- Every route needs a licence that covers trading, valid for at least 30 more days, plus the ID of the person named on it and an account in the company's name.
- Saudi sellers need a CR and a Saudi VAT certificate. UAE sellers can register without VAT if they're under the threshold.
- Chinese companies need only a Chinese business licence through noon Global Shipping. Other foreign companies need a VAT certificate in the country they sell to.
- Signup is free and takes about an hour. Noon aims to approve within 24–48 working hours; plan for up to a week.
- Most rejections come from a licence without trading activities, a missing VAT certificate or a personal bank account. All three are quick to fix.
Registering as a noon seller is quicker than most people expect. You need four things: a business licence that covers trading, a VAT certificate where required, an ID and a company bank account.
Get those ready and the signup itself takes about an hour.
And you don't need a Gulf company. Saudi, UAE, Chinese and other foreign businesses each have their own way in.
Below you'll find the exact documents for your route, the Seller Lab steps, how long approval takes and how to fix a rejection.
Who can register as a noon seller?
Any registered business that sells physical goods can register. Individuals can't, except in Egypt, and service-only companies are turned away.
Which documents you need depends on where your company is registered and where you want to sell. Find your route first:
| You are | Route | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| A Saudi or UAE company | Local seller | Local CR or trade licence, VAT certificate (mandatory in Saudi Arabia), ID and a company bank account |
| A UAE company selling into Saudi Arabia | Global Store | UAE VAT registration and UAE stock. No Saudi CR or VAT |
| A Chinese company | noon Global Shipping | Chinese business licence only. Noon handles freight, customs and VAT |
| Any other foreign company | International seller | Home-country licence, a VAT certificate in the country you sell to, and Payoneer or LianLian for payouts |
A CR (commercial registration) is your Saudi business licence. A TRN is your VAT number.
Still deciding where to start? Our beginner's guide on how to sell on noon helps you pick your first store.
What documents does every noon seller need?
Whatever your route, noon checks the same four basics. Get these right and you've cleared most of the review:
- A licence that covers trading. Its activities must include sales, trading, manufacturing or distribution/wholesale. Service-only licences are rejected.
- At least 30 days of validity left. If your licence renews next month, renew it first.
- An ID that matches the licence. It must belong to the person named on the licence. If someone else runs the account, add a Power of Attorney (POA).
- A bank account in the company's legal name. Send a cancelled cheque, a stamped bank letter or a bank statement. Personal accounts are rejected.
You'll also need an email address and a phone number for the one-time login codes. Any country's number works, and one with WhatsApp is best.
Upload the licence as a clear PDF. Noon reads your details from it and pre-fills the form, so a sharp scan saves you typing and errors.
Documents by route
Each route adds its own documents on top of those basics:
- Licence: a Saudi CR whose activities include trading or e-commerce. Freelance certificates are no longer accepted for new sellers.
- VAT: a ZATCA VAT certificate. It's mandatory for every noon KSA seller.
- ID: Saudi National ID, Iqama or passport of the person on the CR, plus a POA if someone else manages the account.
- Bank: cancelled cheque, stamped bank letter or statement for a Saudi company account.
Not sure about VAT? Our guides to Saudi VAT and UAE VAT explain when and how to register.
How to register in Seller Lab, step by step
Seller Lab is noon's seller dashboard, and the whole registration happens there. Have your PDFs ready before you start:
- 1
Create your account
Go to sell.noon.com and choose Register Now. Verify your email and phone with the one-time codes. You'll get an Organization ID that covers every noon store you open later.
- 2
Create your store
Choose Start Selling, pick the country you'll sell in, then your country of registration. Enter your store name in English and Arabic. Brand names can't be used as store names.
- 3
Create your legal entity
Upload your licence PDF and check the pre-filled details. Set your VAT status (TRN and dates, or Non-VAT Registered), add the representative's ID and a POA if needed, then your bank details.
- 4
Wait for the eligibility review
Noon checks your documents and shows the result in your Setup Guide.
- 5
Link the entity to your store
Once approved, go to Store Management, then Legal & Payment, and connect the approved legal entity to your store.
- 6
Sign the agreement
The authorised signatory signs noon's terms and conditions digitally. Your store is now ready for listings.
Two settings can't be changed later: your legal name and your store currency. Check both twice before you submit.
How long does noon approval take?
Noon aims to finish the eligibility review within 24–48 working hours. Many sellers are approved in that window, but plan for up to a week.
The full path from signup to a live product usually looks like this:
- Signup: about an hour, if your documents are ready.
- Eligibility review: 24–48 working hours, sometimes longer.
- Linking and signing: a few minutes once you're approved.
- First listing check: each new product passes a quality check, which takes 2–3 business days.
