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Home › Frameworks › Telecommunications & Cloud › Registration Guide in the Qualifying Category
| Type | Guideline |
|---|---|
| Issuing authority | Communications, Space & Technology Commission (CST) |
| Framework | Telecommunications & Cloud |
| Tier | Guidelines & circulars |
| Legal status | Guidance |
The Registration Guide in the Qualifying Category (CST, October 2023) opens a transitional path into the Saudi cloud market. The Qualifying Category lets an entity intending to provide cloud services through a Kingdom data centre, but not yet meeting all requirements of the basic registration categories (A/B/C) under the Cloud Computing Services Provisioning Regulations, register and operate while it works towards them.
The trade-off is a restricted scope: qualifying-category registrants may serve individuals and the private sector only; the government and financial sectors are off-limits during registration. Mandatory requirements include an Arabic application, an undertaking of compliance, the named Kingdom data centre to be used, a plan for achieving the basic-category requirements and compliance with the National Cybersecurity Authority's controls; CST may exempt applicants such as mega data-centre projects.
Registration is applied for through CST's cloud portal, issued electronically, and valid for one year. The Guide sits under the Telecommunication and Information Technology Act (Royal Decree M/106) and complements the main CSP registration guide.
Content and register data licensed CC BY 4.0. Cite the live URL. Machine-readable register (JSON) · Markdown register · Content last verified: 2026-08-13