Here is an example. Say you make scented candles at home in Dubai and sell them on Instagram. Your customers keep asking for Noon, because they want next-day delivery and cash on delivery. So you open sell.noon.com, ready to sign up as an individual.
You can’t. In the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Noon only works with businesses. Individual sellers are allowed only in Egypt. But the gap is smaller than it sounds, and Noon itself points to a licence made for home-based sellers in Dubai.
Here is how selling on Noon works in 2026: who can sell, the papers you need, the steps, what it costs, and how to reach both countries.
Who can sell on Noon
In the UAE and Saudi Arabia, you need a business licence that allows you to sell goods.
- In the UAE, Noon accepts a mainland licence, a free zone licence, or the Dubai e-Trader licence. The e-Trader licence is for home-based sellers in Dubai and covers “online seller” as an activity.
- In Saudi Arabia, you need a Commercial Registration (CR) that covers trading or e-commerce.
- Your licence must cover selling. Noon accepts licences for trading, sales, manufacturing, distribution, wholesale, retail or e-commerce. A licence that covers only services is refused.
- Saudi freelance certificates no longer work. Noon stopped accepting them for new sellers, because the certificate now covers services only. Some older guides, including one of Noon’s own PDFs, still list them, so don’t rely on those.
The documents you need
| UAE | Saudi Arabia | |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | Trade licence (mainland, free zone or e-Trader) | Commercial Registration |
| VAT | Your VAT certificate, if you are registered | Expect Noon to ask for a VAT number |
| ID | Emirates ID (front and back) or passport | Saudi ID, Iqama or passport |
| Bank proof | A business account in the licence holder’s name | The same, or a bank card |
A few details catch people out:
- Keep at least 30 days left on your licence. Noon’s pages ask for 15 or 30 days in different places, so plan for 30.
- The person signing must be named on the licence. Anyone else needs a power of attorney.
- Personal bank accounts are refused. The account name must match the legal name on your licence.
- Saudi VAT is unclear. Noon’s help centre now says every seller in Saudi Arabia must give a VAT number, while its sign-up site still says sellers with sales under SAR 375,000 can start without one. Ask seller@noon.com before you apply.
- UAE sellers under the VAT threshold can start as “non-VAT”. Noon emails you when your sales get close to AED 375,000, and you then add your tax number.
Noon’s list of required documents has the full detail.
How to register, step by step
- Sign up on sell.noon.com with your email and phone number. A phone number from any country works.
- Create your store. Choose the country you will sell in, and give the store a name in English and Arabic. The name can’t be a brand you don’t own, a website address or anything offensive.
- Add your business. Upload your licence, add your VAT details (or choose non-VAT), and add the person who signs, with their ID.
- Add your bank account. You can skip this at first, but you won’t be paid until it is approved.
- Sign the terms. Noon emails them to the person who signs.
- Wait for approval. Noon checks your licence, and the last check takes up to 24 to 48 working hours. If something is rejected, you will see a “Fix Issue” button in Seller Lab. Most problems are typing mistakes that don’t match your documents, and you can fix them the same day.
- List your products and choose how to ship each one (more on that below). Noon also offers free training: live Zoom sessions in English and Arabic, which you book in Seller Lab.
If you own the brand, Noon may also ask for your brand registration documents, and some categories need approval before you can list.
What it costs
Registering and listing are free, and Noon publishes no monthly fee. You pay when you sell:
- A referral fee on each sale, from 4% to 27% of the price before VAT, with a minimum of 1 AED or 1 SAR per item.
- A fulfilment fee if Noon ships for you, and storage if your stock sits in Noon’s warehouse.
- VAT on Noon’s fees, which every seller pays, registered or not.
Some referral fees in the UAE, as of October 2026:
| Category | Referral fee |
|---|---|
| Fashion: clothes and shoes | 27% |
| Home: bath, bedding, décor, kitchen | 15% |
| Toys | 14% |
| Food and drinks | 9% |
| Make-up | 8% up to 50 AED, 15% above |
| Phones and tablets | 6% up to 500 AED, 5% above |
| Anything not listed | 14% |
Saudi rates are close but not identical. Noon changes its fees often, and it raised several on 10 September and 1 October 2026. Our Yellow Friday guide covers the new delivery and storage fees.
FBN or FBP: who ships your orders
- Fulfilled by Noon (FBN): you send stock to Noon’s warehouse, and Noon stores, packs and delivers it. Your products get the Express badge.
- Fulfilled by Partner (FBP): you keep the stock. Noon collects orders from you, or you drop them off, or you deliver them yourself.
A sensible way to start is FBP, to see what sells, and then to move your best sellers to FBN.
Getting paid
Noon sends a statement every Wednesday and pays on the Thursday of the following week. Your balance must reach 100 AED or SAR if your bank account is in the same currency, or 1,000 if it isn’t.
Selling in both countries
- From the UAE to Saudi Arabia, Noon signs you up for you. If your UAE store is live, you don’t need a Saudi licence or VAT. Noon creates your Saudi store and prices your products. You sign the Saudi terms and add an HS code and a country of origin to every product. You can opt out at any time.
- To Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, UAE sellers who are VAT-registered and use FBN or Directship Express are added automatically too.
- From Saudi Arabia to the UAE, there is no automatic route. You open a UAE store yourself, and Noon asks for UAE VAT.
Big or heavy items (over 25 kg, or over 120 cm on the longest side) can’t go across the border this way.
What about Noon Minutes?
Noon Minutes, its quick-delivery service, is invite-only. Noon picks the sellers. The one published way in is the Dubai Traders Program, run with Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism. It is open to sellers with a Dubai trade licence, and lists Noon Minutes access among its benefits.
Amazon.ae or Noon: where to start?
You don’t have to choose. Neither charges a monthly fee right now, though Amazon says its waiver is for a limited time. Storage on Noon costs 1.75 AED per cubic foot a month, against 2 AED on Amazon.ae. You can sell on both with the same products and images. Only the listings need writing for each store, in English and Arabic.
Our guide to selling on Amazon UAE from India covers the Amazon side.
Where we come in
We list products and run marketplace accounts for brands, so we know where new sellers get stuck: a licence that covers only services, a personal bank account, a store name that breaks the rules, product titles that read well in English and badly in Arabic.
We can prepare your listings and product images to Noon’s rules, and help you get set up with the right documents in order. Everything happens in your own Seller Lab account, and you keep the login. What we can’t do is get you a licence or file your VAT. For those, you need a licensing firm and a tax adviser.
If you are starting this week, start with the licence. Every other step depends on it.
