The documents required for shipping to Jordan depend on what you are sending. Personal items need the sender’s ID or iqama, a copy of the recipient’s passport and a contents list. Furniture needs a detailed packing list, plus proof that residence abroad has ended if you are claiming the exemption. A car needs its registration card, plate cancellation and an export certificate. Commercial goods need an invoice, a certificate of origin, a commercial registration and a broker authorisation via Fasah. Gulf International Shipping checks your paperwork before loading, with prices from SAR 140 per carton, SAR 1,100 for a bedroom, SAR 1,100 for a sedan and SAR 555 per pallet.
Most delays at the Al-Haditha/Al-Omari or Halat Ammar/Al-Mudawwara crossings come from a missing document or a list that does not match the cargo, not from the road itself. So we have gathered every document by shipment type here, along with who issues it and how to write it in a way customs will accept.
At a glance
- Personal items: sender’s ID or iqama, copy of the recipient’s passport, contents list
- Household furniture: an original, detailed packing list of pieces and appliances
- Expat exemption: proof residence has ended after a year or more abroad, broker’s power of attorney, 10 JOD in stamps
- Car: istimara, plate cancellation, export certificate, fines clearance, triptyque for temporary entry
- Commercial goods: commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, commercial registration, Fasah authorisation
- Air freight: an air waybill issued by us, with invoice and ID; arrival in 24–48 hours
- Prices: carton from SAR 140, pallet from SAR 555, car from SAR 1,100
- Paperwork check: send photos of your papers on WhatsApp 0568829975 before loading day
Documents required by shipment type: quick table
Documents for cartons and personal items
This is the simplest shipment in terms of paperwork. Gulf International Shipping needs a copy of the sender’s ID or iqama, a copy of the recipient’s passport or Jordanian ID, a working phone number for the recipient and a short list of what is in each carton. Cartons start from SAR 140, or SAR 9 per kg.
The list does not need formal wording, but it must be honest: “used clothes, 12 pieces”, “textbooks, 20 books”, “used kitchenware”. Vague words such as “assorted items” prompt the customs officer to open the carton, which costs everyone time. For more, read cartons and parcels shipping to Jordan.
Be careful
New phones and laptops in their boxes, perfumes in quantity, and repeated sets of new clothing may be treated as commercial goods even when they are gifts, so an invoice can be requested and duty charged.
Documents for shipping household furniture to Jordan
The key document for a furniture move is the packing list. Every carton and piece gets a number, and next to each number goes its contents and the room it came from, with appliances listed by type and brand and marked new or used. Jordanian customs checks the truck against this list, and anything not on it may fall outside the exemption.
Alongside the list you need a copy of your iqama or ID, a copy of the recipient’s passport and the delivery address. If the recipient is not the owner, an authorisation or power of attorney from the owner is needed to collect and clear the goods. Furniture moves start from SAR 1,100 for a bedroom and SAR 3,250 for an apartment.
Documents for the returning-expat furniture exemption
According to the information published on the Jordan Customs website, the furniture and personal effects of a returning Jordanian are exempt after one year or more of residence abroad. The documents are:
- Proof that residence abroad has ended: one of the following: a cancelled residence permit in the passport, an end-of-service or resignation letter, a Jordanian employment contract, a lease or title deed in Jordan, or school transfer certificates for the children.
- Power of attorney for the customs broker: if the owner does not attend in person.
- An original packing list: covering furniture and appliances, new or used.
- Stamps: 10 JOD, with a standard processing time of 2 hours.
The owner (husband or wife) attends in person or through a representative. The exemption is granted once; anyone who used it in full and then went abroad again cannot get it again for 5 years. If the exemption was partial, the remainder is exempt if it arrives within 6 months of the owner’s arrival. In usual practice, quantities are also expected to match the family’s size, and new appliances in their boxes are not treated as used furniture, so they attract duty and the 16% sales tax. The full guide is in the Jordan expat furniture exemption.
For residents of Saudi Arabia
In practice, cancelling your residence means the final exit visa from Saudi Arabia. Keep a copy with your passport, as it is the clearest proof that your residence has ended when you claim the exemption.
Documents for shipping a car from Saudi Arabia to Jordan
A car goes through two stages: export from Saudi Arabia, then entry into Jordan. On the Saudi side, Gulf International Shipping needs the following from the owner:
- The original registration card (istimara) in the owner’s name.
- Plate cancellation or export plates.
- An export certificate.
- Clearance of traffic fines and confirmation that the car is not impounded.
- Copies of the sender’s ID and the recipient’s passport.
- The customs authorisation needed for export.
On the Jordanian side: permanent import or temporary entry?
