Saudi National Address Rule for Deliveries: A 2026 Seller Guide

Since 1 January 2026, every parcel delivered in Saudi Arabia needs a valid National Address. No address, no delivery.

That sounds like one more rule to worry about. It's actually good news. Vague landmark addresses were one of the biggest reasons Saudi parcels failed, especially cash-on-delivery (COD) orders.

The fix on your side is small. Ask for the 8-character Short Address at checkout, check it, and send it to your courier.

Here's how the rule works, what the address looks like, and how to set it up on Shopify, Salla or Zid. It's part of our GCC logistics guides.

What is the Saudi National Address rule?

The Transport General Authority (TGA) regulates parcel delivery in Saudi Arabia. Its rule says delivery companies must not accept a parcel without a valid National Address. It took effect on 1 January 2026.

In practice, a courier can do one of three things with a parcel that has no valid address:

• Reject it at booking, so your label never prints.
• Hold it while someone checks the address with the buyer.
• Return it to origin, which costs you shipping both ways.

The rule covers parcels shipped within Saudi Arabia and parcels shipped into it from abroad. So it applies whether you ship from a Riyadh warehouse or a factory in Shenzhen.

Why Saudi Arabia brought it in

Saudi delivery volumes have grown fast, and addresses didn't keep up. Before the rule, only about two in three shoppers typed an address a courier could use.

Drivers filled the gap with phone calls and landmarks, like “behind the mosque, the white gate”. Landmark navigation pushed rural delivery costs up by as much as 12%.

A single address code fixes that for everyone. Couriers plan better routes, shoppers get parcels faster, and you get paid on more first attempts. Think of the rule as a free upgrade to your delivery rate.

What does a Saudi National Address look like?

The National Address is Saudi Arabia's official address system, run by SPL (Saudi Post). Every home, shop and office building has one.

A full National Address has six parts:

That's a lot to type on a phone. So SPL packs it into a Short Address: 8 characters, four letters and four digits, such as ABCD1234.

The Short Address is what you want at checkout. One code tells the courier the exact building, and the shopper can copy it in seconds.

How do shoppers find their Short Address?

Most Saudi shoppers already have one. Registration is free, and residents and businesses sign up through government apps they use every week.

Put these steps in a help tooltip next to your address field:

1

Open Absher, Tawakkalna or the SPL app

All three show the shopper's registered National Address. The SPL app also lets them register a new one.

2

Find the National Address section

The Short Address shows at the top as four letters and four digits.

3

Copy the code

It's easier to copy it than to retype it from memory.

4

Paste it at checkout

One code is enough. The rest of the address form becomes a backup for the driver.

No code yet? Add a link to the SPL lookup next to your field, so shoppers can register on the spot.

How to collect the National Address at checkout

The goal is simple: no Saudi order should be accepted without a Short Address. How you do that depends on your platform.

Shopify

Shopify's standard checkout has no Short Address field. So relabel one you already have.

Rename "Apartment, suite, etc." to ask for the Short Address and district, with an example like ABCD1234. Then set that line to "Required" in Settings > Checkout.

Running your store in Arabic? Our guide to translating the Shopify checkout into Arabic gives the exact Arabic labels.

Salla and Zid

Both Saudi platforms have a native Short Address field. Salla can fill in the full address from the 8 characters, and Zid can make the code mandatory.

You just need to switch it on. In Salla, pick National Address as the address method in your customer settings. In Zid, turn on the Short National Address field.

Then place a test order with no code, and check the store stops it. Make sure the code also reaches your courier labels. Our Salla vs Zid comparison covers the rest of the setup.

Custom stores and marketplaces

On a custom build, add a required field and validate it against the SPL National Address API. On Amazon.sa and noon, the marketplace collects the address for you.

How to validate a Short Address

A required field stops blanks. Validation stops typos.

Use three layers, from cheapest to strongest:

1. Clean the input. Convert to capitals and strip spaces and dashes. The code isn't case-sensitive.
2. Check the format. Four letters, then four digits. Reject anything else with a friendly Arabic and English error.
3. Check it's real. The SPL National Address API confirms the code exists and returns the full address. Some shipping aggregators and checkout apps run this check for you.

For COD orders, add one more step. Include the Short Address in your WhatsApp confirmation message, so the buyer can fix a wrong code before you ship.

What couriers do with the National Address

Couriers and aggregators now read the Short Address from your order data. They print it on the label, and drivers navigate straight to the building.

Before the rule, drivers often phoned buyers for directions. That added 5–10 minutes per stop.

So make sure the Short Address reaches the label. Ask your courier, aggregator or 3PL which order field they map it from. Then place a test order and check the printed label. Comparing carriers? See our guide to Saudi couriers.

How the rule cuts COD failures and RTO

Failed deliveries hurt most on COD. RTO (return to origin) means the parcel comes back unpaid, and you've paid to ship it twice.

Clean addresses fix one of the biggest causes. Mordor Intelligence expects failed first attempts in Saudi Arabia to fall from 12–15% to about 7% under the rule.

For example, take a store shipping 1,000 Saudi orders a month. At a 13% failure rate, 130 parcels miss on the first try. At 7%, that drops to 70.

That's 60 fewer failed deliveries every month, from one checkout field.

Addresses are only half the story, though. A buyer who changes their mind still refuses the parcel, however good the address. Stop those orders before dispatch with OTP and WhatsApp COD verification, then work through our COD return-to-origin playbook for the rest.

Notes for cross-border and Chinese sellers

• Collect it on your own site. Your logistics partner can't invent it later, so add the field before your first Saudi order.
• Pass it in the API call. Map the field to your forwarder's or 3PL's consignee data, not just the order note.

Shipping from China? Our China to Saudi Arabia shipping guide covers DDP lines and customs.

Notes for UAE sellers

• No UAE equivalent. UAE addresses are building and landmark based.
• Use a different field set. Ask for building name, landmark and a map pin, plus a WhatsApp confirmation.
• Selling to both? Show the Short Address field only when the shipping country is Saudi Arabia.