What is the electronic transport document (Bayan)?
The electronic transport document is a record of a goods shipment that a licensed carrier or freight broker issues on the Transport General Authority (TGA) platform. Reports of TGA announcements describe its data as sender and consignee details, shipment information, a cargo list, transport fees, trip details and carrier data, plus broker data when a broker is involved. The service was offered on the Naql portal; in March 2024 it moved to the Logisti platform as "Bayan document, cargo documentation", according to Saudipedia.
This register does not replace the platform. It is your own copy of what you issued, with the times your tracking system recorded, so you can answer two questions each week: did every trip have a document, and was each document issued on time by your own rule?
Preparation aid, not legal advice. The rules below are taken from dated news reports of TGA announcements, checked on 21 October 2026. Requirements change: check the current requirement with the TGA before you rely on any of them.
Who must issue the electronic transport document?
| Date | What was announced (as reported) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Sep 2021 | All establishments in land freight brokerage issue a transport document for every shipment, through the Naql portal. | Ajel, 23 Aug 2021; Okaz, 16 Sep 2021 |
| 18 Sep 2022 | Licensed carriers of petroleum materials, hazardous materials and cars start issuing it. | Almuraba, 14 Sep 2022 |
| 11 Dec 2022 | Licensed carriers of construction materials and minerals from mines and quarries start issuing it. | Al Bayan, 11 Dec 2022 |
| 1 Apr 2023 | Required for all foreign trucks heading to the Kingdom, as a basic condition for entry. | Okaz, 1 Apr 2023 |
| 17 Jun 2023 | The TGA stresses that all licensed land goods carriers must issue it. | Okaz, 17 Jun 2023 |
The rule for trucks that carry a company's own goods (private transport) was not confirmed in these sources, so the checklist marks it "Check with TGA". The file states no penalties. Links to every source are on the Sources sheet, with an empty row for any circular you receive.
How to use the Bayan register, step by step
- Work through the readiness checklist with the people responsible, and mark each item Done, In progress or Check with TGA.
- List your trucks and drivers with operating card and professional driver card expiry dates. The Wasl Preparation Checklist covers the same records in more depth.
- Record each document after you issue it: number and issue time as shown on the platform, shipper, consignee, cargo, plate and driver.
- Paste the week's trips from your tracking system, and copy the actual departure and arrival into the register.
- Review red rows: trips with no document and documents with a failed check. Fix the process, not only the row.
- Read the monthly summary for the share of trips with a document and the share issued before departure.
How does the register match documents to trips?
Each register row also runs eight checks: issued after departure (when your rule says documents come first), plate not in the fleet list, operating card expired on the departure date, driver not in the list, driver card expired, duplicate document number, delivered without an arrival time, and arrival before departure. The window, grace and minimum distance are example values on the Settings sheet; set them to fit how your trips and documents work.
Worked example: one week, ten trips
A carrier with six trucks records eight documents and pastes ten trips from its tracking system.
- One trip, T-1007, is a 12 km yard move, below the 25 km minimum, so it is not checked. That leaves 9 trips.
- Trips T-1006 (280 km) and T-1009 (350 km) have no document for their plate in the window: 2 trips with no document, so 7 ÷ 9 = 77.8% of trips had a document.
- Document TD-2026-10-0005 was cancelled and reissued as TD-2026-10-0006, so the register counts 7 documents issued and 1 cancelled.
- TD-2026-10-0002 was issued at 09:15 for a truck that left at 08:50. It still matches trip T-1002 because of the 2-hour grace, but the register flags "Issued after departure". Six of seven documents were issued before departure: 85.7%.
- Other flags: a driver card that expired on 30 September, a truck whose operating card expired on 1 October, a plate missing from the fleet list, and a delivered document with no arrival time.
Common mistakes with transport documents
- Issuing after the truck has left. Set a clear internal rule for who issues and when, and check it weekly.
- Cancelling without reissuing. A cancelled document leaves the trip uncovered unless a new one is issued.
- The wrong plate on the document. A truck swap at the yard leaves the document on another plate; the match then fails.
- Expired operating or driver cards. Track expiry dates before dispatch, not after an inspection.
- Short trips treated as yard moves. Set the minimum distance to fit your operation, not to hide trips.
- Relying on memory for rules. Record each TGA circular on the Sources sheet with its date.
What the register does not cover
It does not issue, amend or cancel documents; that happens only on the TGA platform. It does not decide which of your shipments need a document, and it states no fines: TGA rules and circulars decide that, so check your authority's current requirement. Trip data comes from your own tracking system, so the match is only as good as the plate and time data you paste. The template is a working tool, not legal advice.