If the car will stay in Jordan, it is a permanent import, subject to duties and to Jordan’s current rules: electric cars more than 3 years old (counting the clearance year) cannot be imported, cars classed as total loss in their country of origin because of fire, flood or crash damage are refused, and the car must meet Jordanian specifications, which accept Gulf, Saudi, European and US standards.
If the car is entering Jordan temporarily and will come back, you need a customs carnet (triptyque) together with the driving licence and registration. A sedan on a shared carrier starts from SAR 1,100 and an SUV on a private flatbed from SAR 2,050. Read car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Jordan.
Documents for shipping commercial goods to Jordan
Commercial goods need more precise paperwork, because Jordanian duties are calculated on them. The core documents are:
Food, medicines and cosmetics usually go through Jordan’s Food and Drug Administration, plants and seeds through the Ministry of Agriculture, and some industrial goods need conformity with Jordanian standards. We do not load these goods until you confirm their approval is in hand. Pallets in a shared load start from SAR 555 and a 6-metre dyna from SAR 3,250. Read goods shipping from Saudi Arabia to Jordan.
Documents for air freight to Jordan
For air freight from Riyadh, Jeddah or Dammam to Queen Alia Airport in Amman, Gulf International Shipping issues the air waybill and needs your invoice or contents list, a copy of your ID and the consignee’s details. Shipments arrive within 24 to 48 hours and are charged on actual or volumetric weight, whichever is higher, so send the weight and dimensions on WhatsApp 0568829975 for your quote.
Airlines do not accept dangerous goods without a special declaration, and we do not fly loose batteries, flammable liquids or gas canisters. Details in air freight from Saudi Arabia to Jordan.
How to write a packing list Jordanian customs will accept
A good list is a simple table with one carton or piece per row. These are the columns we ask for:
- Write the list in Arabic; you can add English alongside.
- Number the cartons with the same numbers used on the list.
- Put new appliances on separate rows and state that they are new.
- Sign the list, keep an original for Jordanian customs and a copy for yourself.
Who issues each document?
What does shipping to Jordan cost once the papers are ready?
Once your paperwork is checked, Gulf International Shipping prices to Jordan start from SAR 140 per carton, SAR 1,100 for a bedroom or a sedan, and SAR 555 per pallet of goods.
Note: land freight to Jordan usually takes 3 to 6 working days depending on the origin city and customs clearance, and air freight 24 to 48 hours. Prices apply from Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Makkah and Taif; Tabuk and Madinah have their own table in shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Jordan.
Banned items no paperwork can fix
Some goods are banned outright however complete the documents are, and others are restricted and enter only with a permit:
Banned
Weapons and ammunition, narcotics, explosives and fireworks, counterfeit goods.
Dangerous on the road
Filled gas cylinders, fuel, flammable liquids.
Permit only
Plants, seeds and soil, medicines in commercial quantities, some foods and cosmetics.
Steps to prepare your shipping documents for Jordan
- 1Identify your shipment type
Personal items, furniture, exempt expat furniture, a car or commercial goods; each has its own document list. - 2Gather the personal documents
Copies of your ID or iqama and the recipient’s passport, plus proof residence has ended if you are claiming the exemption. - 3Write the packing list
Carton by carton with numbers, keeping new appliances separate. - 4Complete the car or goods paperwork
Plate cancellation and export certificate, or the invoice, certificate of origin and approvals. - 5Send it for a check
Photograph the papers and send them on WhatsApp 0568829975 so we can review them before loading. - 6Hand over originals on loading day
The required originals travel with the truck and you keep copies.
Paperwork mistakes that hold shipments at the border
- A packing list whose carton count does not match what is on the truck.
- A commercial invoice with an unrealistically low value.
- An istimara in someone else’s name with no authorisation.
- Claiming the exemption without proof that residence has ended, or before a full year abroad.
- Shipping food or medicine before its Jordanian approval is issued.
- A wrong or switched-off phone number for the recipient in Jordan.
How Gulf International Shipping helps with your paperwork
A check before loading
We read your papers and tell you what is missing before the truck leaves.
A packing-list template
We send you a ready table to fill in with your cartons’ contents.
Broker coordination
We arrange clearance at Al-Haditha and Al-Omari or Halat Ammar and Al-Mudawwara.
Exemption know-how
We explain the official conditions of the expat furniture exemption.
Send us your papers to check before you ship
Photograph your documents and packing list, send them on WhatsApp, and we will tell you whether they are ready for Jordan.
Related guides
- Land freight from Saudi Arabia to Jordan
- Furniture shipping from Saudi Arabia to Jordan
- Jordan expat furniture exemption
- Car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Jordan
- Goods shipping from Saudi Arabia to Jordan
- Air freight from Saudi Arabia to Jordan
- Land freight from Jeddah to Jordan
- Land freight from Riyadh to Jordan
- Customs clearance service
- International shipping destinations
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