El salvador Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in el salvador, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
Select Country Guide
Standards for Trade
Last published date:

El Salvador tends to adopt international standards, including from the United States, rather than develop its own standards. [EH6.1][KD6.2]Many U.S. products meet the standards of El Salvador. The primary area of difference is items for human consumption, including pharmaceuticals and food. In El Salvador, registration and labeling requirements for these cases require U.S. exporters to follow strict local guidelines. 

The United States actively serves as a resource to assist El Salvador in developing or streamlining standards. The objectives of Chapter 7 (Technical Barriers to Trade) in the CAFTA-DR agreement are to increase and facilitate trade through improvements to the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) agreement, eliminate unnecessary barriers, and enhance bilateral cooperation. 

Standards

The Salvadoran Standardization Organization (OSN) and the Salvadoran Technical Regulation Organization (OSARTEC) are responsible for standards in El Salvador. Both institutions fall under the National Quality Council, which was created in 2011 with the approval of the Quality Salvadoran System Law.

The Quality Salvadoran System Law regulates the study, development, and application of standards; accreditation, technical regulation, and metrology; develops the capacity of professionals; and strengthens the material, financial, and human resources of the entities responsible for quality topics in the country. 

The head of the Quality Salvadoran System is the Quality National Council, which comprises four specialized organizations: the Salvadoran Standardization Organization (OSN), the Salvadoran Technical Regulation Organization (OSARTEC), the Salvadoran Accreditation Organization (OSA), and the Metrology Investigation Center (CIM). Additionally, there is the Administrative Office of the Salvadoran Quality System (OAS).

The OSN is responsible for:

  • Drafting, updating, adapting, and disseminating standards that seek to improve the quality of the products, processes, and services; and coordinating the drafting, adoption, and adjustment of standards through technical committees.
  • Contributing to and participating in the development of national and international standards.
  • Developing a national standards program that the Quality National Council will approve.
  • Promoting the creation of standards, technical committees, and sub-committees for developing standards.
  • Representing El Salvador in regional or international standard organizations.
  • Maintaining, updating, and making available for the public a database of standards implemented in the drafting process in El Salvador.
  • Enforcing the application of technical standards in all sectors.
     

The OSARTEC is responsible for:

  • Observing and complying with international guidelines and commitments of El Salvador on technical regulations
  • Submitting comments from public or international consultations to the appropriate institution. 
  • Being aware of the different institutions’ annual plans on technical regulations.
  • Verifying that all technical regulations go through public or international consultation.
  • Keeping an updated database of Salvadoran technical regulations approved or in process.
  • Informing the WTO of any technical trade barrier and/or sanitary or phytosanitary technical regulation projects. 
  • Acting as the coordinator and point of contact in El Salvador at the CODEX Alimentarius Commission or any other international organization.


The CIM is responsible for:

  • Acting as the scientific, industrial, and legal metrology in El Salvador.
  • Performing international functions assigned to the National Metrology Institute
  • Organizing a national metrology system according to the International System of Units.
  • Calibrating scales, volumes, and temperatures. 


El Salvador is a member of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) and has adopted the Code of Good Practice annexed to the TBT Agreement. 

There are two types of standards in Salvadoran legislation: Mandatory Salvadoran Standards (NSO), also known as Technical Regulations, and Recommended Salvadoran Standards (NSR), also known as Technical Standards. NSOs are mandatory standards, primarily for products that affect human health, and are based on international, regional, or foreign standards. NSRs are recommended standards that follow ISO standards and are not independently created by the government of El Salvador. NSOs include the following standards: the International System of Units, standards relating to materials, procedures, products, and services that may affect human life, standards on the safety and integrity of other live organisms, environmental protection standards, product registration, labeling, manufacturing practices, and standards considered by the government to be relevant to the economy or in the public interest. The NSR process includes national consultation and only needs approval by the OSN Directive Commission. 

These committees adopt international standards; consequently, local standards organizations are more “takers” than “makers.” ISO is the primary reference used; others, including the Pan-American Commission on Technical Standards (COPANT) and the CODEX Alimentarius Commission, are also consulted. El Salvador has an agreement with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and a memorandum of understanding with the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) to exchange information on standards. Representatives of related organizations in El Salvador have received training from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). 

Testing, Inspection, and Certification

The product certification process requires the establishment of a Certification Technical Committee, which includes representatives of the manufacturing sector, government, consumers, and academia. Product certification programs comply with international standards/ISO certification process. The ISO/IEC 65 Guide is generally available online. 

