Article 6 of the Saudi Franchise Law

This article sets a basic duty: the franchise agreement and the disclosure document are registered with the Ministry, which under the definitions in Article 1 is the Ministry of Commerce and Investment.

Registration covers two things:

• The franchise agreement: the agreement between the franchisor and the franchisee under which the franchise is granted.
• The disclosure document: the document that discloses the main rights, duties and material risks of the franchise opportunity.

As for the details of registration, that is, the procedures followed and the documents and information to be provided, the article does not set them out but leaves them to the Implementing Regulations. The steps and documents for registration therefore cannot be known from the text of the article alone, and the Regulations should be consulted for them.

Registration comes in the context of Article 5, which requires the business model to be operated for at least one year before a franchise opportunity is offered, and Article 7, which requires the franchisor to give the franchisee a copy of the disclosure document at least 14 days before concluding the agreement or paying any consideration, whichever is earlier, and requires the document to be in Arabic or an approved translation, and to be clear and accurate.

The purpose of registration is to achieve the transparency on which the Law is based. To know what is required in a particular case, one can consult the Regulations or a lawyer who specializes in commercial cases.