SONCAP Certification

About SONCAP
The SON Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP) is a mandatory scheme introduced by the Federal Government of Nigeria to ensure the quality and standards of all imports of regulated products into the country.
The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is the sole statutory body that is vested with the responsibility of standardising and regulating the quality of all products in Nigeria. SON was established by the Act No.56 of 1971.
SON is a full member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
SON’s mandate includes the preparation of Standards related to products, measurements, materials, processes and services, amongst others; their promotion at national, regional and international levels; the certification of products; assistance in the production of quality goods and services; improvement of measurement accuracy and the circulation of information related to standards.
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria Conformity Assessment Program (SONCAP) was introduced in 2005 by the Federal Government of Nigeria to address the concern of unsafe products entering the country.
This assessment conformity scheme requires all imported products, whose standard specifications were declared compulsory by SON, to be inspected for conformity to the relevant Nigerian standard before release into the Nigerian market.
SON Partner
On February 1, 2013, Cotecna was officially appointed by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), to join Nigeria’s revised Standards Organisation of Nigeria Conformity Assessment Program (SONCAP).
Based on Act n°56 of 1971 and subsequent amendments, the Conformity Assessment Program (SONCAP) was introduced by the Federal Government of Nigeria to address the concern of unsafe products entering the country.
As part of the SONCAP program, Cotecna is authorized to carry out verification of conformity of imported goods and issues SONCAP Certificates (SC) in the exporting country. The aim of this program is to protect the health and safety of Nigerian consumers.
SONCAP Exempted Product List
Discover which products are regulated under the SON Conformity Assessment Programme and which are exempted from certification.
All products, other than those specifically exempted in the list below, are regulated under the SONCAP programme. Products exempt from the SONCAP programme include the following:

• Food products
• Drugs (Medicines)
• D7
• Chemicals used as raw material by bonafide manufacturers
• Military wares & equipment
• Goods classified as contraband by the Federal Government of Nigeria
• Used products other than automobiles
• Machinery or related spare parts for bona fide manufacturers who intend to use this for their own manufacturing purposes are advised to apply to the SON for SONCAP import permit

SONCAP Certification Process

• Learn more about the specific import requirements of the SON Conformity Assessment Programme, including all necessary documentation and the different routes of compliance.
• SONCAP Compliance Procedures

Under the import requirements of the Federal Government of Nigeria, in order to clear their goods, importers need to have the following documents for every consignment of regulated products:

• Product Certificate (PC), issued by Cotecna
• Certificate of Conformity (COC), called the SONCAP Certificate (SC), issued by Cotecna

Obtaining the SC from Cotecna is based on first having a valid Product Certificate (PC). The PC is required for the opening of the Form M, which is a document needed to pre-declare the goods to be imported in Nigeria. There are three types of PCs, as detailed below.