Saudi Arabia is located in the southwest corner of Asia, in the center of the Middle East. It shares borders with Yemen and Oman to the south, the Arabian Gulf and the United Arab Emirates, Qatar to the east, and Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north. This diversity impacts how people communicate with one another and it is prevalent in the way people write addresses when sending mail. The variation in writing address can confuse the postal service providers leading to misdeliveries and failed deliveries. Moreover, there are different types of addresses and each has its specific address element requirements. To give you clarity we bring to you different types of addresses, along with formats and examples for each.

Recipient Name

In the first line, write the name of the recipient. You can add honorific titles like Mr., Ms, and Mrs. If you are sending the mail to a business, the company’s name will come in the first line. In the first and second lines, write the name of the person and their department respectively. If you want to ensure that the internal mail distribution system sends the mail to the right office and desk, add ATTN. in front of the person’s name.

Street Address

In the second line, add the street name and house/building number for the residential and business addresses. When writing the road name, add Rd. after it. You can also add additional information like the apartment number in the same line. In case of a PO Box, write the term “PO Box”, and then the box number.

District Name

Add the name of the district followed by the term “Dist.”

Postal Code

The postal codes are called postcodes in Saudi Arabia and they are five-digit numbers. They might contain two parts. The first part has five digits and then after a hyphen, you can write the remaining four digits. These additional four digits clarify the preciseness of the delivery point. 

City Name

Write the name of the city. Some of the major cities in Saudi Arabia are Jeddah, Madinah, Taif, Riyadh, and Makkah.

Country Name

In the last line, write the name of the country. If you are sending international mail to Saudi Arabia, write the country name in capital letters.

Residential Address Format

Write the recipient’s name, street address, or PO box number, district name, postal code, city, and country name. Every address element will come in separate lines.

Rural Address Format

Typically, the streets in rural areas of Saudi Arabia do not have a formal name. In this case, write the name of the village, followed by the nearest larger town. Add the rest of the address elements in the same way as the residential address.

Business Address Format

In the residential address, write the name of the company in the first line. In the second line write the person’s name, and add their department in the third line.

International Address Format for NGOs and Organizations

In the residential address, instead of the recipient’s name, write the name of the organization in the first line and the specific department in the second line. 

PO Box Address Format

In the residential address, instead of the street address, write the term “PO Box” and then the box number.

Military Address Format

The military address format will follow the same structure as the residential address format except for the first two lines. Write the rank and full name of the person in the first line. In the second line write the military unit number.

Government Office Address Format

In the residential address, instead of the recipient’s name, write the office and department name on the first line and second line respectively.

The national postal system of Saudi Arabia is Saudi Post and it was established in 1926. It is responsible for managing domestic and international mail and parcel deliveries. Aside from standard postal services, it offers medical mail services, E-PO Box, Express, Urgent Service, and Post Business. It also works with public and private sector organizations to facilitate e-government initiatives and e-commerce applications.

If you are curious about the format of any other country, visit our international address format page and learn the address format followed in countries around the world.