The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) announced on November 1, 2022, that manufacturers of non-telecommunication electronic and electrical equipment can now apply for a SABS electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) certificate of compliance (CoC) by using any laboratory accredited by the International Laboratories Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC).

Any non-telecommunications electronic product entering the South African market must have an EMC CoC. Since 2017, the SABS has provided SABS EMC CoCs as mandated by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). Since 2017, SABS EMC CoCs have only been available to manufacturers whose products have been tested at SABS-affiliated laboratories (SABS A-Labs).

Due to the completion of the majority of the verification processes, the SABS can issue an EMC CoC in thirty (30) days for applications that have products tested at a SABS A-Lab, compared to a ninety (90) day turnaround time for applications that use test reports from an ILAC laboratory.