The figures on this page come from SCEGA’s own service pages and e-portal: the fee schedule SCEGA last updated on 30 November 2025 and the licence list it last updated on 8 September 2026. SCEGA can change any of them, so we check the live pages before every application. bilievent is a private company and is not affiliated with SCEGA.
In short: business events in Saudi Arabia, such as conferences, forums, seminars, workshops, meetings, training courses, lectures and exhibitions, are licensed by the Saudi Conventions & Exhibitions General Authority (SCEGA) through its e-portal. A workshop, meeting or training licence costs SAR 500 and SCEGA lists a decision within two working days; a conference costs SAR 5,000 (local) or SAR 10,000 (international) with a five-working-day service time. Which licences you can apply for depends on the type of account your organization holds, and you may not promote the event until the licence is issued.
Does your event need a SCEGA licence?
SCEGA licenses business events. Entertainment activities sit with the General Entertainment Authority, and some events touch both; our guide SCEGA vs GEA: which authority licenses your event? covers that boundary.
For the smaller formats, SCEGA’s own definitions do most of the work. As SCEGA describes them:
- Workshop: at least 10 attendees, at a rented venue or outside the organizer’s premises, lasting at least 4 hours and no more than 5 working days, to discuss a topic, solve a problem or develop a product.
- Meeting: at least 10 attendees, at a rented venue or outside the organizer’s premises, at least 4 hours and no more than 3 working days. It can be a corporate or association meeting.
- Lecture: one speaker presenting to an audience at a rented venue or outside the organizer’s premises, no longer than one working day.
- Training course: run by an accredited training provider, with certificates for participants, at a rented venue or outside the provider’s premises, up to 15 days.
So a two-hour client breakfast for eight people falls outside the meeting definition as written, while a half-day roundtable for 20 guests at a hotel falls inside it. Government entities do not apply for a licence: they use SCEGA’s Government Approvals service, which SCEGA says also covers a public-sector entity’s annual staff meeting held outside its offices.
Which licence type fits your event
SCEGA groups its licences into three services on the e-portal: conferences, meetings and exhibitions. “Roundtable”, “summit” and “launch” are not SCEGA licence names, so the first job is mapping your format to one of these:
| SCEGA licence | How SCEGA defines it (summarised) | Typical fit |
|---|---|---|
| Conference (مؤتمر) | A scientific meeting on a defined topic across several themes, with papers approved by a scientific committee and closing recommendations; may include a sponsor exhibition | Industry or academic conference with a call for papers |
| Forum (منتدى) | A meeting on a general topic across several themes, with sessions and workshops for exchanging views | Executive summit, sector forum |
| Seminar (ندوة) | Specialists meeting to discuss one specific topic; can sit inside a wider week or national campaign | Expert panel on a single subject |
| Gathering (ملتقى) | An event made up of a trade or consumer exhibition, a conference, a forum or a seminar | Multi-format sector gathering |
| Meeting (اجتماع) | 10+ attendees, rented venue or outside your premises, 4 hours to 3 working days | Roundtable, association meeting, board offsite |
| Workshop (ورشة عمل) | 10+ attendees, rented venue or outside your premises, 4 hours to 5 working days | Hands-on client or partner workshop |
| Training course (دورة تدريبية) | Run by an accredited trainer, certificates issued, up to 15 days | Certified course |
| Lecture (محاضرة) | One speaker, up to one working day | Guest talk |
| Trade exhibition (معرض تجاري) | Organized by an entity licensed to run exhibitions, for business visitors; no direct selling | B2B trade show |
| Product showcase (معرض تعريفي) | A company introducing a product or service; no direct selling; may include workshops or a launch | Brand product launch |
| Consumer goods exhibition | Open to the public, direct selling allowed; temporary or permanent facility | Retail fair |
| Recruitment and charity exhibitions | Separate SCEGA services; charity exhibitions run under a licensed charity | Job fair, charity bazaar |
Roundtables usually fit the meeting licence. If the session is built around producing an output, such as a product or a solution, the workshop licence can be the closer match. More on both in workshop, meeting and training licensing.
