Article 33 of the Saudi Notarization Law

This article sets out what the marriage officiant must verify before performing a marriage contract. Under Article 1, the marriage officiant (ma'dhun) is the person who notarizes marriage contracts under a license issued in accordance with the Law.

Before performing the contract he must verify:

1. That the pillars required for a marriage contract are present.
2. That the conditions are met.
3. That there are no impediments between the spouses, meaning nothing prevents their marriage.
4. That the guardian required under Sharia is present.

The article does not itself list these pillars, conditions and impediments; it refers to what is established under Sharia. What matters is that the verification is a duty of the officiant before the contract, so he may not simply notarize what the parties present without confirming it.

The article is linked to Article 32, which prohibits the notary and the licensee, including the marriage officiant, from disclosing transaction secrets and any information they saw because of their work, which includes what the officiant learns about the spouses during verification. Anyone with a question about the validity or impediments of a marriage contract in a particular case should consult a lawyer who specializes in personal status matters.