How to inquire about a shop license and how to ensure acceptance of a commercial license.

August 1, 2024

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When you want to open a store to practice commercial activity in the Kingdom, you must request the issuance of a store license or a commercial license, which requires some time to review the data and grant acceptance. When inquiring about a shop license, you must be confident that you have followed all the conditions and applied the correct method when requesting to obtain the license to prevent errors that may cause it to be rejected and not issued. Therefore, we provide you in our article with sufficient details that include the method for issuing a shop license, along with an explanation of the conditions and documents that must be completed to accept the issuance of the license without delay, so that you can make an inquiry about a shop license, find it acceptable and ready for printing, and begin your work and expand the scope of your commercial services safely when the time for development comes.

What is meant by a commercial shop license?

Anyone who wants to open a store cannot do so without registering their business activity with the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. Rather, he must obtain a license to open a store in order to be able to practice buying and selling in safety and to be able to import and export goods without any obstacles.

When you obtain a commercial store license, you expand your business and protect your brand and the name of your store. No one can exploit your trade name or visual identity because your license will be among the legal documents with which you can file a complaint with the authority responsible for that, which will help you regain your rights and compensate you for any damage you suffer.

How to issue a shop license

You no longer have to go to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs to obtain your commercial activity license. Now you can submit a request to issue a commercial store license through the Internet, and we explain the method in detail in the lines below:

Prepare the necessary documents.

These documents are summarized as follows:

An identification card that belongs to you if you identify yourself as the store owner and includes your personal information.
A license to build the shop with a clear scan of its ownership or lease contract.
An illustration of the store showing its area and distribution, and an engineering drawing approved by the trade union.
Bring approval from the Sanitation Authority if you want to work in an activity that drains waste into the sewage.
Submitting approval from the fire authority.
If the store works in the food sector, an insurance certificate must be obtained as proof of payment of the authority’s dues.
If the shop is operating in an industrial activity, approval must be obtained from Industrial Security first to obtain the license.

Issuance of the commercial register

If you have not obtained the commercial register, you must start before requesting the issuance of the license, as you will not be able to submit the application without the commercial register, and it is extracted as follows:

Go to the Ministry of Commerce website from here and log in to your account, or create an account for yourself.

Click on Start Service to automatically go to the Saudi Business Center, and you will need to log in to the site either through your personal account or through the national login.

From electronic services, select issuing a commercial register for an individual institution.
By clicking on the service, its general details will appear, so choose Start the Service.

After that, you will find fields for the store’s information. Fill in the information, and then specify the type of trade name for it.
Complete the data and select the fiscal year that will be followed to calculate taxes and others.
Do not forget to confirm the validity of the data, then submit the application and continue with the inquiry until the record is issued and printed.

Submission of the application

Here, you start by requesting the issuance of a commercial license from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs website by following the following steps:

Go to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs website from here.
In front of you, you will find an interface for the commercial license issuance service, so click on Start the service.

After navigating to the site, click on My Services from the top bar in the interface, and a list of services will open.

Select from the offered business license services.

Select issuing a commercial license so you can enter your store information to request the license.

You will see some information explaining more about the service in the next interface; just click on Start the service.

Fill in your data, making sure it is accurate, and after you have finished writing it completely, click “Next.”.

You will be taken to a new data form. Fill in the rest of your business activity details according to the required information, making sure to choose the correct activity because you will not be able to change the license activity after obtaining it, and then click Next.

Fill in the geographical location data related to the shop for which you are required to obtain a commercial activity license to determine its location and find out the box in which its activity is presented.

Attach the photos and documents that are requested from you, step by step, and fill in all the required fields.
Specify the number of years for which you want to pay to obtain the license, confirm the transaction, then choose “Choose a payment method” and complete the procedures to pay via the “Sadad” platform.
Thus, you have completed the steps for obtaining a commercial store license, and all you have to do is follow up and inquire about a commercial store license in Saudi Arabia until it is completed.

Steps to inquire about a commercial shop license with an ID number

Inquiry about a shop license comes after submitting the application and paying the fees, and it takes simple steps that include the following:

Go to the Balady platform from here.
Write the required data, which is the ID or residence number that you had previously registered when applying, and do not forget to specify the type of ID.
Choose the region to which the store belongs from the “Secretariat” box, then select the municipality to which the region belongs.
Type the license number that appeared to you when filling out the application to inquire about it, then click Inquire.
The license will appear in front of you if it has been issued, and you can then print it.

Steps to inquire about a shop license with the commercial registry number

If you want to inquire about a shop license using the commercial registration number that you obtained for your shop, you must follow the following steps:

Go to the Balady platform from here.
In the field designated for the ID number, enter the commercial registration number of the store.
Select the ID type “Commercial Registration.”.
Choose the municipality, region, and municipality to which the store belongs, then write the license number.
Click Inquiry to show you the details of your license.

