Israeli Standardization

What is a standard?

A standard is a document that details the applicable specifications for a product or service so that it will conform to its purpose.

There are also standards that are intended to define guidelines, test methods, or terms.

The Standards Institution of Israel, and it alone, has the right to prescribe specifications or technical rules for a work process, including technical definitions, as an Israeli standard, while preserving the processing that will conform to the rules of the standards and the Standards Law.

Hundreds of public committees of the Standardization Branch at the Standards Institution of Israel writes the standards. The committee have thousands of representatives from different sectors of the economy, including manufacturers, consumers, contractors, importers, science and research institutions, testing laboratories, and the government.

Who uses the standards?

The entire economy uses the standards, including manufacturers, the construction industry, consumers, ministries, and commercial enterprises.

Official Standard

An Israeli Standard set by the Standards Institution of Israel is a voluntary standard.

However, the Minister of the Economy and Industry may, after consulting with representatives of manufacturers and consumers, declare all or part of a particular standard as an "Official Standard", if it is demonstrated that this is necessary to achieve one of the following objectives:

• Protection of public health;
• Protection of public safety;
• Protection of the environment;
• Provision of information where there is none or there is no alternative mechanism that provide protection for the consumer;
• Ensure compatibility or alternatives of products.
• Prevention of significant economic damage that is liable to be caused to the consumer as a result of visible systems, materials, or products used in construction, and the prevention of economic damage that is liable to be caused to the public by the use of non-visible building materials.

Duty to conform to an official standard

A product for which the applicable standard has been declared as official may not be produced, sold, imported, or used for work if the technical rules on its process have been set as an official standard, unless the product or work process conforms to the specifications of the official standard.

The Commissioner of Standardization at the Ministry of the Economy and Industry is responsible for auditing and ensuring compliance with the official standard. Therefore, from time to time, he may audit and supervise markets to check that the specifications are upheld, pursuant to the Standards Law.

In an audit, any person certified for this purpose by the Commissioner of Standardization may take a sample of any good for testing and to seize and delay anything for which there are grounds for believing that there has been a transgression of provisions of the Standards Law. The engineers of the Commissioner of Standardization at the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor perform investigations following initiated audits or complaints, and if it turns out that there has been an offense against provisions of the Standards Law, legal measures are taken against the business owners, importers, or manufacturers.

Writing an Israeli standard

Standardization is initiated and approved

A draft standard is written for public criticism

Public criticism and debate on the public's comments

Approval of the standard

Writing and publication of the standard

Request to write a standard/revision/amendment sheet

An initiative for standardization may originate from any party in the economy. The request is sent to appropriate central committee for discussion and it will decide whether to approve the matter for standardization.

The argued request shall be submitted on the appropriate form set forth below and sent to: ewag@sii.org.il

Contact us
42 Haim Levanon Street, Tel Aviv
Sunday-Thursday, 08:00-15:00
Standardization Branch Secretary
email: ewag@sii.org.il
telephone: 03-6465181