The Bottled Drinking Water Export License Service is a regulatory facility allowing certified water factories in Saudi Arabia to export their bottled drinking water products abroad under the supervision of the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture and in coordination with relevant entities such as the Saudi Food and Drug Authority and Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources. This service ensures national water resource sustainability, guarantees adequate domestic supply, and encourages high-quality bottled water investment.
Key requirements for obtaining the export license include:
Valid technical license and export suitability certificate from the Food and Drug Authority.
Industrial license including customs codes, production capacity, water source (renewable or non-renewable), and bottle capacity (maximum 1 liter).
Sufficient domestic supply coverage with export volumes not exceeding limits set by the Ministry.
Payment of export fees: SAR 38 per cubic meter or SAR 0.50 per 40-pack (330 ml bottles).
Export share capped at 7% for non-renewable source factories, 60% for renewable-water factories.
Applications are submitted through the 'Nama' portal and vetted for technical and regulatory compliance before license issuance. Shipments are quality-checked per Saudi standards, and periodic reviews ensure ongoing compliance with regulatory and sustainability goals.
Importance
Promotes local and foreign investment in bottled water sector.
Protects water resources through strict export controls.
Enhances national product reputation in international markets.
Safeguards domestic bottled water supply.
Facilitates high-standard sector management.
Challenges
Rigorous administrative and technical verification of documents and factory output.
Ensuring local market coverage prior to export.
Adherence to allowed export quotas.
Keeping pace with rule changes and specification updates.
Target Sector
General
Affiliated Authority
Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture
Estimated Duration10 days
Gov Approval Window5 working days
Service Pricing2488
Government FeeNo Fee
Mandatory Conditions
✓To obtain a “packaged drinking water export” license from the Ministry, it is obtained through the Nama platform.
✓The water factory must be licensed to produce bottled drinking water by the General Authority for Food and Drug and its license must be valid.
✓The factory’s direct and indirect water sources must be licensed and regulated.
✓Obtaining a bottled water export certificate from the General Authority for Food and Drug according to an initial permit from the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture.
✓The factory must achieve the minimum level of local content as determined periodically by the Local Content and Private Sector Development Unit.
✓The factory must be operational and produce bottled water available in the local market.
✓Allowing water factories based on non-renewable water sources (sedimentary shelf) to export 7% of the design capacity specified in the industrial license issued by the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, provided that the capacity of the container does not exceed one liter.
✓Allowing water plants based on renewable water sources to export 60% of the design capacity.
Required Documents
✓Valid commercial register.
✓Valid industrial license.
✓The technical license for the factory issued by the General Authority for Food and Drug is valid.
✓Bottled drinking water export certificate issued by the Food and Drug Authority.
✓A license to use the well in the event that the water source is within the factory grounds, issued by the Ministry.
✓A water source approval certificate issued by the Ministry if the water source is a valid supply contract in the event that raw water is supplied to the factory through a contractor, whether inside or outside the industrial cities.