Import License: Who Needs One, How to Get It and How Long It Takes

Last updated: September 30, 2026

Most products enter Israel without an import license. A license is required only for goods listed in the First Schedule to the Free Import Order, and it is issued by the ministry responsible for the field: the Ministry of Economy and Industry, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Health and others. Many other products have no license, but they do have an approval or a declaration that is presented at customs release. Under the Order, the authority must respond to an application within 14 working days of the day it received all the documents, and within 21 days at some authorities.

This dictates the order of actions: first find out which group your product belongs to, and only then order it.

Import License, Standards Approval, Importer Declaration: Three Different Things

The word "license" is used in conversations with suppliers and forwarders for every regulatory document. In practice these are different requirements, with different timelines and a different body handling each one. The distinction matters because it determines when you need to act: before the order, before shipping, or only at release.

The Ministry of Economy explains the difference this way, in the Free Import Order website's FAQ (as of September 2026): a license is required for items that could endanger the public, the process is complex, and it must be completed before the goods arrive in Israel. An import approval is required for most consumer products, and it is presented only at the release stage.

Two notes on standardization, because that is where most importers meet the regulation. Official standards are divided into four import groups by level of risk. Group 1 requires a model approval and a physical test of every shipment at a recognized laboratory. In groups 2 and 3 the importer may declare, provided the product file contains a model approval or a test certificate. Group 4 is intended for industrial use only and is exempt from approval.

In addition, since January 1, 2025, the European track has been phased in gradually: a product that meets a European regulation adopted in the Standards Law is released on the basis of an importer declaration, and in group 2 also on the basis of a manufacturer document such as a Declaration of Conformity (DoC). The condition here is compliance with the European requirements and documents that prove it, so it is worth asking every manufacturer abroad, as early as the quotation stage, which conformity documents it can provide.

How to Check Whether Your Product Requires a License, in Three Minutes

The check itself is short. What takes time is arriving at it with the right data: the customs item.

Find the Product's Customs Item

A customs item is a code of four to eight digits that identifies the product under an international classification system. All requirements, taxes and licenses derive from it, so a classification error leads to an error in everything that follows.

1. Ask the supplier for the HS code it writes on the invoice. This is only a starting point, because the binding classification is the Israeli one.
2. Locate the item in the Israel Tax Authority customs tariff and read the full description, not just the heading.
3. Record the item at the eight-digit level. According to the Ministry of Economy's importer guide, tax rates are checked at eight digits, while the legal requirements in the Order appear sometimes at eight digits and sometimes at four.

Check the Item in the Free Import Order

1. Go to the Free Import Order search engine and type in the item.
2. Read the goods description column. Sometimes the requirement applies only to some of the products under the item, or it contains an exception ("except...").
3. Check which schedule the item appears in. First Schedule means an import license. Second Schedule means an approval, a declaration or compliance with conditions.
4. Note the competent authority listed next to the requirement. That is where you apply.
5. The item does not appear in any schedule? Under the Order, the goods may be imported without a license and without an approval. It is still worth verifying that there is no separate legislation by the regulator that has not yet been incorporated into the Order; the Ministry of Economy's guide mentions this possibility explicitly.

Note the rule set in Section 7 of the Order. When several approvals are listed next to a product, you need all of them; only when the item is marked with an asterisk are the approvals alternatives. A toy with a wireless remote control, for example, appears in the Second Schedule with two requirements: a Tar declaration or Tar approval under the toy standard, and Ministry of Communications approval.

What to Do When You Are Not Sure About the Classification

A product that combines several functions, or a new product with no clear item, is the case where importers make mistakes. There are three ways to reduce the risk:

• A customs agent classifies goods as part of their routine work, and is also the one who will file the import declaration.
• The Tax Authority operates a prior information service for classifying goods in commercial import, in which you receive Customs' position before the import.
• When the classification is borderline between two items, check the requirements of both. If one of them requires a license, it is better to know this before paying the supplier.

With us, this check is done before the order. It is part of the procurement and import service, alongside supplier negotiation, quality control, shipping and coordination with the customs broker.

Which Ministry Issues the License

There is no single "licensing office". The Order refers each customs item to its competent authority, and the list of authorities also includes the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of National Security, the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Chief Rabbinate. The table shows the families that businesses usually encounter. The examples were checked in the Order's search engine and in its consolidated text in September 2026; the binding text is always the one in force on the day of import.

Two examples illustrate how much the small details matter.

