South Africa Certification Service

General Information:

Depending on the product type, most products including IT equipment entering South Africa marketplace must meet relevant requirements from various South African authorities. Product certification for electrical and electronic equipment is divided into 4 areas: Safety, EMC, Wireless and Energy Efficiency certifications.

For safety certification, product manufacturers are required to register with the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) authority and obtain a Letter of Authorization (LOA) before the shipment reaches South Africa Customs. Additionally, products are required to comply with SABS (South African Bureau of Standards) certification to satisfy EMC requirements. South African Energy Efficiency requirements may also be applicable, but is not currently required for IT equipment.

Telecom and wireless products require mandatory ICASA (Independent Communication Authority of South Africa) certification.

Challenges Obtaining and Maintaining South Africa Certification

Obtaining South Africa certification can be tricky, and delays can occur from not going in with the right test plan, or having the right regulatory information. The following are issues that can cause delays:

South African certification bodies being non-responsive
Not having in-country representative and representation to ensure compliance
Submitting incorrect forms and documents to South African certification bodies
Not properly communicating and following up with certification bodies
Certificate expirations cause unexpected lapse in coverage

How Can We Help?

G&M utilizes the following practices to achieve a fast and efficient South Africa certification:

Follow-up early and often with certification bodies
Determine which mandatory certifications are required based on product type/category
Provides local representative service and local representation
Track and alert customers of upcoming annual renewals of certificates with G&M’s proprietary Certificate Alert and Tracking System (CATS)

G&M Compliance has established partners in South Africa to ensure that the certification process is completed in a timely manner. Our compliance experts understand the regulations and technical requirements necessary to minimize the risk of certification delays or rejection. In addition we stay updated on ever-changing regulations and requirements.

For more information, additional questions, or to request a quote – Please submit an online RFQ, Contact Us, or call.

Certification Details

Mark –SABS and ICASA -Yes. NRCS – No

In-Country Representative: Required

In-Country Testing: Not Required.

Expiration Details – Certificates are valid for 3 years. For more information on tracking certifications please see our CATS page.

Product Surveillance – No factory inspection or market surveillance

Insource Homologation Management

We have found that often times certification bottlenecks can occur within a manufacturer’s organization. As a result, we offer a service to provide internal help managing regulatory certification tasks. Because G&M is not a certification body, we are in a unique position to offer valuable regulatory expertise without any conflict of interest issues. In such cases we place G&M certification experts into our customers’ organizations to manage the certification process for them. Once on the inside, our managers can leverage G&Ms collective experience to guide certification processes in an efficient and cost-effective manner. To learn more about this service see our Homologation Management Service Page.

Certificate Alert and Tracking System (CATS)

Untimely expirations of certificates can cause delays in product deliveries. Re-certification of products will generally be treated as new submittals instead of certificate renewals. This can be time-consuming and costly. G&M provides a web-based certification tracking system that alerts users when expirations are coming, provides on-line storage of important certification documentation, and is searchable by certification specific criteria. For more information on this system see our CATS page.

South Africa Certification Services