Getting an electrical or electronic product into multiple international markets usually means facing multiple, overlapping test regimes — unless the product is certified under IECEE. This guide covers what IECEE and its CB Scheme actually are, how the certification process works step by step, how it plugs into country-specific requirements like Saudi Arabia’s SASO IECEE Recognition Certificate, and what to prepare before you apply.
What Is IECEE?
IECEE (the IEC System for Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components) is a multilateral certification system, run by the International Electrotechnical Commission, that lets a product be tested once and have the results recognized across all member countries.
Its best-known mechanism, the CB Scheme, is the world’s first international system for the mutual acceptance of safety test reports and certificates for electrical and electronic equipment. Rather than repeating full safety testing in every target market, a manufacturer tests a product once against harmonized IEC standards and receives a CB Test Certificate that other participating countries’ certification bodies recognize as a baseline for their own national certification. The scheme’s roots go back to a 1929 European initiative that eventually merged into the IEC in 1985, and it has grown into one of the most widely used mutual-recognition frameworks in global electronics trade.
How Big Is the IECEE Network?
More than 50 countries currently participate in the IECEE CB Scheme, supported by roughly 65+ National Certification Bodies and several hundred accredited CB Testing Laboratories worldwide.
| Metric | Approximate Figure |
| Member countries | 50+ (some sources cite up to ~60) |
| National Certification Bodies (NCBs) | 65+ |
| CB Testing Laboratories (CBTLs) | 270+ |
| Product categories covered | 19–37, depending on classification method |
| Scheme origin | 1929 (as CEE), merged into IEC in 1985 |
Participating countries span every major electronics market: the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and dozens more. This breadth is precisely why IECEE certification carries weight — a CB Test Certificate issued in one member country is designed to be portable across the rest of the network, cutting out duplicate testing almost everywhere your product ships.
How Does the CB Scheme Certification Process Work?
The process runs through five stages: choosing an NCB, product testing at a CBTL, issuance of a CB Test Report and Certificate, submission of that CB documentation to the destination country’s own certification system, and — where required — coverage of that country’s national deviations.
- Select a National Certification Body (NCB) — A manufacturer or its representative applies to an IECEE-recognized NCB, which oversees testing and certification under the Scheme.
- Product Testing — An accredited CB Testing Laboratory (CBTL) tests product samples against the relevant harmonized IEC standard for that product category.
- CB Test Report Issuance — Once testing confirms conformity, the CBTL issues a CB Test Report (CBTR).
- CB Test Certificate Issuance — The NCB issues a CB Test Certificate (CBTC) based on that report.
- National Deviation Coverage — Since IEC standards allow individual countries limited “national differences,” the CBTR or a supplementary report must address any deviations specific to the destination market before local authorities will accept the certificate.
From there, the CB documentation becomes the technical backbone for whatever local certification process the destination country requires — sometimes accepted directly, sometimes layered with an additional national certificate.
IECEE in Practice: The Saudi Arabia Example
In Saudi Arabia, IECEE certification doesn’t stand alone — it’s a mandatory prerequisite for the SASO IECEE Recognition Certificate, which itself must be obtained before SASO will issue a standard SABER Product Certificate of Conformity (PCoC) for specified electronics.
SASO (the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization) built its national electronics certification pathway directly on top of IECEE rather than creating a fully separate test regime. A manufacturer’s existing CB Test Report and Certificate — with Saudi national deviations addressed — is submitted through SASO’s MANEH platform. On approval, SASO issues a national IECEE Recognition Certificate valid for one or three years, which then unlocks the standard SABER PCoC process for products like mobile phones, chargers, power banks, laptops, and household appliances. This layered model — global CB data first, then a national recognition step — is common across several IECEE member countries, not just Saudi Arabia, so understanding the base CB Scheme process pays off well beyond a single market.
Why Mutual Recognition Schemes Like IECEE Matter for Trade
International bodies including the WTO and ISO have long identified duplicate product testing as one of the most costly non-tariff barriers exporters face, and mutual recognition frameworks exist specifically to remove that duplication.
The World Trade Organization’s Technical Barriers to Trade guidance explicitly frames mutual recognition of conformity assessment as a way to drastically cut the costs exporters face when the same product must be tested repeatedly for different national markets. IECEE’s CB Scheme operationalizes exactly this principle for electrical and electronic goods: a single, harmonized test process is designed to substitute for dozens of otherwise-separate national procedures, which is why it has become the default backbone for electronics compliance strategies aimed at more than one export market at a time.
Required Documentation for IECEE Certification
To avoid delays when starting a CB Scheme application, prepare:
- Product samples matching final production specifications
- Full technical documentation and specifications for the applicable IEC standard
- Any prior test data from accredited labs, where available
- Details of the target destination market(s), so national deviations can be addressed from the outset
- Manufacturer and importer declarations of conformity for downstream national certification
Common Pitfalls in IECEE Certification
The most frequent causes of delay are applying to the wrong product category, overlooking a destination country’s national deviations, and assuming a CB Certificate alone clears customs without any additional local certificate.
- Category misclassification — Electrical products span many IEC standard families; filing under the wrong one means retesting.
- Ignoring national deviations — A valid CB Certificate doesn’t automatically satisfy every market; several countries, including Saudi Arabia, layer additional national requirements on top.
- Treating CB certification as sufficient on its own — In markets like Saudi Arabia, the CB-based IECEE Recognition Certificate is a prerequisite, not a substitute, for the country’s own product conformity certificate (PCoC under SABER).
How HQTS Supports IECEE & CB Scheme Certification
Coordinating CB testing, addressing national deviations, and carrying that documentation through to country-specific certificates like Saudi Arabia’s SASO IECEE Recognition Certificate requires visibility across both the international scheme and the local requirements layered on top of it. HQTS supports manufacturers and exporters through the full chain — from sourcing or verifying CB Test Reports and Certificates, to preparing national-deviation documentation, to carrying the file forward into destination-market certification and shipment clearance.
Contact HQTS today for a free consultation on your IECEE and multi-market electronics certification strategy.