In the forklifts and handling equipment sector, a new electric forklift (item 84.27.1010) appears in the First Schedule and requires a license from the Ministry of Transport. The goods description contains an exception: the requirement does not apply to a pedestrian-operated truck, and does not apply to goods manufactured in the European Union, the EFTA countries or the United States. The practical implication: the same type of forklift will require a license when manufactured in Asia, and will not require one when manufactured in Germany. According to the Ministry of Transport service page, commercial import of construction machinery is conditional on the importer being recognized by the ministry, and the application is submitted in a digital form under Procedure 01/17.

In electronics and communications products, the common requirement is not a license at all. Communications and wireless equipment is usually classified under items in the Second Schedule, with Ministry of Communications approval. Here too the description contains exceptions: a security camera without a wireless component, for example, is excluded from the requirement in item 85.25. A product powered from the mains may also be subject to a standardization requirement, so check all the rows listed for the item.

How to Apply for an Import License at the Ministry of Economy

The Ministry of Economy issues licenses only for goods under its authority. This is stated on the "Receiving an import license" service page: in the First Schedule, column A lists the goods and column C the body that issues the license. If column C lists another ministry, the application is submitted to it.

Submission is online, in the Maslul+ system, a joint project of Customs, the National Digital Agency, the Ministry of Economy and the competent authorities. As of September 2026 the process looks like this:

1. You identify yourself through the national identification system or with a smart card. Importers, exporters, customs agents and intermediaries can use the system, so you can apply yourself or through your customs agent.
2. You open a new request and choose commercial import.
3. You select the types of approvals required for the product. You can include several licenses and approvals in one request, and up to 200 customs items.
4. You fill in the mandatory fields and attach documents. The system shows which documents are required according to the type of approval you chose.
5. You submit, and wait for a confirmation of receipt by email. Until it arrives, the request has not been forwarded to the handling ministry.
6. If something is missing, the ministry returns the request with comments and the status changes to "awaiting importer update". You correct and resubmit.
7. When the request is approved, a version of the approval is sent to you by email.

The documents vary from license to license. In the license to import chemicals, for example, the requirement depends on the substance category: for some substances you attach a document detailing the end user and the use, and for others an approval from the Ministry of Environmental Protection. Section 3(d) of the Order obliges every authority to publish its conditions and its list of documents on its website, so there is always an official page you can work from.

How Long It Takes

Section 3 of the Free Import Order sets the framework (as of the consolidated text updated on July 16, 2026):

• A license, approval or permit, or a reasoned decision to refuse, will be given within 14 working days.
• At the Food Service and the Pharmaceutical Division of the Ministry of Health, the arms import licensing unit at the Ministry of Defense, and the competent authority at the Ministry of Transport, the deadline is 21 working days.
• The count begins only on the day all the required documents were received.
• The deadlines do not apply to a license that is granted once a year.

The third point is what determines the actual timeline. As long as a document is missing, the count has not started, and most of the time goes to obtaining documents from the manufacturer: a technical specification, test reports, declarations. So it is worth requesting them from the supplier at the quotation stage, and not after the advance payment has been made.

The validity and scope of the license (one shipment, a quantity or a period) are set in the license itself. Read it before you plan a repeat order.

How Much an Import License Costs

The cost has three components, and only one of them is a payment to the state.

Fee. As of September 2026, the Ministry of Economy's import license service page does not state a fee. The Ministry of Transport's service page for importing construction machinery, and the application page for an exemption under Section 2(c)(2), state explicitly that the service is provided free of charge. Other authorities set their own terms, so check the service page of the authority you apply to.

Tests and documents. This is usually the heavy item: laboratory testing for model approval, translation of specifications, samples sent for testing. The price depends on the product, the standard that applies to it and the number of models, so ask the laboratory for a quotation before you commit to a supplier.

Handling. Whoever submits on their own pays with time. Whoever submits through a customs agent or a regulatory consultant pays a fee that depends on the complexity of the application and the number of items. Ask for a written offer that separates the fee from third-party payments.

A License Before the Shipment, Not After

Customs does not release goods that require a license or approval until the process is completed. This is also how it is worded in the FAQ of the Order's website: without a request or an official declaration by the importer, Customs will not permit the goods to enter.

What happens in the meantime? The goods wait at the port or in a warehouse, and storage and container detention charges accumulate. You submit the application retroactively, and the count of working days begins only after all the documents have been submitted. And if the authority refuses, you are left with expensive options, such as returning the shipment to the supplier. With a First Schedule license the risk is especially high, because these are products the state wants to examine before they arrive.

The declaration tracks also carry responsibility. An importer who declares that the product meets the standard must hold a product file that proves it, and the Standardization Administration carries out enforcement on imports and in the markets. According to the information page on the European track, whoever violates the standardization provisions is exposed to financial sanctions and even criminal proceedings.