El Salvador established the Superintendency of Sanitary Regulation (SRS) in 2023, granting it broad authority to regulate food and drug products. SRS regulates, monitors, and grants registrations, in addition to authorizations for marketing, import and export permits, and food product certifications. Products under SRS regulatory authority include pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, medical devices and equipment, other health technologies, cosmetics, hygiene, chemicals, food, foods for special diets, beverages, alcohol, tobacco, nicotine release devices or similar devices without nicotine, and related activities. May 2025 amendments to the enabling legislation expanded SRS to include changes related to donations, fees, and exemptions for international humanitarian aid agencies.

Publication of Technical Regulations

Proposed Central America Technical Regulations (RTCAs) are published in major newspapers. The WTO and the Central American Secretary for Economic Integration (SIECA) are notified. However, notifications are not submitted in a timely manner. Final RTCAs are published in the Official Gazette (Diario Oficial). The formation of standards drafting committees is announced in newspapers for interested parties to participate. 

The Law to Improve Regulations (IRL), which entered into force in April 2019, seeks to develop clear rules, procedures, and simplified services; and requires government institutions to submit a regulatory agenda in the first quarter of every year detailing regulations they plan to approve, reform or repeal each year to the Regulatory Improvement Organism (OMR), a regulatory entity within the Office of the President of El Salvador. In 2024, 139 regulatory agendas were expected from the Executive Branch, autonomous institutions, constitutional bodies, other branches of government, and municipal governments; however, only 80 regulatory agendas were received, according to OMR, representing a 54% compliance rate. Central American Technical Regulations (RTCAs) are excluded from the law as they fall within the exceptions stated in Art. 7, which includes free trade agreements, international agreements, and international conventions. Nevertheless, Salvadoran technical regulations are subject to the new law. 

El Salvador does not have a centralized portal for public consultation of technical regulations. Many regulations are approved with limited or no public consultation.

The Legislative Assembly does not publish draft legislation on its website and does not have a standardized means of providing notice and soliciting comments on pending legislation.  

Contact Information 

  • Organismo Salvadoreño de Reglamentación Técnica (OSARTEC) (Salvadoran Organism for Technical Regulations)
    Boulevard San Bartolo y Calle Lempa, costado norte de INCAF. Edificio CNC (Consejo Nacional de Calidad)
    Ilopango, San Salvador, El Salvador.
    Tel. +503 2590-5300
    consultasreglamento@osartec.gob.sv
    https://osartec.gob.sv/
     
  • Organismo Salvadoreño de Normalización (SON) (Salvadoran Standarization Organization)
    Boulevard San Bartolo y Calle Lempa, costado norte de INCAF. Edificio CNC (Consejo Nacional de Calidad)
    Ilopango, San Salvador, El Salvador.
    Tel. +503 2590-5300
    normalizacion@osn.gob.sv
    certificacion@osn.gob.sv
    https://www.osn.gob.sv/
     
  • Standards Attaché for Mexico & Central America
    Lauren Caughlin
    Lauren.Caughlin@trade.gov
     
  • Superintendencia de Regulación Sanitaria (SRS - Superintendency of Sanitary Regulation)
    Blv. Merliot y Av. Jayaque, Edif. SRS, Urb. Jardines del Volcán
    Santa Tecla, La Libertad Sur, La Libertad.
    Tel. +503 2522-5000 Call center: 194
    consultas@srs.gob.sv

Use ePing to review proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures. 

The ePing SPS&TBT platform (https://epingalert.org/), or “ePing”, provides access to notifications made by Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), distributed by the WTO from January 16, 1995, to present. ePing is available to all stakeholders free of charge and is a versatile tool that can be used to:  

  • Follow and review current and past notifications concerning regulatory actions on products, packaging, labeling, food safety, and animal and plant health measures in markets of interest.
  • Receive customized e-mail alerts when new notifications are distributed,
  • Find information on trade concerns discussed in the WTO SPS and TBT Committees. 
     

Per obligation under the TBT Agreement, each WTO Member operates an Enquiry Point. National TBT Enquiry Points are authorized to accept comments and official communications from other national TBT Enquiry Points, which are NOT part of the WTO or the WTO Secretariat. All comment submissions from U.S. stakeholders, including businesses, trade associations, U.S.-domiciled standards development organizations, conformity assessment bodies, consumers, or U.S. government agencies on notifications to the WTO TBT Committee should be sent directly to the USA WTO TBT Enquiry Point. Refer to the comment guidance at https://www.nist.gov/notifyus/commenting for further information. This guidance is provided to assist U.S. stakeholders in preparing and submitting comments in response to notifications of proposed foreign technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.

×

Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

Privacy Program | Information Quality Guidelines | Accessibility