Tag: saudi arabia

If you shop from US stores and forward packages to Saudi Arabia, a rule already in force is affecting every parcel you receive. Since January 1, 2026, couriers operating in the Kingdom are legally required to refuse or return any shipment that does not carry a valid Saudi National Address. Miss this step and your package goes back — no exceptions.

What Is the National Address Requirement?

Saudi Arabia’s National Address system assigns every residential and commercial property in the Kingdom a unique eight-character alphanumeric code — for example, RRRD2929. Think of it as a precision location pin embedded in your mailing address.

The Transport General Authority (TGA) announced the mandate in late 2025, giving residents and businesses time to register and activate their codes. As of January 1, 2026, compliance is compulsory: parcel companies cannot legally accept, handle, or deliver a shipment that lists only a traditional street address without the National Address code attached.

Why Did Saudi Arabia Introduce This Rule?

The TGA’s goals are to improve last-mile delivery accuracy, reduce failed deliveries, and eliminate the back-and-forth phone calls between couriers and customers trying to pin down an address. Saudi Arabia’s rapid urban expansion — especially in Riyadh and Jeddah — means streets can share similar names or lack consistent numbering, making precise addressing a longstanding logistics challenge. The National Address system resolves that at a national scale.

On the customs side, ZATCA (the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority) also restructured its import service fee: importers pay 0.15% of the shipment’s CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) value, capped at SAR 500 per declaration — or SAR 130 for duty-exempt shipments, with a SAR 15 minimum. This fee has been in place since October 2024. If you use a freight forwarder, it’s worth confirming the fee is being calculated correctly on your customs paperwork.

Who Is Affected?

If any of the following apply to you, this rule directly affects every shipment you receive:

• You shop from US retailers and have packages delivered to a Saudi address.
• You use a package-forwarding or consolidation service to receive goods from abroad.
• You send gifts or commercial samples to recipients inside Saudi Arabia.
• You receive business inventory from international suppliers.

In short: anyone receiving a parcel in Saudi Arabia must ensure their National Address appears on every shipment label.

How to Find Your National Address

Saudi Post (SPL) manages the National Address registry. You can look up or register your address through any of these official government channels:

• Absher — the main e-government portal
• Tawakkalna — the national digital services app
• SPL (Saudi Post) — directly through the Saudi Post platform
• Sehhaty — the national health app also surfaces address data

Once registered, you receive your eight-character code. Keep it somewhere accessible — you’ll need to provide it every time you place an international order or book a forwarding shipment.

What to Do When Using a US Forwarding Address

When you shop at US stores through a forwarding service, the package first travels to a US warehouse. The National Address requirement applies to the final delivery leg, when the in-Kingdom courier brings the parcel to your door. The code needs to appear on the shipment before it leaves the US — not after the fact.

Viabox customers forwarding packages from Portland can add their National Address directly to their saved Saudi delivery profile, so it’s automatically embedded in every outbound shipment label without needing to enter it at each checkout.

Practical checklist for any US-to-Saudi shopper:

• Update your forwarding account now. Add your National Address to your saved Saudi delivery address — don’t wait until a package is already in transit.
• Include the code on every shipment. When submitting a forwarding or consolidation request, confirm the National Address field is filled in, not just your street and city.
• Double-check the format. Your code should be exactly eight alphanumeric characters. An incomplete or incorrectly formatted code triggers the same rejection as no code at all.
• Verify your forwarder’s compliance. Ask whether the National Address is embedded in both the shipping label and the customs declaration — both documents may be checked.

What Happens If a Package Is Missing the Code?

Under TGA rules, carriers are legally required to reject non-compliant shipments. In practice this means your parcel may be held at the courier’s facility, returned to the US sender, or incur additional handling fees while the missing information is tracked down. On an international shipment, none of those outcomes is cheap or fast. Supplying the code before the package leaves the warehouse is the only reliable solution.

Act Now — The Rule Is Already Live

The mandate is in force, not coming soon. If you haven’t registered your National Address yet, do it today through Absher or the SPL platform. Then update every account where your Saudi delivery address is stored — your online stores, your freight forwarder, and any shopping accounts you plan to use. One update now prevents weeks of delays later.