Where we work · Egypt
ISO and GRC certification consulting in Egypt
Achieve ISO and GRC certification in Egypt with Sterling: 8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries, 20+ years.
- 21 standards, one team
- Accredited certification route
- Dubai office team
- Effivity and Academy included
Sectors that ask for certification in Egypt
Clients include
ISO and GRC certification in Egypt at a glance
Egypt's certification market is shaped by a handful of public bodies. The Egyptian Accreditation Council, created by presidential decree in 1996, accredits certification bodies, and Global ACI lists it as a mutual recognition signatory. The Egyptian Organization for Standards and Quality keeps a registration unit for management system certificates under a ministerial decree of 2010, while the National Food Safety Authority, established by Law No. 1 of 2017, registers food factories. Banks follow the Central Bank of Egypt's Financial Cybersecurity Framework, medical products fall under the Egyptian Drug Authority, and personal data now answers to Law No. 151 of 2020 and its regulator, the Personal Data Protection Center. Demand comes from banks and fintechs, IT and outsourcing firms, food and agro-processors, pharmaceutical and device makers, free-zone exporters and contractors. Sterling's Dubai office serves clients across Egypt on-site where the work needs it and remotely otherwise, bringing 20+ years and 8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries, with Effivity and Sterling Academy included. Certificates come from accredited certification bodies, never from Sterling.
ISO and GRC standards Sterling delivers in Egypt
Each page covers who needs the standard in Egypt, its requirements, how to get it, what sets the time and cost, and the local laws behind it.
Quality & operational excellence
Information security, cyber & cloud
Privacy & data protection
AI governance & digital trust
Environment, energy & climate
Health & safety
Governance, risk & resilience
Financial services, payments & AML
Food safety & agriculture
Healthcare, medical devices & life sciences
Laboratories, inspection & accreditation
Automotive, aerospace, rail & defence
Construction, energy, oil & gas
Regulators and laws that drive certification in Egypt (5)
| Law or regulator | What it asks for | Standards it cites |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Data Protection Law, Law No. 151 of 2020 Personal Data Protection Center (PDPC). Its portal offers a permit or licence for legal entities, a permit for liberal professions, Data Protection Officer appointment and certification, accreditation of data protection consultants and a compliance questionnaire that determines obligations under the Law. | MCIT describes the Law as a framework governing the relationship between data controllers and users, setting mechanisms for personal data in online advertising and marketing and the digital environment, criminalising processing that does not conform to the purposes authorised by data owners, and obliging data collectors and processors to obtain the necessary licences, permits and approvals. MCIT also records that the Law is in line with international practice, especially the European GDPR. Further detail on duties, rights and transfers is recorded in data_protection[1], pending a check against the Official Gazette text. | |
| Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Banks and the wider financial and banking sector | Cybersecurity page of the CBE: the Bank has set up an independent cybersecurity sector, established the Computing Incident Response Team for the Financial Sector (EG-FinCIRT) and states it succeeded in issuing and circulating Egypt's first 'Financial Cybersecurity Framework' built around a readiness self-assessment approach aligned with international standards and frameworks. The framework text was not opened, so what it says about ISO/IEC 27001 or any other standard is not recorded. | |
| National Food Safety Authority (NFSA) Food manufacturing, storage, import and export | Law No. 1 of 2017 issuing the law of the National Food Safety Authority; the Authority's Arabic about page says it was published in the Official Gazette on 10 January 2017 and set up the Authority as a single body responsible for food safety. The English site lists departments and e-services for registration of factories, warehouses, importers, suppliers and other food establishments, and a register of conformity assessment bodies issuing certificates for imported and exported food consignments. | |
| Egyptian Organization for Standards and Quality (EOS) Standards, conformity marks and management system certificates | EOS's page on its Quality Management Systems Certificates registration unit says the unit was established to activate Minister of Trade and Industry Decree No. 415/2010 on registration procedures and verification of ISO certificates of quality or environmental management systems, safety, international quality marks and similar certificates; it registers the granting body and the certificate obtained by the establishment, and verifies the international accreditation certificates of the granting body. EOS also states it is the competent body for conformity marks and certificates for industrial products against Egyptian and foreign standards, and that its conformity mark is mandatory for products covered by ministerial decrees on engineering products. | ISO 9001, ISO 14001 |
| Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) Pharmaceuticals, biological products and medical devices | The EDA states it was established by Law No. 151 of 2019, is a public body with legal personality under the Prime Minister, regulates registration, circulation and control of pharmaceutical products and implements laws on pharmaceutical products and medical devices, issues operating permits for factories producing pharmaceutical products, medical devices and raw materials, licenses private laboratories in its field and examines medical devices against mandatory standard specifications it approves. |
Accreditation and recognition
- Egyptian Accreditation Council (EGAC): National accreditation body — EGAC states on its own site that it was established by Presidential Decree No. 312 of 1996 as the national body competent in Egypt to assess and accredit conformity assessment bodies, that Presidential Decree No. 248 of 2006 reorganised it and gave it technical, administrative and financial independence, and that it is a non-profit government organisation affiliated to the Ministry of Industry; its scope list includes testing, calibration, inspection, management system certification, medical testing, product certification, persons, proficiency testing, halal certification bodies and biobanks.
Look for a certification body whose accreditation scope covers your standard and sector, from a national accreditation body recognised under the international arrangements of Global ACI (Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated, formerly the IAF MLA). Sterling does not certify.