Example: a Dubai free-zone company goes live
Say you've just received a UAE free-zone e-commerce licence and opened a company bank account. You're not yet VAT-registered.
- Monday morningRegister in Seller Lab
Create the account and a UAE store, upload the licence PDF, tick Non-VAT Registered, then add your passport, residence visa and bank letter.
- WednesdayApproved
The eligibility review comes back clear. You link the entity to your store and sign the terms.
- Wednesday afternoonFirst 15 products submitted
You upload English and Arabic content with three white-background images each.
- Following MondayProducts live
The listings pass the quality check and appear on noon.com/uae.
That's about a week from signup to a live store. Later, once you register for UAE VAT, the same company can open Global Store and sell into Saudi Arabia.
Why noon rejects registrations (and how to fix it)
A rejection isn't the end. Noon shows the reason in your Setup Guide, you fix it with the Fix Issue button, and you resubmit.
These are the problems that come up most:
| Rejection reason | How to fix it |
|---|---|
| Licence activities don't include trading | Add a trading or e-commerce activity to your CR or licence, then upload the updated PDF |
| Licence valid for under 30 days | Renew the licence first, then resubmit |
| Service-only licence | Amend the licence to add sales, trading or wholesale activities |
| Saudi freelance certificate | Get a CR (a sole establishment CR is issued online) or use the UAE or China route |
| No VAT certificate (KSA or international sellers) | Register with ZATCA or the UAE FTA and upload the certificate |
| ID holder isn't named on the licence | Upload the licence holder's ID, or add a Power of Attorney |
| Personal bank account | Use an account in the company's legal name |
| Brand name used as store name | Choose a store name that isn't a registered brand |
| Documents already used on another account | Add a new store to your existing account instead |
Blurry scans and names spelled differently across documents also hold accounts up. Clean PDFs avoid both.

Need a CR first? Our guide to Saudi business registration walks through each option, and the UAE e-commerce licence guide compares free zones and mainland.
Your noon registration checklist
Tick these off before you open Seller Lab:
What happens after approval?
Once your entity is linked and the terms are signed, you can start listing. Two more checks may apply.
First, some categories need approval before you can list. Noon may ask for a brand authorisation letter, a factory licence or product and trademark registration documents. Request these early if you sell branded or regulated goods.
Second, each new product passes a content quality check. All mandatory fields must be complete, with English content at minimum.
Then you choose how to ship: let noon store and deliver your stock (FBN) or ship it yourself (FBP). The noon seller fees guide shows what each option costs.
Notes for Saudi individuals
Noon KSA no longer accepts freelance certificates, so you'll need a CR. A sole establishment CR costs SAR 500 and is issued online almost instantly.
VAT is the bigger step. Saudi residents can register voluntarily once taxable sales or expenses pass SAR 187,500 over 12 months. Until then, the UAE route is a common way in.
See selling on noon Saudi Arabia for the full KSA setup.
Notes for UAE free-zone companies
A free-zone e-commerce licence is the usual quick route for foreigners. Some free zones issue one within 24 hours.
- You can register without VAT if you're under the AED 375,000 threshold.
- Global Store lets you sell into Saudi Arabia later, but it needs UAE VAT registration.
- Each Global Store product needs a 12-digit Saudi HS code and a country of origin.
Our noon UAE guide covers the rest.
Notes for Chinese and other foreign sellers
Chinese companies have the shortest list of all: a Chinese business licence and a China warehouse address. Noon handles freight, customs and VAT from its Shenzhen hub. The noon Global Shipping guide covers onboarding step by step.
Other foreign companies register as international sellers in the UAE or Saudi Arabia. The VAT certificate is the step that takes longest, so start it first. See selling on noon as a foreign company.
Get help with your noon setup
Licence, VAT and noon registration can all be handled for you. Compare noon and Amazon marketplace agencies, find business setup consultants, or browse every guide on the noon seller hub.
Frequently asked questions
No. The Iqama works as your ID, but noon KSA also needs a business licence: a Saudi CR whose activities include trading or e-commerce. If you don't have one, a UAE company can sell into Saudi Arabia through Global Store instead.
Sources & further reading
- Documents required to sell on noon — noon Seller Help Center
- Seller registration process — noon Seller Help Center
- Why am I ineligible to sell on noon? — noon Seller Help Center
- noon Global Shipping program — noon Seller Help Center
- UAE to KSA onboarding guide (Global Store) — noon Seller Help Center
- Getting started: seller setup checklist and category approvals — noon
- Implementing Regulations of the VAT Law (registration thresholds) — Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA)
This guide is for general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and fees change — always confirm with the official source or a licensed advisor.

Maya is MiddleEastEcom's lead guide and editor. She researches GCC marketplaces, payments and regulations and turns them into practical playbooks for sellers.
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