Unpaid on a Saudi project: subcontractor and supplier claims

Can you claim payment on a Saudi project from outside Saudi Arabia?

Usually, yes. A Saudi lawyer can act for you under a power of attorney that you sign in your own country. Saudi courts run most hearings electronically, so you usually do not need to travel for the claim.

A power of attorney (wakala in Arabic) is a signed document that lets someone, such as a lawyer, act for you. If you sign it abroad, it usually has to be certified before a Saudi authority will accept it. Our page on signing a power of attorney for Saudi Arabia abroad explains each step. To see whether your country uses an apostille or legalisation, check documents for Saudi Arabia by country.

Court claims are filed on Najiz, the Ministry of Justice’s online platform for cases and powers of attorney. To sign in, Najiz uses Nafath, the Saudi government’s login app. Nafath needs a Saudi digital identity, which is linked to an ID issued in Saudi Arabia. So a company abroad usually acts through a Saudi lawyer.

Court work in Saudi Arabia is done in Arabic. Documents in another language usually need a certified translation, made by an approved translation office. We tell you early if any step needs someone in person.

Who can you claim against when you are not paid on a Saudi project?

Usually the company you signed with. For a subcontractor, that is the main contractor. For a supplier, it is the company that ordered the goods. On most projects, 4 roles sit in the payment chain: owner, main contractor, subcontractor and supplier. Each link is a separate contract. A claim against anyone else in the chain depends on the contracts, any direct agreement or guarantee, and the facts.

Money usually moves down the chain. The project owner pays the main contractor. The main contractor pays its subcontractors and suppliers. So the first question is always the same: who signed your contract, and under which legal name?

Note the exact legal name of the company you signed with. If you have it, also note its commercial registration (CR) number, the number of its entry in the Saudi commercial register. Check that it matches the name on your subcontract or purchase order.

Whether you are paid in the end depends on the contract, the evidence, who you signed with and whether that company can pay. If you are owed for goods with no project behind them, see recovering an unpaid invoice from a Saudi company.

Does the main contractor have to pay you if the owner has not paid them?

Your subcontract decides this. Some subcontracts tie your payment to the owner paying the contractor; others do not. Whether such a term protects the contractor in your case is a question we answer from your documents.

These terms are often called “pay when paid” clauses. Read the payment section of your subcontract, and any other terms it refers to, such as parts of the main contract. Note what it says about payment applications, approvals and payment dates.

If the contractor says the owner has not paid, ask for that answer in writing. Keep sending your payment applications as the subcontract requires. Then talk to a lawyer before you accept the delay or agree new terms.

What should you do first when the contractor above you stops paying?

Put your demand in writing, keep every record and keep following the procedures in your subcontract. Do not stop work, remove equipment or sign anything new before you take advice. Each of these steps can change what you can claim later.

• Put your demand for payment in writing, using the notice method your subcontract sets out, such as the address or email it names.
• Keep site records, approvals, delivery notes, photos, emails and messages, from day one.
• Keep submitting payment applications as the subcontract requires.
• Do not stop work, remove equipment, or sign a final account or a waiver without advice. A final account is the closing statement of what is owed. A waiver gives up a right or a claim.
• Check any bond, guarantee, cheque or promissory note that you hold or that you gave.
• Talk to a lawyer early.

The same steps apply if progress payments keep slipping while the work goes on. Keep a dated record of each application, each approval and each payment.

If the contractor gave you a cheque or a promissory note (a signed, written promise to pay), see promissory notes, cheques and the Nafith platform. Claims for delay, extra work or suspension are a separate topic. So is a call on a performance bond or bank guarantee, a bank’s written promise to pay the other side in set circumstances. Tell us if either applies to you.

Can an unpaid project claim be settled without going to court in Saudi Arabia?

Yes, it can, if both sides agree. Negotiation and mediation can end a payment dispute without a court claim. Arbitration is another route, usually where your subcontract or purchase order names it.

A lawyer’s demand letter puts the debt and your request on record. If talks lead to a payment plan, put it in a signed document that lists each amount and date. Ask us whether the plan should be backed by a document you can enforce directly.

In mediation, a neutral person helps both sides reach an agreement. Taradhi is the Ministry of Justice’s online reconciliation (mediation) platform. The Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) also runs commercial mediation, as its own site describes. We tell you whether either fits your dispute.

Arbitration is a private process in which an arbitrator, not a judge, decides the dispute. The decision is called an award. A clause that offers both court and arbitration can itself cause a dispute about the forum, the place where the dispute is decided. So we read your dispute clause before any step is taken. If your contract names foreign law or courts abroad, we read the clause and work on the Saudi side.

How does a payment claim on a Saudi project usually work, step by step?

Most claims follow these steps, but not always in this order. A claim can end at any step if the contractor pays or a settlement is signed.

1. Send us a short outline. Tell us your place in the chain, what is unpaid and what your subcontract says about disputes. Don’t send documents yet.
2. Sign the engagement letter and a power of attorney. Work starts only after an engagement letter, the written agreement between you and the firm, is signed. You sign the power of attorney in your own country. See how we work with clients outside Saudi Arabia.
3. Collect the payment record. We tell you which documents to send, and which need a certified Arabic translation.
4. Send a formal demand. We write to the contractor in Arabic, under the notice clause in your subcontract. Where a lawyer helps: the demand sets out the work, the approvals and the amount claimed.
5. Negotiate or mediate. If the contractor replies, we discuss payment or a settlement, and put any agreement in writing.
6. Start a claim in the forum your subcontract names. That is usually a claim in the commercial courts, or arbitration if the subcontract names it. Where a lawyer helps: we prepare the claim in Arabic and attend the hearings.
7. Enforce the result. If a judgment or an arbitration award is not paid, it can go to the Enforcement Court. See which documents let you skip a full lawsuit.

A government fee may apply; the official page has the details. Our own fees are agreed in writing before any work starts. See how legal fees work in Saudi Arabia.

Which route fits an unpaid claim on a Saudi project?

The route depends mainly on your subcontract’s dispute clause and on the documents you hold. This table compares the usual routes. It does not rank them.

From 28 October 2026, a new Enforcement Law applies. It changes what creditors can do, including with promissory notes. See what the new Enforcement Law changes for creditors.

What to prepare before you contact us

Gather as many of these as you can. You do not need all of them to send us an outline.

• the subcontract or purchase order, and any parts of the main contract you received;
• payment applications and any approved payment certificates;
• invoices;
• delivery notes, site records, approvals and handover records;
• instructions for extra or changed work;
• emails and messages about payment;
• any bond, guarantee, cheque or promissory note;
• the legal names and CR numbers of the contractor, and of the owner if you know it.

Emails, messages and site records can be important evidence, so keep them from day one. Keep them ready; we tell you which ones to send after we agree to act.

Frequently asked questions

Related

• Disputes with Saudi distributors, agents, contractors and suppliers
• Recovering an unpaid invoice from a Saudi company
• Recovering money owed in Saudi Arabia
• Power of attorney for Saudi Arabia, signed abroad