Article 68 of the Saudi Commercial Courts Law

المادة 68 من نظام المحاكم التجارية · الباب التاسع: أوامر الأداء

The creditor must notify the debtor in writing of the demand for payment at least 5 days before requesting a payment order, stating the intended date for applying to the court.

Official text (Arabic)

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

يجب أن يشعر الدائن المدين -كتابةً- بطلب الوفاء قبل (خمسة) أيام على الأقل من التقدم إلى المحكمة بطلب الأمر بالأداء، على أن يتضمن الإشعار التاريخ المزمع للتقدم إلى المحكمة بالطلب.

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 68 explained in plain English

This article sets a mandatory step before requesting a payment order, which is notifying the debtor of the demand for payment. The creditor may not apply to the court for the payment order before notifying the debtor on the following terms:

The notice must be in writing: the text requires writing.
Period: it must be given at least 5 days before applying to the court for the payment order.
Content: it must include the demand for payment and the intended date for applying to the court with the request.

The importance of this notice appears in Article 69, under which the request to issue the payment order must be accompanied by proof that notice of the demand for payment of the debt was given, along with the facts of the request and its grounds, the debtor's full name and address, and any other particulars specified by the Implementing Regulations. So it is useful for the creditor to keep proof of sending the notice and its date.

This notice is part of the payment order route that Article 67 allows the creditor, as an exception to the general rules on filing cases in the first instance, if their right is proved in writing, the debt is due for payment, and is fixed in amount if it is money, or a movable fixed by its type and quantity or specified by itself in a way that removes uncertainty.

The article does not specify a particular means for the written notice. Anyone who needs help preparing the notice or the payment order request should consider consulting a lawyer specialized in commercial cases.

Practical example

A maintenance company in Riyadh is owed SAR 40,000 by a customer under a written contract, and the payment date has arrived. On the 1st of the month the company sent the customer a letter demanding payment, stating that it would apply to the court for a payment order on the 7th of the same month. The notice is thus in writing, given more than 5 days earlier, and includes the intended date, and the company keeps proof of it to attach to its request.

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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