SONCAP Certification

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:

• a Product Certificate (PC)

• a Certificate of Conformity (COC), called the SONCAP Certificate (SC)

There are three types of PCs, as detailed below.

The 3 Certification Routes of SONCAP

Exporters can obtain a Product Certificate (PC) and a SONCAP Certificate (SC) using one of three levels of compliance, called “Routes”. SON has defined three Routes that are applicable as assessment of conformity procedures for products regulated under the SONCAP program.

Route A: Unregistered or Unlicensed Products

This route is recommended for infrequent exporters.

Route B: Registered Products

Exporters/manufacturers that have frequent shipments to Nigeria are recommended to apply for Product/SONCAP certification under Route B if they have a Quality System in place in order to determine that the manufactured products are produced consistently over time with the same quality product.

Route C: Licensed Products

Manufacturers/producers that have regular shipments to Nigeria, and/or those who have demonstrated an excellent level of compliance under Route B, are qualified to apply for Product Licensing under Route C.