Article 21 of the Saudi Civil Status Law

المادة 21 من نظام الأحوال المدنية

The Article requires the reporter to be given a copy of the entry for the event on the prescribed form, the registrar and the reporter to sign the entry and its copy, and a refusal to sign to be recorded in the presence of two witnesses.

Official text (Arabic)

This article has not been amended since the law was issued.

بعد قيد الواقعة يعطى المبلغ صورة من قيدها على النموذج المعد لذلك ويجب أن يوقع على القيد وصورته كل من كاتب السجل المنوط به القيد والمبلغ فإن امتنع المبلغ عن التوقيع أثبت امتناعه في السجل بحضور شاهدين.

This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers

Article 21 explained in plain English

This Article regulates what happens after a civil event is recorded, and contains three rules:

A copy for the reporter: after the event is recorded, the reporter is given a copy of its entry on the prescribed form, so that he holds proof that he reported it and that it was recorded.
Signature by both: both the registrar in charge of the entry and the reporter must sign the entry and its copy.
The reporter's refusal to sign: if the reporter refuses to sign, the recording does not stop; his refusal is recorded in the register in the presence of two witnesses.

This Article is linked to Article 20, which deals with late reporting: if an event is reported after the period has passed but before the end of the first year from its occurrence, the registrar verifies that it occurred on the date reported, may ask for proof and carry out an investigation, and then records it once established. An event reported after one year from its occurrence may not be recorded except by decision of the committee.

Article 22 also prevents the registrar from registering an event in which he is the reporter, the person requesting the entry or a witness, or which concerns him or his spouse, ascendants, descendants or relatives up to the fourth degree, unless the matter is referred to the head of the department, who studies the papers and orders the entry.

Practical example

Majed reported the death of his father at a civil status office in Qassim, and after the entry was made he was asked to sign the entry and its copy but refused. The registrar records Majed's refusal to sign in the register in the presence of two witnesses, and the entry remains valid.

Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.

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