What Changed and When
For years, bringing connected equipment into Algeria — routers, Wi-Fi access points, radio modules, IoT devices, consumer electronics — meant navigating a paper-heavy type approval (homologation) regime managed by the ARPCE for public network equipment and by the ANF for certain radio installations. Executive Decree No. 26-97, signed on 31 January 2026 and published in the Official Gazette of 15 February 2026, modernises this regime.
The changes are substantive but focused: they extend certificate validity, digitise the application process, tighten sample-submission deadlines, and clarify labelling. For importers and distributors, each of these individually changes planning assumptions for 2026 shipments.
Certificate Validity Extended to Five Years
Under the previous framework, type approval certificates had a three-year validity. Decree 26-97 extends this to five years. For importers and vendors selling the same SKUs over multiple cycles, this is material: the overhead of recertifying a product family shrinks from roughly every three years to every five.
In cash terms, for an importer with dozens of approved SKUs in rotation, that is a meaningful reduction in certification spend per device lifecycle — and fewer windows where an unexpired certificate risks lapsing mid-shipment.
A Digital Application System
The decree introduces a digital application system for type approval requests. In practice, this is expected to shift submissions from paper dossiers and courier runs to an online portal — aligned with Algeria’s broader digital government push.
For importers, the practical consequences are operational rather than legal: the documents you need to produce remain similar (technical files, test reports, conformity declarations, applicant credentials), but the workflow, response times, and archiving change. Teams that currently rely on external agents or consultants to manage paperwork should revisit whether that arrangement still fits a digital-native process.
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A Tight 5-Working-Day Sample Submission Window
One of the most operationally consequential changes is the five-working-day window for submitting physical product samples after filing the type approval application. Miss the window, and the application can be rejected.
This has real consequences for inventory and logistics planning:
- Samples must already be in Algeria, or in transit with a reliable ETA, before the application is submitted — not ordered from the factory after the fact.
- Customs and warehouse logistics must be pre-aligned so that a sample box clearing customs does not get stuck in a distribution centre for a week.
- Internal processes that used to treat “submit the application and see what ARPCE/ANF asks for next” as a viable sequence no longer work.
Importers used to a more forgiving timeline should build a dedicated “certification sample flow” with pre-cleared samples staged locally.
Labelling: On-Device First, Documentation Second
Decree 26-97 clarifies the labelling requirements: the type approval mark must appear directly on the device whenever technically possible. Where on-device labelling is not feasible — small IoT modules, miniaturised sensors, e-SIM-only products — the label can appear on the user manual or the packaging.
Importers of small-form-factor equipment should verify with their factories how the approval mark will be applied, whether on the casing, via laser etching, or via compliant silk-screen printing. For IoT vendors shipping unlabelled modules into integrator supply chains, the approval mark’s location in documentation and packaging also needs clear specification.
Who Governs What: ARPCE and ANF
The decree also maintains a clarifying division of labour between regulators. The ANF (Agence Nationale des Fréquences) is responsible for the approval of non-public radio installations, while ARPCE (Autorité de Régulation de la Poste et des Communications Électroniques) handles equipment intended to be connected to the public open network.
Importers and integrators need to map each SKU to the correct authority — not an obvious exercise for multi-purpose devices like small cells, industrial IoT gateways, or professional radio kit that can sit on either side of the public/private line.
What Importers and Distributors Should Do in 2026
A practical 2026 action list:
- Inventory in-force certificates. List every product SKU holding an active ARPCE or ANF certificate, its expiry date, and whether it is a candidate for renewal under the new five-year regime.
- Pre-stage samples. Re-plan certification-sample logistics so that samples are ready in-country within the five working-day filing window. Maintain a small buffer stock of pre-cleared samples where possible.
- Train the team on the digital portal. As the portal rolls out, designate a single owner in each organisation responsible for submissions, certificate storage, and renewals.
- Review labelling with factories. For any new SKU planned for Algeria in 2026, confirm that the approval mark can be applied on-device or, failing that, that documentation and packaging meet the alternative labelling requirements.
- Map SKUs to ARPCE vs ANF. Double-check the regulator responsible for each product to avoid misfiled applications that reset the clock.
For Algeria’s broader digital economy, this modernisation is positive news: it tightens a process that previously added real friction to bringing connected equipment into the country. For individual importers, the change is a straightforward operational project — one that should be closed this year rather than inherited into 2027 shipments.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Executive Decree 26-97 come into effect in Algeria?
The decree was signed on 31 January 2026 and published in Official Gazette No. 13 on 15 February 2026. From that point, the new type approval framework — including the five-year certificate validity, digital application system, and sample submission rules — applies to new telecom equipment applications in Algeria.
What happens to type approval certificates issued under the previous framework?
Certificates issued under the previous three-year validity regime remain valid until their existing expiry date. At renewal, products moving through the new process benefit from the extended five-year validity. Importers should inventory all active certificates and schedule renewals in the order dictated by existing expiry dates, not by the decree’s publication date.
How does the split between ARPCE and ANF work for a connected device?
ARPCE is responsible for approval of equipment intended to connect to the public open network — the typical path for most consumer telecom gear and equipment used by public operators. The ANF is responsible for non-public radio installations. For a multi-purpose device, the use case determines the authority: the same radio module can require ARPCE or ANF approval depending on whether it ultimately connects to a public network or to a private radio deployment.
