ZATCA Phase 1 QR Code Guide for Saudi Tax Invoices

Since December 2021, every VAT-registered business in Saudi Arabia must issue electronic tax invoices. For Phase 1 (Generation), simplified invoices must include a scannable ZATCA QR code.

That QR code is not a website URL. Official scanners expect a Base64 string built from TLV (Tag-Length-Value) fields: seller name, VAT number, timestamp, total including VAT, and VAT amount.

If you generate a normal URL QR code, the government scanner will reject it — even if the PDF looks professional.

A free online ZATCA QR code generator should encode those five fields correctly, place the QR on a bilingual Tax Invoice PDF, and validate that the VAT number is exactly 15 digits.

Adding the VAT number on the invoice is not only a printed field: the same 15-digit value must match what is inside the QR, or the scan will fail compliance checks.

Phase 2 (Integration) adds Fatoora API clearance, XML signing, and extra QR tags. Freelancers and micro-SMEs who are still on Phase 1 can use a compliant generator today, then upgrade when their wave is notified.