Product Standards and Certification: CODINORM and Côte d'Ivoire's Mandatory Standards

When selling products into Côte d'Ivoire (in West Africa, French-speaking, the world's largest cocoa producer), customs paperwork is not the only hurdle: you also need to check whether your products meet local standards. For categories such as electrical appliances, food and building materials in particular, some standards are mandatory, and non-compliance can cause problems at customs clearance or during market inspections.

Who is CODINORM?

CODINORM (Côte d'Ivoire Normalisation) is Côte d'Ivoire's national standards and certification body. According to the US Department of Commerce's Country Commercial Guide, it was set up in August 1992 as a semi-public, non-profit body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry; of the 23 seats on its board, 9 are held by government and 14 by the private sector.

Its main activities include:

Developing national standards: known as NI (Norme Ivoirienne). Where no national standard exists, it refers to regional standards from UEMOA and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and to international standards such as ISO and IEC.
Certification: according to CODINORM's director general in July 2026, its work covers certification of products, services, management systems and personnel competence, and it promotes the national conformity mark "NI".
Market surveillance and information services: it takes part in market surveillance and runs the standards and regulations information centre (CINR), which serves as the World Trade Organization's Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) enquiry point.

Which products are covered by mandatory standards?

Decree No. 2016-1152 of 28 December 2016 made the standards listed in its annex mandatory. The annex covers 15 categories, including:

Food and beverages
Electrical and electronic products and renewable energy equipment
Cosmetics and personal hygiene products
Building materials (cement, steel, PVC pipes, tiles, etc.)
Packaging (wooden pallets), vehicle parts and lubricants
Machinery, pressure equipment and personal protective equipment
Textiles, footwear and toys
Second-hand products and chemicals

Under the decree, locally manufactured products can obtain a certificate of conformity valid for three years or an attestation of conformity valid for three months; imported products obtain a certificate or attestation for each individual shipment.

Conformity checks on imports

The US Department of Commerce notes that the mandatory standards are closely linked to the Verification of Conformity (VoC) programme for imports, which covers categories such as electrical and electronic goods, food, personal protective equipment, textiles, building materials, petroleum products and forest products. According to the guide, goods with an FOB value of CFA 1 million or more must be inspected in the country of origin, and the authorised inspection companies include Cotecna, SGS, BIVAC-BV and Intertek.

Where to check the latest rules

Côte d'Ivoire's TBT notifications to the WTO can be followed by subscribing on the WTO's ePing platform; the website of Taiwan's WTO & RTA Center also carries a summary of the notification of Decree No. 2016-1152. If in doubt, you can also contact CODINORM's CINR information centre directly.

One line for Asian companies

Before quoting a price, check whether your product is on the mandatory standards list and which NI or international standard applies, then agree an inspection schedule with your importer and the inspection company — it will keep your goods from being held up in port.

References: Trade.gov – Côte d'Ivoire Standards for Trade (2026); CIVLII – Décret n° 2016-1152 rendant certaines normes d'application obligatoire; AIP – Codinorm et la certification (2026); WTO & RTA Center – Côte d'Ivoire TBT notification