SCEGA fees, processing times and documents by licence
| Licence | SCEGA fee | SCEGA service time | Documents SCEGA lists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conference, forum or seminar | SAR 5,000 local · SAR 10,000 international | 5 working days | Work plan · speaker information form · venue booking |
| Gathering (ملتقى) | SAR 15,000 | 5 working days | Work plan · speaker information form · venue booking |
| Meeting | SAR 500 | Immediate to 2 working days | Meeting agenda · venue booking |
| Workshop | SAR 500 | Immediate to 2 working days | Workshop topics · venue booking |
| Training course | SAR 500 | Within 2 working days | Course program · venue booking · TVTC accreditation if the course is open to the public and issues certificates or charges a fee |
| Lecture | SAR 1,000 | 5 working days | Lecture agenda · venue booking |
| Trade exhibition | SAR 10,000 | 5 working days | Work plan · venue booking |
| Product showcase | SAR 5,000 | 5 working days | Proof of product ownership or agency · venue booking |
| Consumer goods exhibition | SAR 10,000 (1 week) to SAR 40,000 (1 month) | 5 working days | Per SCEGA’s consumer exhibition rules |
| Charity exhibition | SAR 0 | 5 working days | Per SCEGA’s charity exhibition rules |
SCEGA’s fee schedule also lists SAR 1,000 each for cancelling an event, changing its date or changing its venue, and SAR 500 for registration. Changes and cancellations for meetings, workshops and training courses carry no fee.
Who can apply: SCEGA account types
This is the step most guides skip. You apply from an e-portal account, and the type of account decides which licences you can request. SCEGA publishes the list:
| Account type | Documents to register | Licences available |
|---|---|---|
| Exhibition and conference organizing companies | Commercial registration with the exhibition and conference organizing activity | All: product showcases, trade and consumer exhibitions, conferences, seminars and forums, meetings, workshops, training, lectures |
| Chambers of commerce | Commercial registration or a document proving the entity’s licence | Product showcases, conferences, seminars and forums, meetings, workshops, training, lectures |
| Professional, scientific and health associations | Commercial registration or licence document | Conferences, seminars and forums, meetings, workshops, training, lectures, product showcases |
| Training institutes and centres | Commercial registration or licence document, plus TVTC licence | Meetings, workshops, training, product showcases, lectures |
| Charities | Commercial registration or licence document, plus bank account | Conferences, seminars and forums, meetings, workshops, training, lectures, charity exhibitions |
| Private-sector companies | Commercial registration or licence document | Product showcases, meetings, workshops, training, lectures |
| Venues and hotels | Venue: CR, civil defence and municipal licences, hall photos. Hotel: Ministry of Tourism licence, hall photos | Hosting accounts, so organizers can select the venue |
What this means in practice: an ordinary company account can apply for its own meetings, workshops, training, lectures and product showcases, but not for a conference, forum or trade exhibition. Those go through an organizer whose commercial registration includes exhibition and conference organizing, or through a chamber, association or charity account.
International organizers running events in Saudi Arabia
Every account type SCEGA lists asks for a Saudi commercial registration or a document proving the entity’s licence. An overseas company without one normally applies through a Saudi entity whose account type covers the event. A few points specific to international events:
- The fee is higher for international conferences: SAR 10,000 instead of SAR 5,000 for local ones.
- Bringing a global brand to Saudi Arabia: SCEGA asks organizers planning a Saudi edition of an international event to write to it with the details so it can consider special facilitation.
- No marketing before the licence. SCEGA prohibits promoting the event in any form before the licence or approval is issued. For international teams used to announcing a year out, this shapes the whole timeline.
- Speakers and guests from abroad need visas planned in parallel. Visas are issued only by the Saudi authorities and have their own lead times.
The application, step by step
- Classify the event. Pick the SCEGA licence that matches the format, and confirm SCEGA (not GEA or another body) is the authority.
- Check the account route. Make sure the applying entity’s account type can request that licence. If it can’t, decide which licensed entity will apply.
- Check the venue is on the portal. Organizers choose the venue from the hosts registered with SCEGA. If yours doesn’t appear, the venue’s management has to register it first. Registration as a host does not mean every event is approved there: SCEGA assesses capacity against the event type and expected attendance.
- Prepare the documents for that licence: work plan, speaker information form, agenda or topics, course program, product ownership proof or TVTC accreditation, plus the venue booking.
- Submit on the e-portal: e-services, then the conferences, meetings or exhibitions service, then the event type, then the service fields.
- Pay the SCEGA fee through SADAD.
- Answer SCEGA’s questions quickly and in one go.
- Receive the licence and display the licence number as SCEGA’s visual identity guide requires.
Rules that catch organizers out
- Promotion before the licence is prohibited, including any form of advertising.
- Changing the venue after the licence is issued needs an amendment request on the portal at least 7 days before the event, with the reasons for the change.
- Extending the event beyond the licensed days costs SAR 1,000 after SCEGA approves it; consumer exhibitions pay according to the extension period; meetings, workshops and training pay nothing for amendments.
- Side activities are licensed separately. For a consumer exhibition with live music, games or food outlets, SCEGA licenses the exhibition and the side activities go to the competent authorities.
- Training courses for the public that issue certificates or charge a fee need TVTC accreditation.
- Applying early is allowed. SCEGA sets no maximum gap between application and event date.
How early should you start?
