The Saudi Food and Drug Authority legislates, implements, and supervises the procedural, executive, and supervisory activities performed by the relevant agencies. The main objective of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority is to ensure the safety of food, drugs for humans and animals, biological and chemical substances such as pharmaceuticals, health supplements, cosmetics, as well as medical and electronic devices related to human health.

The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) license is a type of permit granted to the requesting entity to allow the conduct of commercial activities such as import, distribution, logistics services, storage, manufacturing, and wholesale. The SFDA license is issued as a certificate when the applicant entity meets all the required conditions and regulations. At this stage, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority ensures that the applicant is fully aware of the regulations and logistics required for the food and drug sectors. The license is issued for a specific period and needs to be renewed before the expiration date.

The Saudi Food and Drug Authority offers different types of licenses according to the entity’s sector:

• Food licenses: Warehouses – Import
• Pharmaceutical licenses: Warehouse – Agent – Distributor – Manufacturer
• Cosmetics licenses: Warehouse – Distributor – Manufacturer – E-commerce
• Medical device licenses: Warehouse – Import – Distributor – Manufacturer
• Veterinary licenses: Warehouse – Agent – Distributor – Manufacturer
  Pesticides and Feed Product licenses

The requirements for the Saudi Food and Drug Authority license may vary depending on the sector, but the basics include:

– Commercial registration containing the required licensing field
– Warehouse contract or lease agreement for a space approved by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority from an authorized 3PL company
– Municipality permit
– Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) file
– Fee payment

All import and distribution activities require obtaining a warehouse license from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority. A storage service provider must have a facility and meet the Saudi Food and Drug Authority’s requirements for licensing. Contracting with a company licensed by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, such as the third-party partner for storage for others and renting storage space, can also obtain an import, distribution, and storage warehouse license.

* Create an account for the establishment in GAD or eCosma platform (depending on the service sector).
* Place a request for the warehouse license through the GAD or eCosma platform and submit the required documents.
* Required documents: Commercial registration, warehouse lease agreement or ownership contract, municipality/Modon permit, civil defense permit, technical warehouse manager qualification certificate.
* Appoint a technical warehouse manager who is an engineer or a medical devices technician or a pharmacist or a pharmacy technician or qualified in a related sector.
* The application will be reviewed by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, and if it is complete and clear, an invoice will be issued.
* Pay the permit fees.
* The Saudi Food and Drug Authority will verify the fulfillment of the application according to the permit standards, investigations, and quality control.

* Warehouse permit: 4,000 SAR (3,000 SAR for the license, 1,000 SAR for inspection visits) for 5 years.
* Second-party storage capacity: 800 SAR per year.

Storage service providers can apply for a permit from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority through the electronic system after obtaining the municipality/authority permit.