Article 23 of the Saudi Civil Status Law

المادة 23 من نظام الأحوال المدنية

The Article allows every person to obtain an official copy of entries concerning himself, his ascendants, descendants or spouse, and allows the competent authorities and anyone with an established interest to request a copy of any entry.

Official text (Arabic)

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

لكل شخص أن يستخرج صورة رسمية طبق الأصل من القيود المتعلقة به أو بأصوله أو فروعه أو بزوجه، ويجوز للسلطات العامة المختصة ولكل ذي مصلحة ثابتة طلب صورة رسمية من أي قيد أو وثيقة، وتحدد اللائحة التنفيذية المقصود بالسلطة العامة المختصة وبالمصلحة الثابتة كما تحدد إجراءات طلب استخراج الصور والرسوم المستحقة لقاء ذلك.

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 23 explained in plain English

This Article sets out who may obtain an official copy of the civil status entries, and distinguishes between two groups:

The person concerned and those closest to him: every person may obtain an official true copy of the entries concerning himself, his ascendants such as father, mother and grandfather, his descendants such as children and grandchildren, or his spouse.
The competent public authorities and anyone with an established interest: they may request an official copy of any entry or document.

The Article refers to the Implementing Regulations to set:

what is meant by the competent public authority;
what is meant by an established interest;
the procedures for requesting copies;
the fees due for this.

The Article does not state the amount of the fees or define an established interest, so the Implementing Regulations must be consulted for that. Note that a person's right to the entries of himself, his ascendants, descendants and spouse is expressed as a right ("every person may"), while requests by others are expressed as a permission and are conditional on establishing an interest.

The Article comes after Article 22, which prevents the registrar from registering an event concerning himself or his relatives unless the matter is referred to his head, and before Article 24, which stops recording in the event registers at the end of the last day of Dhu al-Hijjah and opens the registers of the new year on the first of Muharram.

Practical example

Sarah needs an official copy of her father's birth entry to complete a transaction in Dammam. She is entitled to obtain it because the entry concerns one of her ascendants, and she follows the procedures and pays the fees set by the Implementing Regulations.

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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