UAE Textile Conformity: ECAS Registration, the Certificate and the Label

For a textile product placed on the UAE market, the governing instrument is Cabinet Resolution No. (54) of 2019 Regarding the UAE System for the Control of Textile Products, administered by the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology, now part of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MOIAT). The supplier must register the product and obtain a Certificate of Conformity before customs will allow its import, entry and market placement. ^[1]

Registration in the Emirates Conformity Assessment System and the resulting certificate are central to the compliance task. For the shared groundwork on how a label file is built and version-controlled, see our garment labelling guide.

What does UAE textile conformity require before customs clearance?

Article 4(1)(a) of the resolution requires verification that the supplier has registered the product with the Authority in the Emirates Conformity Assessment System (known in English-language secondary sources as ECAS). For the grant of a Certificate of Conformity, Article 4(2)(b) requires the supplier to fulfil the requirements of the resolution, the applicable technical requirements and the approved standards in Annex 1; Article 4(2)(c) also requires appropriate production-control systems to support continuous fulfilment of the approved standards. Article 7(1)(b) then makes the certificate a direct condition of entry: all customs ports in the UAE are required to prohibit a textile product's import, entry and market placement unless it has obtained the Certificate of Conformity. Certification is required before clearance. ^[1]

Compliance element	UAE requirement	Production record to use
Product registration	Registered in ECAS before market entry	Product classification and technical specification
Certificate of Conformity	Obtained before customs clearance, Art. 7(1)(b)	ECAS certificate reference
Label content	Per Art. 5 and Annex 1 §4 (below)	Approved label artwork
Batch traceability code	For products within the resolution's scope, a production-batch-specific code, Art. 5(4)	Batch and lot records
Chemical and flammability limits	Set in Annex 1, bundled into the same instrument as labelling	Lab test reports against Annex 1 limits

What should be fixed before ECAS registration starts?

Treat the registration pack and the bulk order as one controlled record. Send the compliance contact a style sheet naming the style code, product photographs, end use, fibre and non-textile component breakdown, country of manufacture, trademark, and the legal names of the manufacturer and importer. Attach the current label proof and revision number. The buyer or importer confirms the commercial names and trademark before artwork release; the product-development owner cross-checks the material description against the bill of materials before it appears in the label or submission.

Set the batch-code format and test plan before materials are committed. Production needs a rule it can apply consistently, with each printed-label batch linked to the purchase order, material lot and finished-goods lot. Give the lab the final material and component specification, including attachments on children's styles, before testing is booked. The compliance owner compares returned reports with the approved specification. Do not book shipment until the certificate reference, approved artwork and bulk records describe the same product.

Decision to make	Information to send	Checkpoint owner	When it must be settled
Product identity	Style code, photographs, end use and revision number	Product-development owner	Before registration material is assembled
Label identity	Artwork, trademark and company-name spellings	Buyer or importer and artwork owner	Before labels are printed
Test and batch control	Final material, attachments, code format and lot-record method	Lab contact, compliance and production owners	Before bulk materials are committed

What product scope does the UAE textile resolution cover?

Article 2(1) applies to textile products containing components listed in Annex 2 that are offered, manufactured, distributed or imported into the UAE. It includes new ready-to-wear clothing, textiles and fabrics intended for garment-making, finished textiles for interior use such as furnishings, curtains, carpets, mattresses and their accessories, and any product containing textile at 80% or more by weight. Article 2(2) excludes goods made by home-workers and raw-material suppliers to independent companies providing those materials, textile products hand-made by self-employed tailors, single-use textile products, textile products designed for outdoor use such as gardens and parks, and leather, rubber and plastic products. Classify each style against those inclusions and exclusions before applying the resolution's registration, labelling and traceability requirements. ^[1]

What must a UAE textile label show?

For products within the resolution's scope, Article 5, headed "Requirements of the Label," and Annex 1 §4 set the required label content: explanatory label data meeting Annex 1's approved-standard-specification requirements; the Emirates conformity mark together with a statement of the product's component materials and chemical components; storage-environment information needed to preserve quality and safety; and a batch-specific production code for market traceability. Country of manufacture, the manufacturer's and importer's name, and the approved trademark belong on the advertising or marketing label per Annex 1 §4.2.2. Where a product has two or more textile components, the weight percentage of each is required on the material-content label per Annex 1 §4.3.2. ^[1]

Article 5(5) applies to material appearing anywhere on the product, rather than to label content alone. It prohibits pictures or drawings inconsistent with UAE public order and prevailing social norms and values, and information that cannot be verified and proven. Product artwork, marks and other product information should therefore be checked alongside the label fields required by Article 5(1) to (4).

Label field	UAE requirement	Source article
Explanatory label data	Meets Annex 1's approved-standard-specification requirements	Art. 5(1)
Conformity mark and component statement	Emirates conformity mark, material and chemical components	Art. 5(2)
Storage information	Needed to preserve product quality and safety	Art. 5(3)
Batch traceability code	Production-batch-specific, for market circulation tracing	Art. 5(4)
Country of manufacture, manufacturer/importer name, trademark	On the advertising/marketing label	Annex 1 §4.2.2
Multi-component weight percentage	On the material-content label	Annex 1 §4.3.2

Is Arabic-language labelling required by the textile resolution itself?

