The GOST Certificate is official confirmation that the products meet the national Russian quality and safety requirements.
In 1925, the Gosstandard - the National Committee for Standardisation – was established in the USSR, which was responsible for the development of the common standards. Later the national standards of the Soviet Union - GOST standards emerged. The GOST system was almost completely taken over by Russia from Soviet standards. To this day, the GOST certificates are widely used, and the resulting proof of conformity remains mandatory for many products.
Legal framework
The GOST certification offers some independent notified bodies, which are accredited by Rosstandart, who are authorized to issue certificates according to test reports - for which the quality of the products is investigated. The basis for GOST certification is the legislation of the Russian Federation, in particular:
- “The federal law on technical regulation”
- Directive of the Government of the Russian Federation from 01.12.2009 №982
- The letter of the Federal Tax Service from 20.02.2009 №01-11/7403
- Directive of the Government of the Russian Federation 2425 from 23.12.2021
GOST certificates have a validity period of up to 3 years within the territory of the Russian Federation. Without the necessary GOST certificates the goods may not pass the Russian border.
The certificates of conformity that were still issued in accordance with Government Order No. 982 are valid for the period for which they were issued, but no longer than until 1 September 2025.
As a consequence of the coordination of national safety standards between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, the previous national technical regulations such as Russian GOST and TR certification were gradually phased out and substituted by the new technical regulations of the EAEU (TR EAEU) in every industrial sector. In addition to the EAC Certification, the EAC declarartion has also been introduced to the Customs Union as a simpler and less expensive form of proof of conformity.
Application area
All products covered by the government directive from 1.12.2009 № 982 are subject to the GOST compulsory certification for export to Russia . The list of products, which have to be certified acording to GOST certification, contains more than 100 products. Including the following goods:
- steel ropes
- pipes and pipe parts
- conveyor belts
- mining machinery
- power cables
- air conditioning units
- boilers
- sport and hunting weapons
- sport and rescue boats
Required documents
The following documents are required when applying for a GOST certificate:
- application for GOST certification
- detailed product description
- technical passport
- instruction manual
- test reports
- existing certificates: ISO, DIN, CE, CB
Depending on the type of certified products, additional documents and certificates may be required.
GOST certification process
There are 3 possibilities for GOST certification in Russia: compulsory certification, optional certification and declaration of conformity.
GOST compulsory certification
Goods which relate to safety aspects are generally subject to the GOST compulsory certification. These are above all children's items or medicine, as well as all kinds of industrial equipment. The GOST certificate can be applied to both one-time delivery and serial delivery. All goods certified according to the GOST standard are to be marked with the special certification mark.
The list of goods that are under the GOST compulsory certification regulation covered by the government directive from 1.12.2009 № 982.
GOST optional certification
The optional GOST certificate is issued on applicant's own initiative for those goods, which are not included in the government directive № 982. The optional certified products may be marked with the certification mark.
Any products can be certified according to GOST standards in order to convince customers of their quality.
Any product can be certified according to GOST standards in order to indicate to the customers the quality of the products.
GOST declaration
GOST declaration is a mandatory procedure for the confirmation of product quality. This includes mainly consumer goods, certain types of food, clothing and shoes for adults, furniture and certain hand tools. The complete list of goods requiring a GOST declaration for import into Russia can be found in the government directive № 982.
In contrast to the GOST certification, a GOST declaration can only be applied by the importer of the goods.
Differences between GOST certificate and GOST declaration
| Criteria | GOST certificate | GOST declaration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applicant | producer, importer, power of attorney | producer, importer, power of attorney | |
| Classification of products | done by certification body | done by applicant themselves | |
| Proof of conformity | on the basis of test reports made by an accredited test laboratory | on the basis of own evidence or test reports made by an accredited test laboratory | |
| Quality control | comprehensive production audit by the certification body or external ISO 9001 certification | Quality control is done by the applicant themself | |
| Issue of certificate of conformity | certification body on official form | Applicant themselves on a normal piece of paper | |
| Registration of the certificate of conformity | certification body | certification body | |
| Period of validity | 1 to 3 years, depending on GOST | Usually 1 to 3 years, depending on GOST | |
| Responsibility | lies with the certification body | lies with the applicant | |
| Monitoring | certification body | - |
The GOST certification process is usually comprised of following steps:
- Step: application at an accredited certification body in Russia
- Step: the certification body reviews the documents
- Step: classification of the products and selection of the product samples
- Step: testing and analysis
- Step: manufacturing audit (in case required in GOST)
- Step: issue of the certificate
- Step: monitoring of the certified product (in case required)
The application for a GOST certificate can be carried out according to an instruction procedure: for a single or a batch delivery, and for serial production. More Info >>
Technical regulation
At present a reform of the technical regulation is being carried out in Russia. The outdated GOST standards, which no longer meet modern requirements, are gradually being replaced by the Russian Technical Regulations (TR) and the Technical Regulations of the Eurasian Economic Union (TR EAEU).
With the entry into force of the Technical Regulation, the manufacturers need to certify their products according to new regulations and have to mark them with the corresponding TR mark.
The compulsory EAC Certification is to be applied for goods, which are listed in the unified list of products subject to certification under the Technical Regulations of the EAEU.
These certificates are valid for up to five years in the customs territory of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Obligatory product marking
Products subject to certification, for which a GOST certificate has been issued, must be marked with the corresponding GOST marking.
The application of a GOST mark is regulated by the decision of Rosstandart Nr.3 of 16.02.1994 and by GOST 50460-92.
The marking contains information about the notified body that issued the GOST certificate.
Authorised Representative
If the producer doesn't have a location in the EAEU, it does not have the right to apply for a required conformity assessment of its products. In order to still be able to be the subject of a conformity assessment, the foreign producer must give a representative in the EAEU power of attorney. They will defend the interests of the foreign producer when working with the certifying bodies with regard to safety and quality of products and in accordance with technical regulations.
As the law stands and in accordance with the GOST of Russia only an operator based in the territory may be named power of attorney.
Period of validity of GOST certificates
The validity period of GOST certificates differs depending on the applied technical regulations, the selected scheme, the type of production (serial production, individual delivery, etc.) and equipment and ranges on average from one to 3 years. Those parameters are determined in the respective technical regulation.
Duration and costs for GOST certification
The length and costs associated with a GOST certificate application, depend on several different factors, such as the classification of the product, any required laboratory checks and the complexity of all examinations. As such the exact conditions of the certification are always determined individually based on the required documentation.
Please note that an application for a GOST certificate can take from a few days, to a few weeks to process.
Delivery of the documentation
If you order an GOST certificate, you will receive a copy of it via email immediately upon our successful certification process. Alongside you will receive the original document by post.