Conditions for issuing a commercial shop license

There are a number of conditions without which it is not possible to obtain a commercial license, open the store, and make it successful. These conditions are as follows:

Trademark registration

You must register your trademark to maintain your rights and ownership of the products you provide to your customers. You must choose an ethically acceptable trademark and use it constantly to keep it from being deleted. Registering it is done according to the following steps:

Go to the Intellectual Property Authority from here.
Click on the Services Guide.
Fill out the information required of you, then go to the SADAD service to pay the fee for registering your trademark, which is 1000 riyals.
Wait for the application to be reviewed and accepted within a week, and then final procedures will be taken to publish and officially register the mark.

commercial register

We mentioned previously that it is one of the most important steps in issuing a commercial store license. It is not just a step but rather a prerequisite for accepting and obtaining the license. You must request its issuance, provided that you are not less than 18 years old and that the capital of your commercial project is not less than 5,000 riyals.

Allow trading

You must not be prohibited from practicing trade for any reason in order for your business license to be issued, because if you are banned, the result of inquiring about a business license will be the rejection of the application.

commercial activities

It is important to choose a business activity that is accepted by the Ministry of Commerce, and it is also necessary that this activity does not require unusual safety measures because this will not be a positive aspect of it and may cause it to be rejected.

Trade Name

It is known by the brand name, which is what your store carries and is famous for among customers. It is necessary that it is not identical to other brand names and does not contain any religious symbols, nor should it be given a name related to a seasonal occasion or event. In addition, it must be Arabic, unless your store is registered outside Saudi Arabia or operates on a franchise system. You can register the trade name as follows:

Go to the Ministry of Commerce from here.
Select my business name, and then fill in the boxes with the required information.
Select the desired type and inquire about the name you want to give the store, then wait for the request to be accepted.

Registering the shop for value-added tax

Here, you need to have an activated account on the Zakat and Income Authority website, and you can then do the following:

Open your account at the Zakat and Income Authority from here.
Choose to register for VAT.
Fill out the information completely accurately and follow up until your shop is registered in the tax system.

Obtaining a safety license

It is through which you obtain civil defense licenses that help you keep your shop safe, whatever activity you are doing, and you obtain that license from the Salama platform.

The cost of obtaining a commercial store license

You can calculate the cost of obtaining your license through the Baladi website, through which you requested the issuance of the license, according to the following steps:

Go to my platform from here, then choose Services.
Among the services selected is the issuance of a commercial license.
In the north of the interface, you will find the fee calculator; click on it, then enter the required details.
After you finish filling out all the information, click on Calculate, and it will show you the full fees, including all the details of the store, knowing that the cost may be 1000 riyals or more depending on many considerations.

How long does a commercial shop license last?

The commercial shop license is valid for one year only, and it is important to renew it before the expiration of its term in order to fall under the penalty of the law or be exposed to penalties.

What are the steps to renew a shop license?

You can easily renew the shop license through the steps below:

Go to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs from here.
Choose the license renewal service.
Entry through national access.
Choose a license that is about to expire to renew it.
Submit the application and wait for acceptance.

Can a commercial store license be canceled?

Yes, you can request cancellation of the license if you no longer wish to practice the business, in which case you must do the following:

From the Ministry of Municipal Affairs website, click on Cancel License, and choose it from the services.
You will be asked to log in, so do so through your National Access account.
Choose the license you want to verify, then fill out the required information.
Submit the request for review, knowing that you can benefit from immediate cancellation by paying a small fee.

When can you obtain an immediate shop opening license?

You can do this by going to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs website and making sure that your commercial activity is included among the activities for which an immediate license can be obtained, as there are 200 activities that the Ministry has identified to enable the extraction of instant licenses for them. To issue them, follow the following:

Go to the “Balady” service from here and go to construction licenses.
Choose “Issuance of an instant license” from the services, then accept the required instructions.
Fill out the required data accurately, and then send the application to the engineering office.
Some procedures will be taken, followed by an invoice, which will be paid, and then the license will be obtained.

How to inquire about an immediate shop license

An inquiry about an immediate shop license requires simple steps that include the following:

Go to the Balady platform from here.
Enter the license number in addition to the verification code.
Click on Inquiry to learn the details related to the required license.

Conclusion

When you inquire about a commercial store license, you will receive approval, and your license will be issued, which is considered authorization for you to start your business. Here, you need the best accounting system to help you manage the business and financial aspects and record workers’ salaries and your project’s expenses and revenues. To be able to do this, you must subscribe to the Qoyod accounting system, which guarantees you smooth accounting processes, secure records, and integrated electronic books that help you manage your project in the best possible way and lead it to success. So start trying Qoyod for free for two weeks, and you will see the full features that will make you stop searching for systems that contribute to analyzing and recording your financial data in accordance with accounting rules followed worldwide.

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