Not written into Article 5 or Annex 1 §4 directly. Those provisions contain no language requirement. ^[1]

Article 26 of Federal Law No. (15) of 2020 on Consumer Protection requires consumer-related data, advertising and contracts to be in Arabic; other languages may appear alongside Arabic. Consumer-facing textile-label data should therefore include Arabic, although the textile resolution itself does not contain a language clause. ^[2]

Build Arabic into the controlled label artwork rather than treating it as a last-minute customs sticker. Pair the Arabic text with each consumer-facing product statement, including the fibre-content description, care information, country-of-manufacture statement and any safety or storage instruction used on the label. Keep the bilingual text in the same artwork version, with a single product code and revision date, so the approved proof, the ECAS submission and the factory print file can be matched. Record the approved Arabic translation in the product technical file. If an importer applies a supplementary label, approve its text, position and application stage before production, then retain a sample from the applied batch. This reduces the risk that a translation is omitted from a later print run or that the wording supplied to customs differs from the wording on the goods.

Is a production-batch traceability code mandatory for products within the resolution's scope?

For products within the resolution's scope, Article 5(4) requires a production-batch-specific code enabling the product to be traced through its market circulation. The scope in Article 2 excludes, among other products, leather, rubber and plastic products, single-use textiles and textiles designed for outdoor use. This traceability field is separate from the fibre-composition declaration. Assign the code when labels are cut, and link it to the purchase order, factory, production date, material lot and test reports in the production record. ^[1]

Does the UAE have its own rule on children's clothing safety?

Yes. The Resolution requires the product to meet the requirements in its Annexes 1 and 2 against four criteria: resistance to combustion for textile products for babies and children; the content of harmful materials and heavy metals; the care-label and components-label requirements together with advertising and marketing requirements; and environmental requirements. Childrenswear is therefore caught by a combustion test the adult range is not, and by the same chemical limits. The Annexes carry the test methods, the age bands and the numeric limits, so obtain them and read the applicable clause before approving a childrenswear production specification rather than working from a summary of them. ^[1]

Why are registration and certification required alongside the label?

The label is one part of the product requirements. Article 4 provides for product registration and conformity assessment, and Article 7(1)(b) makes the Certificate of Conformity a condition of import, entry and offering in local markets.

Incomplete compliance approach	Why it falls short in the UAE	UAE-specific action
Fibre-content label, no pre-market certificate	UAE requires ECAS registration and a Certificate of Conformity before customs clearance	Register the product and obtain the Certificate of Conformity ahead of shipment
No batch traceability code for a product within the resolution's scope	Article 5(4) requires a production-batch-specific traceability code	Add a production-batch-specific code per Art. 5(4)
Care and composition only, no chemical/flammability test file	Annex 1 includes chemical-safety and flammability requirements	Prepare lab evidence against Annex 1's limits alongside the label
Origin marking only where a claim is made	UAE requires country of manufacture on the advertising label regardless	Include country of manufacture per Annex 1 §4.2.2

What happens if a shipment reaches UAE customs without the certificate?

Article 7(1)(b) requires customs ports across the UAE to block import, entry and market placement until the Certificate of Conformity is obtained. Post-clearance surveillance continues after that: inspection and sampling, suspension or withdrawal of non-conforming products, and a requirement on the responsible supplier to recall, correct, return to origin or destroy the product where it is found non-conforming. For a violation of Article 3 or 4, Article 8 permits licence-cancellation coordination with the relevant authority, cancellation of the product's Certificate of Conformity, and, if the violator fails to remove or remediate the damage, a charge for the expenses and costs of removing and remedying that damage. ^[1]

Short FAQ

What conformity steps apply in addition to the label?

Article 4(1)(a) provides for verification that the supplier has registered the product in ECAS. For a Certificate of Conformity, Article 4(2)(b) requires fulfilment of the resolution, the applicable technical requirements and the approved standards in Annex 1. Article 7(1)(b) makes the Certificate of Conformity a condition of customs clearance. ^[1]

Does the textile resolution itself require Arabic on the label?

No, not directly. Article 5 and Annex 1 §4 carry no language clause. ^[1]

Article 26 of Federal Law No. (15) of 2020 on Consumer Protection requires consumer-related data, advertising and contracts to be in Arabic, with other languages permitted alongside Arabic. ^[2]

Does the batch-code requirement apply to every textile product sold in the UAE?

Article 5(4) requires a production-batch-specific traceability code for products within the resolution's scope. Article 2 excludes, among other products, leather, rubber and plastic products, single-use textile products and textile products designed for outdoor use. ^[1]

What age group is covered by the children's-product requirements?

Annex 1 §§1-3's children's and boys' provisions apply up to 12 years. ^[1]

The UAE conformity judgement

For a UAE-bound product within the resolution's scope, certification is a task before labelling. Register the product, secure the Certificate of Conformity, and build the label around Article 5's required fields, including the batch traceability code. Include Arabic in consumer-facing label data under Article 26 of Federal Law No. (15) of 2020 on Consumer Protection, and apply the children's-product requirements to products for children and boys up to 12 years. ^[2]

Placing a UAE-bound programme

The UAE sits inside the wider Gulf region, where product registration and a pre-market conformity certificate are conditions of customs clearance. Plan the ECAS registration and certificate timeline as part of the critical path, before the label is approved and shipment is booked.