SCEGA’s stated service times are short: up to two working days for meetings, workshops and training, five for conferences and exhibitions. The real constraint is what has to exist before you can submit, and what you can’t do until the licence is issued:
- You need a venue booking and a work plan, agenda or topics before you can submit.
- You need the licence before you announce, because promotion before licensing is prohibited.
- A venue that isn’t yet registered as a host adds a step on the venue’s side.
Our working rule is to submit as soon as the venue and the outline program are fixed, so the licence is in hand before marketing starts. For a conference that usually means applying months ahead, not weeks; for a workshop or roundtable it can be much closer to the date. Our SCEGA permit checklist lists what to have ready.
Riyadh, Jeddah and other cities
SCEGA licensing is national: the same e-portal, licence types and fees apply in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam or anywhere else in the Kingdom. What changes from city to city is the venue. The hall has to be registered with SCEGA as a host, and an event on a site that isn’t an established venue can need municipal approval as well; the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing runs an event site permit service on Balady.
Common causes of delay
- The wrong licence type, which means starting again
- An account type that can’t request the licence you need
- A venue that isn’t on the portal, or is too small for the attendance
- A thin work plan or agenda, or missing speaker details
- Dates, venue or format changing after submission
- Slow answers to SCEGA’s questions
If your request has already come back with comments, our guide on responding to a SCEGA application returned for corrections walks through each step.
How bilievent handles SCEGA applications
We work through the same steps above with you: classify the event, confirm which account applies, check the venue on the portal, build the file, submit and follow it up until SCEGA decides. Licence-specific detail is on our pages for conference licensing, workshop, meeting and training licensing and exhibition licensing, and the overview is on SCEGA permit support.
How we charge: there is no upfront service payment. Our service fee becomes payable only once SCEGA has issued the licence. SCEGA’s own government fee is separate: it is set by SCEGA and paid through SADAD as part of the application. Approval remains subject to SCEGA review, and bilievent does not guarantee that any licence will be issued.
Once the licence is moving, many organizers hand us the event itself: event management, sound, lighting and LED screens and, for exhibitions, booth production.
SCEGA permit questions
How much does a SCEGA permit cost?
It depends on the licence. SCEGA lists SAR 500 for meetings, workshops and training courses, SAR 1,000 for lectures, SAR 5,000 for a local conference, forum or seminar and SAR 10,000 for an international one, SAR 15,000 for a gathering, SAR 5,000 for a product showcase and SAR 10,000 for a trade exhibition. Fees are paid through SADAD and can change, so check SCEGA’s fee page before you apply.
How long does a SCEGA licence take?
SCEGA’s stated service time is immediate to two working days for meetings and workshops, within two working days for training courses, and five working days for lectures, conferences, forums, seminars and exhibitions. That clock starts with a complete request, so preparing the venue booking and documents is usually what takes longer.
Do I need a SCEGA permit for a roundtable?
Usually, if it meets SCEGA’s meeting definition: at least 10 attendees, at a rented venue or outside your own premises, lasting at least 4 hours. A roundtable is normally licensed as a meeting, or as a workshop if it is built around producing an output.
Do I need a permit for a meeting in my own office?
SCEGA defines meetings and workshops as held at a rented venue or outside the organizer’s premises, so a meeting in your own office is not described by those definitions. Government entities are different: SCEGA says a public entity’s staff meeting held outside its offices needs Government Approval. If your format is borderline, check before relying on it.
Can a foreign company apply for a SCEGA licence directly?
SCEGA’s account types all ask for a Saudi commercial registration or a document proving the entity’s licence. An overseas company without one normally applies through a Saudi entity whose account type covers the event, such as a licensed exhibition and conference organizer.
Can I promote my event before the licence is issued?
No. SCEGA prohibits any promotional activity for the event, including advertising in any form, before the licence or approval is issued.
What happens if I change the venue or date?
You submit an amendment on the e-portal. For a venue change after the licence is issued, SCEGA asks for the request at least 7 days before the event, with the reasons. SCEGA’s fee schedule lists SAR 1,000 for a date change, venue change or cancellation, with no fee for meetings, workshops and training courses.
Is a SCEGA licence the same as a municipal or GEA permit?
No. SCEGA licenses business events; the General Entertainment Authority covers entertainment activities, and some sites need municipal approval through Balady. One event can need more than one approval.
Do I pay bilievent if the licence is not issued?
No. There is no upfront service payment, and our service fee becomes payable only once SCEGA has issued the licence. SCEGA’s own fee is separate and is paid to SCEGA through SADAD.
Sources: SCEGA e-services: licence types and definitions · SCEGA e-portal: fee schedule · SCEGA e-portal: account types · SCEGA e-portal: FAQ · SCEGA e-portal: rules and procedures by event type · Balady: event site permit service.
Last reviewed: October 24, 2026