Last Wednesday a skincare seller called me. Three pallets of sheet masks had been sitting at Riyadh Dry Port for 11 days. Customs had not seized anything. SFDA simply would not release them. The reason was one line: no SFDA cosmetic notification number.
This tightened noticeably from August 2026. Riyadh and Dammam officers now look hard at cosmetics, supplements and contact lenses. No number, and your cargo just sits in bonded storage.
The filing itself is not expensive. Roughly SAR 1,200–2,500 per SKU through the electronic system. Fifteen days if it goes well, 45 if it does not. The real burn is demurrage: SAR 90–160 per pallet per day, plus warehouse fees. Of the Saudi cosmetics shipments 8ship handled this year, about 30 percent got stuck on this step the first time.
My experience is simple. Do not wait until the cargo lands. File two months ahead and lock three things: the notification number, the Arabic label, and batch numbers that match your invoice. SFDA is strict on batches now. One batch, one number. Mixed batches go straight back.
Another trap is the importer of record. It has to hold an SFDA import licence. Plenty of sellers borrow a forwarder's name to save time. Then a product issue comes up and the notification number sits under someone else. You cannot move it back. I know sellers who had to replace their whole Saudi agent over this.
Supplements are worse. That is registration, not notification, and it runs three to six months. So for new SKUs I usually ship air freight first, 200–500 units, never a full container.
Shelf life matters too. SFDA wants at least 50 percent remaining on arrival, and in practice they often apply a six-month floor. That one bites hardest in peak season.
Honestly, Saudi is worth it. The barrier is not price, it is paperwork. So, is your next bestseller registered yet?