Skip to main content
    DuVolks

    Sector guide / Saudi Arabia

    Logistics & Warehousing.
    From origin
    to handover.

    Define what you move, arrange, store or clear—then plan the company, site and operating permissions around that service.

    Find your starting pointPlan my setup

    Practical guidance—not an operating approval.

    01 / Your starting point

    Activity & owners

    “Logistics” is not one permission. Start with the service you will invoice and operate.

    01 / Carry goods

    Road freight

    Define whether you carry goods for others or for your own account, the vehicle class and the operating area.

    Transport licensing

    02 / Arrange movement

    Freight brokerage

    If you arrange carriage rather than operate the vehicles, use the brokerage route that matches the service and technology model.

    Brokerage licensing

    03 / Hold inventory

    Warehousing

    State the goods, storage conditions, client model and site. Municipal, safety and product rules can all change the facility route.

    Site approvals

    04 / Cross the border

    Customs clearance

    Treat customs brokerage as a separate licensed service. Importing your own goods is not the same as clearing goods for clients.

    Customs licensing

    Foreign ownership

    Use the investment route for the exact logistics activity. Customs clearance has its own licensing and applicant-eligibility rules and must not be treated as an unrestricted transport activity.

    Ownership routes

    Saudi / GCC ownership

    Follow the applicable formation route. MISA registration is not a blanket requirement for Saudi/GCC-only businesses.

    Company registration

    Capital & costs

    Plan capital around the selected activity, legal form and operating needs. This sector overview does not impose a blanket investment-registration minimum.

    Plan the first-year budget

    02 / Formation to operation

    Setup route

    Check the service and site route before committing to vehicles, a warehouse or a launch date. Check authorities & permits before committing.

    1. 01

      Activity & owners

      Choose the activities the company will actually carry out and the correct ownership route.

      Working towards

      Defined services & ownership route

      DuVolks

      Find an activity
    2. 02

      Investment registration

      For the foreign-investment route, complete the relevant MISA registration. Saudi/GCC-only routes follow their applicable formation process.

      Working towards

      MISA registration, where applicable

      MISA

      MISA guide
    3. 03

      Company formation

      Complete the company documents and commercial registration with the selected activities.

      Working towards

      Company documents & CR

      Saudi Business Center / Ministry of Commerce

      Registration guide
    4. 04

      Operating permissions

      Complete the permissions for the services you will operate: transport or freight brokerage, parcel delivery, customs clearance, the warehouse site and any regulated goods.

      Working towards

      Applicable service & site permissions

      TGA / ZATCA / municipality / relevant product authority

      Check the permits

    Planning stages—not a guaranteed approval sequence. Some authority or site checks belong before a lease, fleet purchase or formation decision. A CR does not authorise transport, storage, parcel or customs-clearance operations.

    03 / Operating checks

    People & premises

    Plan the workforce, fleet and facility around the goods and service—not the label “logistics”.

    Before the lease or fit-out

    Plan the facility

    Confirm the site can support the exact storage and handling activity before committing.

    • Permitted use and activity record
    • Loading, vehicle access and circulation
    • Storage zones, racking and fire safety
    • Ambient, chilled or regulated goods

    Planning prompts—not a site or safety approval.

    Fleet & handover

    Define who owns or operates vehicles, who arranges carriage, and when custody of the goods changes. Vehicle, driver and transport-document requirements follow the operating model.

    Transport checks

    Planning your operation

    Nitaqat (Saudization)

    Plan both your entity’s Nitaqat position and the rules for the jobs you will hire.

    Check the establishment’s Nitaqat position and any activity- or profession-specific Saudization rule separately. A transport licence does not replace workforce compliance.

    Your team & Saudization

    Nitaqat: your entity’s workforce

    Nitaqat assesses the entity’s workforce using its registered economic activity and employee figures. A broad sector name alone does not determine the required percentage. Use the Nitaqat planner with your Qiwa activity and workforce.

    Profession-specific Saudization

    Profession-specific Saudization is a separate check. The applicable decision may depend on the occupation, covered workforce, workplace and effective date. Meeting a Nitaqat band does not replace this check.

