Article 9 of the Saudi Civil Status Law

المادة 9 من نظام الأحوال المدنية

The article requires the pages of the event registers to be numbered and stamped with the Directorate's official seal, and the number of pages to be recorded at the start and end of each book and sealed.

Official text (Arabic)

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

يجب أن ترقم صفحات وسجلات الواقعات للسعوديين والأجانب وأن تكون مختومة بالخاتم الرسمي للمديرية، ويجب أن يقيد في أول صفحة وآخر صفحة من كل دفتر عدد الصفحات التي يتكون منها وأن يختم على ذلك بالخاتم الرسمي للمديرية.

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 9 explained in plain English

This article sets formal safeguards that protect the event registers of Saudis and foreigners from tampering, and includes:

Numbering: the pages and registers of events must be numbered.
Sealing: they must be stamped with the official seal of the Directorate, meaning the General Directorate of Civil Status.
A statement of the number of pages: the number of pages that make up each book must be recorded on the first page and the last page of each book, and sealed with the Directorate's official seal.

The purpose of these procedures is that any removal of a page, or addition of a page, to the book becomes apparent and can be detected, which gives these registers their value. This is linked to Article 10, which makes the civil registers and the data they contain, and the copies extracted from them, authoritative in proving the information recorded in them unless the contrary or their invalidity is established by a court judgment or an official decision of a competent body.

It also follows Article 8, which sets the types of event registers, namely the registers of births, deaths, and marriage and divorce. The article is procedural and addressed to the civil status bodies, and does not impose a direct obligation on individuals.

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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