Article 10 of the Saudi Penal Law on Forgery Crimes

المادة 10 من النظام الجزائي لجرائم التزوير · الفصل الرابع تزوير المحررات أولاً: الصور العادية

The article punishes forging a document attributed to the King, the Crown Prince, the Prime Minister or one of his deputies with imprisonment of 3 to 10 years and a fine of up to SAR 1,000,000.

Official text (Arabic)

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

من زوّر محرراً منسوباً إلى الملك، أو ولي العهد، أو رئيس مجلس الوزراء، أو أحد نوابه؛ يعاقب بالسجن من ثلاث إلى عشر سنوات وبغرامة لا تزيد على مليون ريال.

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 10 explained in plain English

This article increases the penalty for forging documents attributed to the highest offices in the State, which are documents attributed to:

The King.
The Crown Prince.
The Prime Minister or one of his deputies.

The penalty is imprisonment of 3 to 10 years and a fine of up to SAR 1,000,000; the text combines the two without the option of imposing only one of them.

Under Article 1, a document includes any written material that conveys a particular meaning, whatever its medium, including information technology means; so making an electronic message or a copy of a letter attributed to one of these persons may fall under the text once the other elements of forgery are present, including bad faith, intent to use and the possibility of harm.

For comparison, Article 9 punishes forging a private document with imprisonment of up to 3 years and a fine of up to SAR 300,000, or either, and Article 11 punishes forging bonds and valuable papers issued by the public treasury with imprisonment of 2 to 7 years and a fine of up to SAR 1,000,000, together with paying what the treasury lost. The penalty in this article is thus among the heaviest for forgery.

Anyone facing an accusation of this offense needs to consult a lawyer who specializes in criminal cases.

Practical example

A person posted on social media an image of a fabricated letter that he claimed was a directive from the Prime Minister to pay sums to a certain group, in order to collect fees from them for "registering" them. This act may fall under forging a document attributed to the Prime Minister, and its penalty is imprisonment of 3 to 10 years and a fine of up to SAR 1,000,000.

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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