for every toy in scope, a body notified by GSO examines the technical file and test reports and issues a Gulf Type Examination certificate. You then draw up the Gulf Declaration of Conformity, and the product carries the G-Mark together with the Gulf Conformity Tracking Symbol (GCTS), a coded label that GSO's tracking system links to the certificate and that inspectors can check against it.
For low-voltage products outside that list the route is self-declaration: you assemble the technical file, keep production under control, register the product and the mark with GSO, and sign the declaration yourself. The mark then shows your registration number, and no body examines the type before sale. Market surveillance can still ask for the file, so the reports have to exist before the first shipment.
The type examination certificate covers the type as examined. A new supplier for the power board, a different plug or a changed rating plate is a change to the type, and the notified body has to assess it before the certificate still applies. The body may also visit the factory for higher-risk categories.
Does the G-Mark replace ECAS and SABER?
No. The Gulf has a shared layer and national layers on top. The G-Mark is the shared layer for its three regulations. The UAE adds the ECAS certificate from MoIAT, per product and per applicant. Saudi Arabia adds SABER: a product certificate of conformity (PCoC) from a SASO-approved body, then a shipment certificate (SCoC) for each consignment. Halal, where a product needs it, is recognised state by state.
A regional launch therefore starts from a per-country matrix. The G-Mark removes one type examination and one set of tests from each national file, and that saving is real, but the national registrations remain and each is tied to a local importer.
How the mark is used at each border, and which national registration sits beside it, is on the country pages: United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
Gulf schemes side by side
| Scheme | Issued by | Basis | Relationship to G-Mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| G-Mark | GSO-notified body, or self-declared and registered with GSO | Per type, under BD-142004-01 or BD-131704-01 | The regional layer for low-voltage equipment and toys |
| ECAS | MoIAT (United Arab Emirates) | Per product, one year | Additional; not replaced by G-Mark |
| SABER PCoC and SCoC | SASO-approved body (Saudi Arabia) | Per product, then per shipment | Separate registration and certificates |
| Halal | Body recognised by each state | Per product | Separate, with per-state recognition |
Frequently asked questions
Does the G-Mark cover the whole Gulf?
For products under BD-142004-01 or BD-131704-01, one Gulf Type Examination certificate or one registered declaration is valid in all seven GSO member states. It does not remove the national schemes: the UAE still requires an ECAS certificate, Saudi Arabia still requires SABER, and halal is recognised per state.
Which products need the G-Mark?
Low-voltage electrical equipment rated 50 to 1,000 V AC or 75 to 1,500 V DC, toys for children under 14 and, since 2024, water-saving taps, showers and toilets. Within the low-voltage scope, household appliances on the regulated list need a notified body and the tracking symbol; the rest are self-declared. Products under none of these regulations should not carry the mark.
Is the G-Mark the same as ECAS?
No. The G-Mark is regional, issued per type under a GSO technical regulation, and is not tied to an importer. ECAS is the UAE national certificate from MoIAT, issued per product to a named applicant for one year. A kettle sold in Dubai needs both, and the same test reports serve both files.
How long does G-Mark certification take?
Four to ten weeks where test reports to the GSO or IEC standards already exist. Regulated-list appliances and toys add the notified body's type examination and the tracking symbol; a factory visit adds scheduling time. The G-Mark certificate cost follows the same split: self-declared products pay for tests and registration, regulated-list appliances add the type examination. Running the G-Mark, ECAS and SABER files in parallel keeps a regional launch inside a quarter.
Keep reading
On the Gulf market
Electrical Equipment Compliance Across the Gulf and MENA
MOIAT, SABER, G-Mark and ESMA are separate schemes with one shared goal. Which products need approval, what the labs test, and what goes in the technical file.
Certifying Products for UAE and Saudi Marketplaces
ESMA, SASO IECEE, SABER, halal and G-Mark, which applies, the seven-step process, and the Arabic labelling marketplaces check before listing.
Tell us what you are exporting
Send the product name, HS code and technical data. You get back the applicable route, the document list and a timeline, before any commitment.