EAC certificate of conformity for the Russian market: schemes, timelines and how to verify one

A certificate of conformity is the stricter of the two documents that let a product be sold in Russia. It is issued by a certification body accredited in the Russian national system, which examines the evidence, takes the decision and answers for it. Higher-risk groups are certified rather than declared — machinery, low-voltage and pressure equipment, personal protective equipment. Which rules cover your product, and whether they call for a certificate or a declaration, you can look up in the regulation finder.

The certificate is registered in the Russian state register of the Federal Accreditation Service, and beyond Russia it is equally valid in Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan — one document, five markets, no repeat procedure. What follows are the practical questions exporters ask before committing: which scheme applies, how long it takes, how long it lasts, and how anyone can check that a certificate is real.

Serial production or a single batch

This is the first decision, and it changes both the price and what you are allowed to ship.

Serial production. The certificate covers everything you manufacture and ship during its validity period, up to five years. The scheme includes an assessment of the production site and periodic surveillance while the certificate is live. This is the option for a manufacturer building a lasting presence in the union, and the cost per shipment falls with every consignment.

Single batch. The certificate has no expiry date but covers only one identified consignment, tied to a contract and a quantity. Nothing else you ship is covered by it. It suits a trial shipment or a one-off order, and becomes an expensive habit if supply turns regular: each new batch means a new procedure.

How long certification takes

Timing depends almost entirely on the test programme. Simple products with a short programme are usually complete two to three weeks after the samples reach the laboratory. Equipment requiring extended testing, and schemes that include an assessment of the production site, take longer, and the site assessment has to be scheduled with your factory.

Two things routinely add weeks that exporters do not plan for: getting samples into the union, which follows its own customs route that we handle for you, and gaps in the technical file. Missing or contradictory documentation is the more common delay of the two, which is why we review the file before testing starts rather than after. How samples are imported is set out under accredited testing.

Anyone promising a certificate in a day is not testing anything. What they are selling is described in the next section.

Validity and what keeps a certificate alive

A serial certificate is issued for up to five years, and the term is not automatic: it depends on the scheme and on the evidence of stable production. During that period the certification body carries out surveillance, and a certificate can be suspended or cancelled if surveillance is refused or if the product changes in ways that affect safety.

Changes on your side matter more than exporters expect. A new component supplier, a redesigned enclosure, a different production site or a change in the manufacturer's legal details can all require the certificate to be amended or reissued. Tell us before the change reaches the market, not after a customs officer notices that the goods no longer match the document.

How to check that a certificate is genuine

Certificate of conformity of the Customs Union — the form your document takes

Every valid certificate and registered declaration exists in the public register of the Federal Accreditation Service at pub.fsa.gov.ru. Enter the document number and the entry shows the issuing body, the applicant, the manufacturer and its production site, the product and its identification, the regulation, the test reports behind the decision and the validity dates. If the number is not there, the document does not exist, whatever the paper looks like.

Read the entry, do not just confirm that it opens. Three details are worth checking every time:

• The product description must match what you actually ship, including model designations. A certificate issued for a neighbouring model does not cover yours.
• The manufacturer and the production site must be your factory. Certificates naming a different plant are common in brokered deals and are worthless to you.
• The status must be active. Suspended and cancelled documents stay in the register with that status attached.

Foreign manufacturers are a favourite target for brokers selling documents that were never backed by testing. The signals are consistent: a certificate promised in a day or two, no request for samples, no test report, an unusually low price, payment demanded before anything is filed. The consequence is not a wasted fee but a stopped shipment, because the customs officer checks the same register you can. Before paying anyone, including us, ask for the document number and look it up.

From our practice

Children's toys, and the document the client did not want. A client came to us for an exemption letter covering children's toys, intending to sell them on Wildberries and Ozon. Toys fall under TR CU 008, which requires a mandatory certificate, so no exemption letter could lawfully be issued and we had to refuse the request as it stood. The route we set out instead was the correct one: obtain the mandatory certificate first, then add a voluntary certificate on top if the marketplace listing needs strengthening. Full case (in Russian).

Doors with two sound insulation ratings. A client asked for test reports confirming both 45 dB and 50 dB for the same door, and held to it when we queried the figures. One door cannot have two ratings. What the client actually had were two different products — single-leaf and double-leaf doors with different acoustic performance — which meant separate testing and a separate certificate for each. The lesson generalises: a certificate covers the product as identified in it, and products that differ in a characteristic that matters cannot share one document. Full case (in Russian).

FAQ

Can a foreign manufacturer hold the certificate in its own name?

Yes, as the manufacturer named in the document, provided the applicant is a legal entity registered in the union. That applicant can be your importer or an authorized representative acting for you, which is how manufacturers without a buyer in the union proceed.

Is the certificate valid in Kazakhstan and Belarus?

Yes. An EAC certificate registered in any member state is valid in all five, and no separate national document is needed.

Do we need a certificate or a declaration?

The applicable technical regulation decides, not preference. Some products need both, and some need additional documents such as state registration. See certificate versus declaration, or send us the product and we will identify it free of charge.

How many samples does testing require?

It depends on the test programme, and it is agreed before you ship anything. Samples are imported under Decree No. 353 as goods for testing rather than for sale, and we handle that paperwork.