Article 82 of the Saudi Civil Status Law
المادة 82 من نظام الأحوال المدنية
The article provides for local committees in civil status departments and offices and sub-committees in the regions, formed by decision of the Minister of Interior, and states their members from the Interior, Justice and Health.
Official text after amendments (Arabic)
Compiled from the original text and every officially published amendment; the amendments are shown in full below for comparison.
أ - تشكل بقرار من وزير الداخلية وبقدر الحاجة لجان محلية في كل إدارة أو مكتب للأحوال المدنية، وتتكون كل لجنة من:
1 - مندوب من إدارة الأحوال المدنية يعينه وزير الداخلية أو من ينيبه.
2 - مندوب من وزارة العدل يعينه وزير العدل أو من ينيبه.
3 - مندوب من وزارة الصحة يعينه وزير الصحة أو من ينيبه.
ب - تشكل بقرار من وزير الداخلية وبقدر الحاجة لجان فرعية في المناطق، وتتكون كل لجنة من:
1 - مستشار يعينه وزير الداخلية.
2 - مندوب يعينه وزير العدل.
3 - مندوب يعينه وزير الصحة.
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 82 explained in plain English
This article sets out the formation of the committees that decide many civil status matters. There are two kinds:
First: local committees
- Formed by decision of the Minister of Interior, as needed, in every civil status department or office.
- Made up of three members:
- A representative of the Civil Status Department, appointed by the Minister of Interior or his delegate.
- A representative of the Ministry of Justice, appointed by the Minister of Justice or his delegate.
- A representative of the Ministry of Health, appointed by the Minister of Health or his delegate.
Second: sub-committees
- Formed by decision of the Minister of Interior, as needed, in the regions.
- Made up of three members:
- An adviser appointed by the Minister of Interior.
- A representative appointed by the Minister of Justice.
- A representative appointed by the Minister of Health.
Why does this matter? Because these committees are the ones citizens deal with in important matters. Under Article (83), the local committees exercise the jurisdiction assigned to them in Articles (20) and (26), and the sub-committees decide on requests to correct or amend civil status entries and on grievances against refusal of registration, investigate those who violate the provisions of the Law and its regulations and impose the prescribed penalties on them, and handle matters referred to them by the Civil Status Department. These come after Article (81), which punishes violating the other provisions of the Law, its regulations and the decisions implementing them with a fine not exceeding SAR 5,000.
The article was amended by Royal Decree No. M/25 dated 1/6/1422 AH. Anyone with a request or a violation pending before one of these committees may consult a lawyer specialized in personal status matters.
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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Frequently asked questions about Article 82 of the Saudi Civil Status Law
Who forms the civil status committees?
The Minister of Interior forms them by his decision, as needed, whether local committees or sub-committees.
What is the difference between a local committee and a sub-committee in civil status?
Local committees are formed in every civil status department or office, and sub-committees are formed in the regions; each has a different composition under the article.
Who are the members of the sub-committee?
An adviser appointed by the Minister of Interior, a representative appointed by the Minister of Justice, and a representative appointed by the Minister of Health.
Amendment history
Royal Decree No. M/25 — 1/6/1422 AH
Official amendment text (Arabic)
عدلت هذه المادة بموجب المرسوم الملكي رقم (م/25) وتاريخ 1 / 6 / 1422هـ ، لتكون بالنص الآتى:
" أ - تشكل بقرار من وزير الداخلية وبقدر الحاجة لجان محلية في كل إدارة أو مكتب للأحوال المدنية، وتتكون كل لجنة من:
1 - مندوب من إدارة الأحوال المدنية يعينه وزير الداخلية أو من ينيبه.
2 - مندوب من وزارة العدل يعينه وزير العدل أو من ينيبه.
3 - مندوب من وزارة الصحة يعينه وزير الصحة أو من ينيبه.
ب - تشكل بقرار من وزير الداخلية وبقدر الحاجة لجان فرعية في المناطق، وتتكون كل لجنة من:
1 - مستشار يعينه وزير الداخلية.
2 - مندوب يعينه وزير العدل.
3 - مندوب يعينه وزير الصحة."
Original text before the amendments (Arabic)
تشكل بقرار من وزير الداخلية وبقدر الحاجة لجان فرعية في المناطق وتتكون كل لجنة من:
أ - مستشار يعينه وزير الداخلية.
ب - مندوب يعينه وزير العدل.
جـ - طبيب يعينه وزير الصحة .
More articles on Correcting and Amending Civil Status Entries
- Article 14
The article sets the rules of writing in the events registers and the certificates extracted from them, prohibits scraping and alteration, and allows correcting an oversight during registration by a light strike-through and a signed marginal note.
يكون القيد في سجلات الواقعات وكتابة الشهادات والوثائق المستخرجة منها بالحبر الثابت وبخط واضح مع تدوين التواريخ بالأرقام وبالحروف، ولا يجوز اختصار الكلمات أو است
- Article 15Amended (1422 AH)
The article prevents amending the main civil event entries after registration is complete except by decision of the sub-committee, and allows amending the derived data on the basis of official documents.
فيما عدا ما يقتضيه التصحيح أثناء التسجيل وفقا للمنصوص عليه في المادة (24) لا يجوز بعد تمام التسجيل إجراء أي إضافة أو حذف أو تعديل أو تغيير في قيود الواقعات المد
- Article 27
The Article makes civil register clerks responsible for alteration, forgery, addition and erasure in their registers, requires the offender to be pursued and a correction suit filed before the Authority, and allows an interested person to file it and claim compensation.
كتاب السجلات المدنية مسئولون عن كل تحريف أو تزوير أو إضافة أو شطب يحدث في السجلات التي بعهدتهم، وإذا تولى السجل أكثر من واحد اعتبروا متضامنين في المحافظة عليه و
- Article 40Amended (1422 AH)
The Article requires whoever is entrusted with a foundling's care to notify the civil status office within 15 days, provides for handing over his birth certificate without stating that he is a foundling, and for correcting his entry when his parents become known.
يجب على المؤسسة أو الشخص الذي عهد إليه برعاية الطفل اللقيط تبليغ مكتب الأحوال المدنية المختص بذلك خلال خمسة عشر يوما من تاريخ تسلمه اللقيط. وعلى كاتب السجل قيده
- Article 75
The Article requires a citizen, within sixty days of any civil event that changes the details of his card or family record book, to present them to civil status for amendment or replacement, and prohibits fraudulently using the old detail.
يجب على كل مواطن عند حدوث أية واقعة مدنية يترتب عليها مغايرة أحد بيانات بطاقته الشخصية، أو دفتر العائلة الذي في حوزته أن يقدمها إلى أي إدارة من دوائر الأحوال ال
- Article 83Amended (1422 AH)
The article sets the jurisdiction of the local committees (Articles 20 and 26) and of the sub-committees: correcting entries, grievances against refusal of registration, investigating violators and referred matters.
تقوم اللجان المحلية بتطبيق الاختصاص المحدد لها في المادتين (20 ،26) من هذا النظام، وتختص اللجان الفرعية بالفصل في الموضوعات التالية: أ - طلبات تصحيح أو تعديل قي
The texts are reproduced from the official website of the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers for reference; where they differ, the officially published Arabic text prevails. This content is not legal advice.