Article 19 of the Saudi Private Health Institutions Law

This article sets out when the license of a private health institution expires, in two cases:

Case one: the period ends without a renewal request.

• If the license period ends and the licensee has not requested renewal, the license expires.
• But that does not prevent applying for a new license once the legal conditions are met. Expiry of the license does not mean being barred but means starting over.

Case two: death of the institution's owner.

• The license expires upon the passing of six months from the death of the owner of the private health institution.
• The license may be kept for the benefit of the heirs for the period the Ministry determines according to the circumstances of each case.
• Provided that the heirs apply within six months of the date of death.

Keeping the license for the heirs is therefore not automatic: it requires an application within the time limit, it remains at the Ministry's discretion, and its duration is set by the Ministry according to the circumstances of each case.

These cases differ from the cases of cancellation in Article 18, where the license is cancelled upon transfer of the institution's ownership to another owner or a change of its activity or location without the Ministry's approval. It is followed by Article 20, which punishes whoever opens a private health institution without a license with closure, a ban on licensing and fines graded by type of institution, which shows the importance of keeping track of the license's validity.

The heirs of an institution's owner should not delay in submitting the application, and may consult a lawyer who specializes in administrative cases to prepare it.