Economic zones
- Public free zones administered by the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI): export manufacturing, logistics, storage and trading
Sterling in Egypt
Sterling delivers in Egypt from its Dubai office: one team from scoping to certificate, with Effivity ISO & GRC software and Sterling Academy access included. Sterling does not certify; certification decisions stay with independent bodies.
What the standards require, clause by clause
Before you start in Egypt, read what each clause and subclause requires of you, how to implement it, the evidence auditors look for and the mistakes to avoid.
- ISO 9001:2026 requirements95 clause guides
- ISO/IEC 27001:2022 requirements143 clause guides
- ISO 14001:2026 requirements53 clause guides
- ISO 45001:2018 requirements60 clause guides
- ISO 22000:2018 requirements95 clause guides
- ISO/IEC 17025:2017 requirements68 clause guides
- ISO/IEC 42001:2023 requirements97 clause guides
Questions Egyptian clients ask
Which accreditation should a certification body hold for work in Egypt?
Look for accreditation by the Egyptian Accreditation Council, which describes itself as the national body competent to accredit conformity assessment bodies. Global ACI lists it as a mutual recognition signatory, with management systems recognition for ISO 9001 from 2009 and ISO/IEC 27001 from 2023. Ask the certification body for its accreditation certificate and scope for your standard before signing.
Is the Personal Data Protection Law in force, and who regulates it?
Law No. 151 of 2020 has been passed, and the Personal Data Protection Center is its regulator. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology records that the President passed the Law in July 2020, and the Center's portal states that Executive Regulations have been issued. The portal already offers permits, licences and Data Protection Officer certification. Confirm what applies to you with counsel or the Center.
Do management system certificates have to be registered in Egypt?
The Egyptian Organization for Standards and Quality runs a registration unit for ISO-type management system certificates and for the bodies that grant them, set up to apply a ministerial decree of 2010. Its page describes the procedure but not who must use it. Ask the Organization whether your customer, tender or product route needs your certificate registered.
Are certification audits in Egypt conducted in English?
Often, yes, but it is agreed case by case. Arabic is the official language and English is common in business, so the audit language, any interpreter and the language of controlled documents are settled with the certification body at application. Say early if shop-floor interviews will run in Arabic, because that affects auditor allocation more than the written system does.
Who regulates food safety in Egypt?
The National Food Safety Authority, created by Law No. 1 of 2017, which the Authority says was published in the Official Gazette on 10 January 2017 as the single body responsible for food safety. Its site lists registration of factories, warehouses and food establishments. A food safety certificate such as ISO 22000 supports your controls but does not replace that registration.
How does the Central Bank of Egypt approach cybersecurity for banks?
It runs a dedicated cybersecurity sector, including a computer emergency response team for the financial sector called EG-FinCIRT, and has issued Egypt's Financial Cybersecurity Framework with a readiness self-assessment approach. The Bank describes the approach as aligned with international standards. Banks should read the framework text itself for the controls it sets before planning an ISO/IEC 27001 programme.
Start with a free discovery call
A Sterling consultant goes through your entities, your regulators and your target date with you. No proposal until the scope is agreed.
Sources
- Personal Data Protection Law, Law No. 151 of 2020 — mcit.gov.eg; portal.pdpc.gov.eg (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
- Cybersecurity page of the CBE: the Bank has set up an independent cybersecurity sector, established the Computing Incident Response Team for the Financial Sector (EG-FinCIRT) and states it succeeded in issuing and circulating Egypt's first 'Financial Cybersecurity Framework' built around a readiness self-assessment approach aligned with international standards and frameworks. The framework text was not opened, so what it says about ISO/IEC 27001 or any other standard is not recorded. — cbe.org.eg (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
- Law No. 1 of 2017 issuing the law of the National Food Safety Authority; the Authority's Arabic about page says it was published in the Official Gazette on 10 January 2017 and set up the Authority as a single body responsible for food safety. The English site lists departments and e-services for registration of factories, warehouses, importers, suppliers and other food establishments, and a register of conformity assessment bodies issuing certificates for imported and exported food consignments. — nfsa.gov.eg (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
- EOS's page on its Quality Management Systems Certificates registration unit says the unit was established to activate Minister of Trade and Industry Decree No. 415/2010 on registration procedures and verification of ISO certificates of quality or environmental management systems, safety, international quality marks and similar certificates; it registers the granting body and the certificate obtained by the establishment, and verifies the international accreditation certificates of the granting body. EOS also states it is the competent body for conformity marks and certificates for industrial products against Egyptian and foreign standards, and that its conformity mark is mandatory for products covered by ministerial decrees on engineering products. — eos.org.eg (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
- The EDA states it was established by Law No. 151 of 2019, is a public body with legal personality under the Prime Minister, regulates registration, circulation and control of pharmaceutical products and implements laws on pharmaceutical products and medical devices, issues operating permits for factories producing pharmaceutical products, medical devices and raw materials, licenses private laboratories in its field and examines medical devices against mandatory standard specifications it approves. — edaegypt.gov.eg (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
- Egyptian Accreditation Council (EGAC) — global-aci.org; egac.gov.eg (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
- Public free zones administered by the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) — gafi.gov.eg
Talk to a consultant
Plan your certification with the Dubai team.
Tell us your goals, locations and target date. We’ll help you define the scope, timeline and next steps.
uae@sterling-grc.com+1 201 263 4443 (global headquarters) · your nearest office and its number are at the top of this page
What would you like to achieve?
Choose a starting point. The enquiry form takes about a minute.
Book my free discovery callContinue to the enquiry form to share your details. Please do not include passwords, sensitive personal information or confidential files. A Sterling consultant replies within one working day. Privacy notice