Article 12 of the Saudi General Warehouses Law

This article regulates how the storage receipt and pledge document are issued and how they are endorsed, that is, transferred to another person by writing on them.

First: how they are issued

The two documents may be issued:

• in the depositor's name, or
• to his order.

Second: endorsement

If the two documents are issued to the depositor's order, he may endorse them to others, either one or both. For example, he may endorse the pledge document alone and keep the storage receipt, or the reverse, or endorse both together.

Third: recording the endorsement

• The endorsee must ask the warehouse keeper, without delay, to record the endorsement on the copy of the receipt and the copy of the document that the warehouse keeps.
• The warehouse keeper must record this endorsement immediately, stating the endorsee's address.

This provision is connected to the definition of deposit in warehouses in Article 2, which makes the keeping of the goods for the account of the depositor or of whoever acquires ownership or possession of them under endorsable documents. Article 13 sets out the effects of endorsement: endorsing the pledge document separately creates a pledge over the goods in favor of the endorsee, and endorsing the storage receipt transfers ownership of the goods to him.

In practice, whoever receives the documents or one of them by endorsement should promptly ask for it to be recorded with the warehouse keeper, as the article provides. A person who needs to assess the effects of a particular endorsement may consult a lawyer specializing in commercial matters.