A founder's guide to starting an online store in Saudi Arabia, in the order you act: product approvals, registration, store verification, VAT, platform, payments, shipping, invoices, policies and a launch checklist.
How to start an online store in Saudi Arabia comes down to a sequence: choose what you will sell and check whether it needs approval, set up a legal basis to trade, register for VAT if you must, then build the store with payments, delivery, invoices and the required policies. This guide follows that order, as of October 2026. It is general information, not legal or tax advice: rules and thresholds change, so confirm each step with the authority named.
In short
Work in three stages. First the legal basis: what you sell and under which registration. Second compliance: store verification, VAT and the details you must show. Third the store itself: platform, payments, delivery, invoices and policies.
Pick products you can source reliably and ship safely. Before you buy stock, check whether each one is restricted or needs an approval. The authority depends on the product:
If you plan to sell stock you do not hold, read dropshipping in Saudi Arabia first.
The E-Commerce Law separates a merchant, who is registered in the Commercial Register, from a practitioner, who sells online without being registered. Both have duties, and a merchant must register its e-shop in the Commercial Register. Most businesses begin with a commercial registration, which you apply for through the Business Platform at business.sa, run by the Saudi Business Center.
The freelance route. The Ministry's verification notice names a commercial register or "a valid professional certificate". The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development issues freelance certificates through freelance.sa for the programmes listed there. We could not confirm which activities qualify for online selling, so ask the Ministry of Commerce or the Business Center before you rely on this route.
Bank account and register rules. Verification needs a commercial bank account linked to the store, and the Ministry has said verified businesses need commercial rather than personal accounts. In September 2024 the Ministry also announced a new Commercial Register Law that requires establishments to open a linked bank account and to confirm their register data electronically each year. Check when it applies to you. If you are a non-Saudi owner, ask the Ministry of Investment (MISA) which licence you need.
In March 2023 the Ministry of Commerce announced that e-stores should register and verify on the Business Platform instead of Maroof, and called it the one and only place for this. So in 2026, plan around business.sa. We found no official page that states verification as a legal duty for every store, but the Ministry's 2025 review of 100 stores used it as one of ten criteria. Treat it as expected and confirm with the Ministry.
What to show on the store:
| Show on the store | Basis |
|---|---|
| Name or business name, address and contact details | E-Commerce Law, Article 6 (the address can be left out if you are registered with an authentication entity) |
| Commercial registration number, VAT number and required licences | Article 6 and the Ministry's review criteria |
| Returns, shipping and privacy policies, and an electronic complaints route | Ministry's review criteria and consumer guide |
| Total price with taxes and delivery fees, payment and delivery terms, warranty | Article 7 |
| An itemised invoice after each order | Article 8 |
The Law also gives customers rights you must plan for. In many cases a customer can rescind within seven days of receiving a product, with exceptions such as customised products and downloadable software (Article 13), and can cancel and be refunded if delivery is more than 15 days late unless you agreed otherwise (Article 14). Read the English translation of the Law, and ask a lawyer how it applies to your products. It also applies to sellers outside the Kingdom who offer products to consumers in it (Article 2).
Rules change
Press reports in early October 2026 described new Ministry of Commerce requirements for e-commerce contracts. We could not find the official text, so read the current rules on mc.gov.sa.
The standard VAT rate in ZATCA's guidance is 15 percent. ZATCA's guidance states a mandatory threshold of SAR 375,000 of taxable supplies over twelve months, past or expected, and a voluntary threshold of SAR 187,500 of taxable supplies or expenses. Under the Implementing Regulations, an unregistered resident checks the last twelve months at each month end and, if over the mandatory threshold, applies within 30 days of the end of that month.
You apply to ZATCA online. The application asks for your identity details, address, email, commercial registration number if you have one and the value of your annual supplies or expenses. ZATCA may ask for documents, and it issues a certificate with your tax identification number, which then goes on invoices and on your store. For the basics of pricing and invoices, read VAT and invoices for online stores in Saudi Arabia.
Your team, budget and need to connect orders, stock and accounting decide this: see Odoo, WooCommerce or Shopify for a Gulf store. On your shortlist, test Arabic and right-to-left pages (our checklist helps), a Saudi payment method and an Arabic invoice.
Customers expect mada, cards and Apple Pay. SAMA's circular on online mada payments says domestic e-store transactions go through the national mada system after testing and approval, so most stores use a provider that is already linked. Compare the options in payment gateways in Saudi Arabia.
Settle couriers, delivery times and cash on delivery before launch: see shipping and cash on delivery in Saudi Arabia. The Law expects you to tell a customer about an anticipated delay.
If you are VAT-registered, ZATCA's May 2026 guideline on invoicing and records says tax invoices must be issued electronically under the E-Invoicing Regulations, with every field completed in Arabic, and that refunds are recorded with credit notes. It also sets a minimum record-keeping period of six years and rules on where electronic records are stored, so ask your accountant what that means if your platform keeps invoices abroad. For the e-invoicing phases, see ZATCA e-invoicing phase 2 for online stores.
Publish these before your first order: terms and conditions covering the points in Article 7, returns, exchange and refund rules, a shipping policy, a complaints procedure with an electronic form, a contact page and a privacy policy. Article 12 of the Personal Data Protection Law, supervised by SDAIA, requires a controller to adopt a privacy policy and make it available before collecting personal data. The Ministry's consumer guide adds that a store must not use customer data for marketing without permission. Have a Saudi lawyer review all of it.
Days 1 to 30. Start with a small audience and follow every order from payment to delivery.
Days 31 to 60. Review failed payments, return reasons and late deliveries, and compare your real cost per order with your plan.
Days 61 to 90. Check your twelve-month sales against the VAT thresholds, review complaints and plan your next stock order. Then check your budget against what an online store costs in Saudi Arabia.
The E-Commerce Law recognises practitioners who are not in the Commercial Register, and the Ministry's verification notice mentions a valid professional certificate as an alternative. We could not confirm which certificates and activities qualify for online selling, so ask the Ministry of Commerce or the Saudi Business Center.
The Ministry of Commerce says verification and registration of e-stores moved to the Business Platform in 2023. Plan around business.sa, and confirm with the Ministry whether anything else applies to you.
Not necessarily. ZATCA ties mandatory registration to thresholds, and voluntary registration is possible from a lower one. Its guidance says voluntary registration can allow deduction of input tax, so ask your accountant.
Article 18 of the Law lists a warning, a fine of up to SAR 1,000,000, suspension of the activity and blocking of the shop, depending on the seriousness and repetition of the violation.
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