Arab-British Certificate of Origin and Arab League Legalisation
An Arab Certificate of Origin is issued for goods that are being sold and permanently exported to Arab League countries.
In addition to these certificates, LCCI can process any other commercial document required for international trade, either alongside the Certificate of Origin or as a separate document.
What is an Arab-British Certificate of Origin?
An Arab-British Certificate of Origin serves the same purpose of a UK Certificate of Origin but can be required for goods that are being sold and permanently exported to Arab League countries*.
Depending on the country of destination of the goods, an Arab Certificate of Origin may need to be solely authenticated by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and then certified by the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), or it may also need to be legalised by the London attaché from the destination country. In essence, Arab Certificates share considerable similarities and serve the same purposes as UK Certificates.
*Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Comoros and Egypt are also part of the Arab League, but both countries accept only UK Certificates of Origin.
How Can I Apply?
Apply Online
If you are registered with the LCCI’s Trade Documentation team, apply via the online portal.
First time applicants will need to register and complete a Formal Undertaking to use the online portal. Once the formal undertaking is complete, please scan to register@esscert.com and formalundertaking@londonchamber.co.uk and in turn the primary contact will receive log-in details and can start your application.
Enable Certificates
In the rare case that Arab Certificates of Origin are not listed in the document type menu, please email us to enable these Certificates in your account and all up to 24 hours for this service to be activated.
Specific details on how to complete an Arab Certificate application can be found in our Arab Certificate application guide.
Legalisation
To apply for legalisation of any commercial documents required for international trade such as: Power of Attorney, Distributor Agreement, Health Certificate, Certificate of Free Sale, Trademark Certificate, Commercial Contract, Article of Association, Certificate of Incorporation etc. Please email edocuments@londonchamber.co.uk prior to sending the original documents to the LCCI.
Price Guide
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Arab-British chamber certificate of blank template costs £1.80 (inc vat)
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Arab-British Chamber certification fee costs £57.60 (inc vat)
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Compulsory return of documents via Royal mail Special Delivery £7.75 (unless you send a self addressed envelope with postage or are arranging collection)
For legalisation, the costs vary depending on several factors. You can get an idea of the applicable costs using the Embassy Charges Matrix. For an exact cost of processing your documents, please email us, detailing what documents you require certified/legalised, the destination country and the sales invoice value. We endeavour to send you a quote or invoice within one working day.
How Do You Make Payment?
If you have submitted the documents online through the essCert.com portal, you will be sent an invoice to make payment within 24 hours.
Documents being posted in must be paid for prior to submission (this includes card payment or bank transfer) email edocuments@londonchamber.co.uk for more information, or have a cheque enclosed.
Documents being handed in over the LCCI Trade Documentation counter desk can pay via cash, card or cheque.
Please note we can not forward documents to the ABCC or embassies without advanced payment in full. Add the Royal Mail Special delivery fee if you are not enclosing a SAE envelope or having the documents collected on their return.
How Long Does The Process Take?
Once LCCI's Trade Documentation team receives the documents and payment has been made, we will forward the documents onto the ABCC and/or embassy. Please see guidelines on timing below:
• Certification (LCCI and Arab Chamber stamping only). Documents are verified by the LCCI first and then sent to ABCC for certification. This process can take up to two working days
• Legalisation (LCCI, Arab Chamber and Arab League Embassy). Documents are verified by the LCCI first and then sent to ABCC. Once certified by the ABCC, the documents are then forwarded to the embassy for legalisation. This process can take between 5 and 15 working days depending on the embassy. Legalisation is mandatory for Kuwait, Qatar and UAE
What supporting documents are required for an Arab-British Certificate of Origin?
- Commercial Invoice
- Packing List - If packing details are not available on the Commercial Invoice already
- Proof of Origin – i.e. Copy of the Manufacturer’s Invoice, a Copy of the Foreign Certificate of Origin, Supplier’s Declaration or similar third-party evidence. This is only needed for goods not manufactured in the UK
What are the specific country requirements exporters should be aware of when applying for an Arab Certificate of Origin?
Each country has its own specific requirements, and we unfortunately can not list all of them here; we have chosen a few “stand out” requirements to bring awareness of the type of requisites exporters can expect when applying for Arab-British Certificates:
- Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE require Arab Certificates to be certified by the ABCC and legalised by their corresponding Embassies.
- Commercial documents to be legalised by the Libyan Embassy, need to be translated into Arabic prior to being submitted to the Embassy. Note the LCCI also offers Arab translation services.
- On an Arab Certificate of Origin to Libya, the Invoice value must be declared and mentioned in the body of the Certificate.
- Quotes for certificates for Algeria to be legalised are calculated against a daily exchange rate (provided to the LCCI by the ABCC), hence the quote initially provided can differ to the final cost provided upon presentation and processing of the documents.
- Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the UAE, Yemen, and Palestine require the Certificate and its Commercial Invoice to be certified as a set.
More Information
More details about participating countries within the Arab League and their individual requirements can be found by downloading the Embassy Charges Matrix.
Within the LCCI team, we hold the expertise to understand what is required for each country and are here to support with any questions regarding Arab Certificates of Origin. We strongly recommend applicants, especially those applying for Arab Certificates for the first time, to contact us and enquire about any specific requirements for the country of destination of their exports.