    Roles to check: logistics, warehouse, procurement, transport and administrative roles. These are prompts for your hiring plan, not a statement that every listed role has the same quota.

    Calculate my Nitaqat planCheck profession Saudization

    Use the tool’s scope, effective date and source notes. These links do not transfer or infer your activity, headcount or job codes.

    HRSD — Nitaqat calculator ↗HRSD — decisions and regulations ↗

    Baladi (Municipality) — Commercial Activity License

    Your exact activity and premises determine the requirements. Check the Balady activity record before leasing or fitting out.

    • Identify the storage type, goods, vehicle access and loading arrangements.
    • Check the municipality or site-authority route alongside the relevant transport, customs and product permissions.
    Your premises & municipality requirements

    Check the premises requirements before signing a lease or starting fit-out.

    Planning prompts, not a complete activity-code licensing checklist. Confirm the exact requirements in Balady and with the relevant site authority. Area and room-size figures are not provided in this overview.

    Check the activity in Balady ↗Find my ISIC activity code

    In Balady, choose ISIC search, enter the activity code and select the detailed activity. This link opens the official lookup; it does not preselect a code or provide a live feed to this page.

    04 / Competent authorities

    Authorities & permits

    Use only the rows that match the service, site and goods. The permissions are not interchangeable.

    Transport General Authority (TGA)

    Road freight & brokerage

    Activity-specific operating licence

    When the company transports goods by road or arranges freight for others.

    Match the licence to the operating model: goods transport, freight brokerage or electronic brokerage. Complete the applicable vehicle, operating-card, driver and system requirements before service starts.

    TGA land-transport investor guide (PDF) ↗TGA role and remit ↗
    Transport General Authority (TGA)

    Parcel services

    Separate postal / parcel permission

    When the service carries postal parcels locally or internationally.

    Do not treat a goods-transport licence as blanket permission to carry parcels. Obtain the applicable parcel permission or contract with a licensed provider before launch.

    TGA postal-regulation implementation rules (Arabic) ↗
    Municipality / Balady + Civil Defense

    Warehouse site

    Commercial activity licence & safety permit

    When operating a warehouse, fulfilment centre or distribution site.

    Confirm the exact activity, zoning, site use, loading access and safety route before signing or fitting out the premises. The applicable approvals depend on the location and goods stored.

    Balady activity and municipal requirements ↗Civil Defense Safety Portal ↗
    Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA)

    Customs clearance

    Customs-broker licence

    When the company clears goods for clients or otherwise performs licensed customs-clearance work.

    Complete the customs-clearance licensing route before offering the service. Importer or exporter registration and use of Fasah do not, by themselves, authorise customs brokerage for others.

    ZATCA customs-clearance licence ↗
    Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) / product authority

    Regulated-goods storage

    Product-specific warehouse permission

    When storing food, feed, medicines, cosmetics, medical devices or another regulated product.

    Identify the product category before choosing or fitting out the warehouse. Obtain the applicable establishment or warehouse licence and follow the product’s storage and distribution requirements before use.

    SFDA food-storage warehouse licence ↗
    Entity. Site. Service.

    Company registration, permission to use the premises and permission to operate the service answer different questions. Confirm all three before launch.

    Selected checks, not an exhaustive licence list. Ports, airports, special zones, dangerous goods, cold chain and other regulated products can add authority-specific conditions.

    05 / Your next step

    Prepare

    Four useful prompts. Local reading aid only; nothing is saved or sent.

    0 of 4 prompts reviewed

    DuVolks / Practical support

    Turn the operating chain into a setup plan.

    Tell us what will move, where it will be stored and who will handle each step. We review the route and agree our support. The competent authorities decide approvals.

    Discuss my logistics business

    06 / Official references

    Sources

    Official sources & scope7 official references · review scope

    Base sector guidance: 5 October 2026.
    Targeted authority review: 14 October 2026.

    Planning overview, not a full licensing, customs, product-safety or site audit. Confirm current activity-specific conditions before committing.

    ZATCA and Balady pages were read directly. TGA, Civil Defense and SFDA items were available as indexed official material; direct retrieval was unavailable. Confirm the current category, conditions and issuing route.

    Discuss Your Structure