The right order is simple: classification, checking the Order, collecting documents from the manufacturer, submitting the application, and only then approving the shipment. When we manage an order, the check of standardization and licensing requirements is done in advance, before the order, and not at the shipping stage.

When There Is an Exemption from a License or Approval

The Order itself allows exceptions. Section 2(c)(2) authorizes the minister, or whoever is authorized by the minister, to permit import without a license or without an approval. In practice, the regulated and accessible route for importers is an exemption from presenting an official standard approval for goods in the Second Schedule, under Ministry of Economy Director-General Directive 2.6. As of September 2026, the service page lists among the grounds:

• Import of small quantities, for products that appear on the "small quantities" list in the annex to the directive.
• Goods used as a component in the manufacturing process of a final product sold in Israel.
• Original spare parts for a consumer product sold in Israel.
• Goods for the operational needs of the business itself, meaning equipment you use and do not sell.
• Donations, goods for security bodies and for national infrastructure, and the "international network" track.

The application is submitted in Maslul+, with a supplier account and an importer declaration according to the relevant annex. The service is free of charge and the handling time is up to 14 working days. A company or an authorized dealer (osek morsheh) may apply, and the page states explicitly that an exempt dealer (osek patur) may too.

Three clarifications that save misunderstandings:

1. This exemption concerns the standards approval. It does not replace a license from the Ministry of Transport, an approval from the Ministry of Communications or an approval from the Ministry of Health.
2. A small quantity is not an automatic exemption. The exemption applies only to products on the list, and only after the application has been approved.
3. Personal import is regulated in a separate order, the Personal Import Order. Do not assume that its rules apply to a commercial shipment just because it is small.

A different kind of exception concerns the country of origin. The Free Import Order does not apply to imports from countries that have no diplomatic relations with Israel and prohibit imports from it, or that restrict imports from Israel. The list and the conditions appear in Director-General Directive 2.4, and import from there may require a license even for a product that usually requires nothing. Trade with enemy states is strictly prohibited.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the country of origin change the need for a license?

Usually not. The requirement derives from the product's customs item, not from whether it was made in Asia, India or Italy. There are two exceptions: countries to which the Free Import Order does not apply, and items where the goods description itself distinguishes by place of manufacture, such as electric forklifts. That is why you read the full description in the Order and do not settle for the item heading.

Which products require an import license?

Those listed in the First Schedule to the Free Import Order: among others, vehicles, forklifts and construction machinery, and controlled chemicals. Ordinary consumer products such as electrical appliances, toys, cosmetics and communications equipment are usually in the Second Schedule, and require an approval or a declaration, not a license. The binding check is by customs item, in the Order's search engine.

How long does it take to get an import license?

The Order sets 14 working days, and 21 working days at the Food Service, the Pharmaceutical Division, the arms licensing unit and the Ministry of Transport (as of September 2026). The count starts when all the documents have been submitted, so the real time depends mainly on how fast the manufacturer supplies specifications and test reports. Plan the application before you approve the order, not before the vessel sails.

What is the difference between an import license and Standards Institute approval?

An import license is advance permission from a government authority, and it is required for a limited number of products. A standards approval concerns the product's compliance with an official Israeli standard: for high-risk products it is granted after testing at a recognized laboratory for every shipment, and for other products the importer declares and keeps a product file. One product can require both a standard and an approval from another ministry.

What is the Free Import Order?

It is the order that consolidates the legal requirements for commercial import and sets the conditions for release from customs. It was made under the Import and Export Ordinance and permits the import of any product except what is detailed in the schedules: the First sets out when a license is required, the Second when approvals are required. The Ministry of Economy publishes a consolidated text and a search engine, and the binding text is published in Reshumot (the Israeli official gazette).

Can an exempt dealer (osek patur) get an import license or an exemption?

The Free Import Order words its requirements by product, not by type of business. The application page for an exemption under Section 2(c)(2) states explicitly that an exempt dealer may also apply. That said, certain authorities set conditions for the importer itself. The Ministry of Transport, for example, requires that whoever imports construction machinery be a recognized importer. Check the threshold conditions on the service page of the relevant authority.

Does the American reform change anything for imports from manufacturers in Asia?

Not directly. The amendment to the Standards Law known as "What is good for the US is good for Israel" was approved by the Knesset plenum in July 2026. According to the Ministry of Economy announcement of July 17, 2026, the first phase will take effect in early 2027 and will apply to products manufactured in the United States that meet its federal regulation. A product manufactured in another country remains under the Israeli track and the European track.

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Have a product in mind and not sure what it requires? Send a purchase request with a description of the product, the quantity and the supplier if you already have one. We will check the requirements in advance, before the order, and come back with an offer that breaks the cost down into components.

This information is general and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Check the current instructions on the authorities' websites.