Article 2 of the Saudi Notarization Law

المادة 2 من نظام التوثيق · الفصل الأول: التعريفات والأحكام العامة

The article requires the notary and the licensee to apply the provisions of Islamic Sharia and the laws when carrying out any notarization work.

Official text (Arabic)

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

يطبق كاتب العدل والمرخص له أحكام الشريعة الإسلامية والأنظمة عند إجراء أي من أعمال التوثيق.

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 2 explained in plain English

This article sets the reference rule for all notarization work: the notary and the licensee must apply the provisions of Islamic Sharia and the laws when carrying out any notarization work.

Under Article 1, a notary is a government employee with Sharia qualifications who is competent to notarize contracts and acknowledgments, and the licensee is the licensed notary or marriage officiant who works under a license. The article treats the two categories alike in this obligation, so the reference does not differ according to whether notarization takes place at a government Notary Office or with a licensed notary or marriage officiant.

What this means in practice:

The notarizer does not merely record what the parties ask for, but carries out notarization in accordance with what Sharia and the laws provide.
The obligation covers any notarization work, whether a contract, an acknowledgment or a marriage contract.
The word "laws" includes the Notarization Law itself and its regulations and other laws relating to the notarized act.

The article does not itself set out the details of the procedures; these come in the Law's other articles and its Implementing Regulations. Anyone with a transaction they doubt can be notarized would do best to consult a lawyer specializing in notarization work.

Practical example

Khalid asked a licensed notary in Jeddah to notarize a power of attorney for his brother. The notary carries out the notarization in accordance with the provisions of Islamic Sharia and the laws, and does not merely write what Khalid dictates without regard to those provisions.

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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