Car rental in Saudi Arabia, for a foreign investor.
The activity is open to foreign investors. The licence, the fleet and the Saudi front line decide the plan. Here is each rule with its source, and the order that gets a company licensed.
Can a foreign investor own it?
We found no restriction on foreign ownership of car rental. The Investment Law’s implementing regulations say the list of excluded activities is published in the Investor Guide. The current guide (13th edition, March 2026) sets a Saudi share or minimum capital only for trading, communications, professional services, engineering consulting, legal services and recruitment. Car rental is not among them.
The Ministry shows each activity as available or restricted only inside its portal. Before anything else, we confirm ISIC 7710 there for your file.
The Transport General Authority licence
Car rental is licensed under the executive regulation for renting private cars and brokering their rental, issued under the Land Transport Law on 24 August 2025 and amended on 22 June 2026. The licence category is set by fleet size:
| Category | Minimum fleet | Who may hold it | Where it may operate |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 3,000 | Companies only | The whole Kingdom, unlimited branches |
| B | 300 | Company or establishment | One region or city; another region needs 100 cars there unless the performance score allows |
| C | 100 | Company or establishment | One city; outside it only by performance score |
| D | 15 | Company or establishment | Not in Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah, the Dammam metropolitan area, Jeddah or Diriyah |
| Luxury | 20 | Company or establishment | One main centre, with branches |
The fleet rules
- Each car is new and has never been registered in Saudi Arabia when it enters service.
- Cars are owned by the company or held on a finance lease with the company as the actual user.
- No car may be older than five years from its model year, or up to eight for clean-energy cars by decision of the Authority.
- Each car carries an operating card, renewed every year.
- Every contract is issued through the Authority’s electronic system.
- Unified compulsory third-party insurance covers every driver age group; the liability sits with the rental company.
Hourly rental, rental with a driver and working through brokers are unlocked by the company’s performance score, not on day one. Rental through an app has its own regulation, with at least 100 owned new cars.
Saudization
Work in car-rental outlets has been restricted to Saudi nationals since 1 Rajab 1439 (March 2018), and the Authority asks for a valid Saudization certificate when the licence is renewed. Plan the front line of every branch as a Saudi team from the start.
The exact job titles covered by the decision are not listed on an official page we could read. We confirm them with the Ministry of Human Resources for your structure.
The route, in order
- Register the investment with the Ministry of Investment, and confirm activity ISIC 7710 (renting of motor vehicles) shows as available on the MISA portal.
- Register the company and its commercial registration with the rental activity. A limited liability company fits every category.
- Register with GOSI and ZATCA; the Transport General Authority asks for both certificates.
- Lease premises for the main centre and obtain the municipal licence.
- Apply to the Transport General Authority. A restricted licence is issued for 60 days while you complete the requirements.
- Buy or finance-lease new cars, insure them and obtain an operating card for each.
- Connect to the Authority’s electronic contract system; every rental contract is issued through it.
- Receive the full licence, valid for three years, and a sub-licence for each branch.
What really sets the budget
In Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, the Dammam area and Diriyah the smallest category open to you is C: one hundred new cars, owned or finance-leased, before the full licence. The fleet, not the company formation, is the real investment decision.
See it for your company.
The readiness check applies these rules to your country, activity and plans, and names the longest pole in your file. No email.
Sources: misa.gov.sa Investment Law implementing regulations (Art. 15) and Investor Guide, 13th ed. · tga.gov.sa executive regulation for renting private cars and brokering (decision 14/6ت ر/2025/4, amended 2/9ت ر/2026/4) and app-based rental regulation · spa.gov.sa (Saudization decision, 5 Feb 2018) · momah.gov.sa