Implementing Regulations of Notarization Law

The required experience to occupy the position of notary public according to the provisions of Article. 7 of the Law is in the following fields:
1-Judiciary
2-Investigations and prosecution
3-Law or Notarization Pursuant to license.
4-Sharia and legal consultations in the public or private sector.
5-Teaching jurisprudence or its principles or law at college in the Kingdom.

1-For contract and declaration notarization, the notary public must abide by the controls, measures, and specifications in the procedural guides.
2-The notary public’s power includes the powers listed under Article. 15 of the Law.

1-When notarizing a marriage contract, the permission of the court or competent authority must be verified, according to the relevant regulations and guidance.
2-If the competent court decides to allow marriage for a woman without a guardian or whose guardians refuse to approve the marriage, based on the request of the concerned parties, the court may notarize the marriage contract or may allow for its notarization with a notary public or a marriage officiant.

Revocation of divorce shall not be notarized after ninety days from the date of divorce, unless the couple declared Revocation of divorce.

1- The endowment and will shall be notarized based on the request of the author of the endowment and will, or following the declaration of all heirs.
2- The author of the will may request the amendment or revocation of the will or part thereof.

A ministry-accredited translator must be retained when notarizing the declaration of a deaf or mute person who cannot write.

The implementation of the provision of Article. 12 of the Law does not infringe on the functions of the notary public or notary officer, with regard to the following:
1-Notarizing any declaration or contract involving a party who is a minor, absent, or the executor of the estate for cases which do not enforce the condition of a permission by the competent court.
2-Notarizing actions based on permissions by the competent court in the cases listed under Article. 12 of the Law and relevant regulations.

The competent department shall establish the standards and criteria of training courses outlined in Article. 14 of the Law, which include a minimum of the following:
1-Number of training  hours
2-The passing grade for the test
3-Attendance and absenteeism rules

The requirements of Article.17 of the Law are met when the licensed identifies his national address.

Without prejudice to the provisions of Article. 15 of the Law, the power of the notary officer shall be subject to the following:
1-Fulfilling his powers in accordance with laws, regulations, procedural guides and relevant instructions.
2-Provisions and regulations applicable to notaries public that apply to him, within the scope of his specialization, and without the functional provisions.

The marriage officiant must verify the foundations, conditions, lack of contraindications, and legal requirements of a marriage contract, in accordance with procedural guides.

1-Applications for new licenses, renewals and reissuance shall be submitted according to the adopted procedures and templates, along with the documents required by the competent department.
2-The committee stipulated under Article. 21 of the Law will decide on the application within thirty days of its submittal, once the rationale and requirements are fulfilled.
3-When an application is rejected due to incomplete paperwork or for any other reasons, the applicant may refile once the paperwork is complete or the reason for rejection is no longer valid.

The competent department will register the licensed in a table once the licensing decision is issued and the following requirements are met:
1-Disbursement of the fees for the license;
2-Notice of the address of the licensed;
3-Activation of the licensed’s account on electronic means accredited for notarization.

The registration table at the competent department shall include the following information:
1-Name and contact information of the licensed;
2-Number, dates of issuance, renewal, and expiration of the license;
3-Address of the licensed;
4-Date of license termination;
5-Penalties against the licensed, if any, and its reasons.
6-Any other data required by the competent department.

In order to renew and reissue the license, the following conditions should be met:
1-The applicant continues to fulfil the licensing conditions, and passes all tests and trainings required by the competent department.
2-The license is renewed based on an application that filed in not less than ninety days and not exceeding hundred and eighty days before expiration date.
3-The renewal, reissuance and registration application is filed according to the templates and procedures of the competent department.

The license of the licensed expires in the following cases:
1-Death;
2-Request from the licensed to terminate the license;
3-Lose one of the license’s conditions;
4-Expirations of the license without application for renewal;
5-Final decision or verdict to terminate the license.

The notary public and licensed must abide by the following:
1- Practicing the profession according to its principles, abstaining from engaging in any behaviour that would undermine the honour and integrity of the profession, and abiding by laws, instructions, procedural guides and rules of professional conduct.
2- Constant development of professional performance, to enable good practice according to technical and technological developments. Attending necessary professional development activities to do his work in accordance with the competent department’s instructions.
3- Protecting the confidentiality of transactions and information shared within the framework of his work, during and after the practice of the profession. Any sharing of information pursuant to a Laws or court orders may not be considered disclosure of protected information.

The notary public and the licensed must commit to complying with relevant regulations and instructions when undertaking notarization procedures. He must abide by the following:
1- All Notarization procedures, procedural guides, templates, specifications and technical criteria set by the competent department.
2- Undertake the Notarization on electronic means accredited by the Ministry.
3- Verify the identity of the concerned parties and their capacities in accordance with the requirements to verify natural and legal entities.
4- Verify the fulfilment of necessary requirements for any notarization and its validity.
5- Complete procedures immediately once the application’s requirements are verified.

1- The electronic verification tools adopted by the ministry are an accredited signature.
2- The notarization procedure and issuance of its documents must be through the ministry accredited electronic means.
3- New technologies and artificial intelligence could be used in notarization and any notarization procedure can be dispense with if it is achieved by electronic means.

The notarization registry shall be preserved according to the procedures and electronic means accredited by the ministry.

Taking out notarization registries to be preserved in central preserve centres affiliated to notaries public and the competent department is not a breach of Article. 30 of the Law, provided that the documents are transported with due care and through means decided by the Ministry.

When the notarization registry is marked as suspended or under reservations according to Article.43 of the Law, no later measure could be taken with regard to the notarization registry unless the order comes otherwise.

1-The competent department in charge of monitoring and inspection may view notarization activities and its documents through all means, in the exercise of its duties.
2-When the competent department suspects a violation, it must report its suspicions and take necessary measure.

Investigation procedures will be as follows:
1- The notary public is questioned in accordance with the provisions of the Law of Employee Discipline, and relevant rules and instructions.
2- While investigating a notary public or a licensed, the ministry’s procedures, controls, and investigation guarantees must be respected, including:
a- The investigation must follow the adopted models.
b- The subject of the investigation must be told of the alleged violation.
3- The subject of the investigation must be allowed to present his defence, supporting evidence relevant to the violation under investigation, and granting him sufficient time to present his defence.

Without prejudice to civil and criminal liability, the committee established under Article. 48 of the Law shall consider the violations after the investigation, and by way of consideration, shall:
1- Notify the parties, through written messages to the phone and email registered as the Ministry.
2- Enable the submission of the written defence.
3- Enable the notary public or licensed of attending the proceedings in person or through a power of attorney. The committee is entitled to request the presence of the concerned in person. If he fails to comply on the identified date, the committee may issue its decision based on the available evidence and documents.
4- Deliver a copy of the decision, once issued, to the notary public and the licensed.

The competent department may obligate the notary public or licensed with poor performance or who has disciplinary action issued against him, to do rehabilitation at work or to attend a number of adequate trainings.

1- Subject to the table attached to these regulations, the fee of the licensed, under Article. 54 of the Law, are to be agreed between the licensed and the concerned persons.
2- The licensed shall write down the fee for the notarization process in accordance with the suitable template.

The Ministry’s Deputy for Notarization and Real Estate Registration shall issue the Rules of Professional Conduct, upon the Minister’s approval, and all relevant procedural guides, templates, and specifications to implement the provision of the Law and its Implementing Regulations.

The Regulation shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall take effect on the date of its publication.