Documents from apostille countries for use in Saudi Arabia

Does Saudi Arabia accept apostilled documents?

Yes, usually. According to the HCCH status table, the Apostille Convention has applied to Saudi Arabia since 7 December 2022. So a public document from another member country can usually be used with an apostille instead of embassy stamps. The apostille comes from the country that issued the document, not from a Saudi embassy. Some Saudi offices still ask for embassy stamps, so check what the receiving office accepts before you pay for anything.

An apostille is an official certificate, added in your own country. It confirms that the signature and stamp of the official on a public document, such as a notary, are real. It does not confirm that what the document says is true or valid. Our main documents page explains what an apostille proves, and what it doesn’t.

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has told banks the same. According to its circular dated 6 April 2023, documents from abroad with an apostille need no further authentication. That means no extra stamps from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or from embassies.

Not every Saudi office has updated its own guides, though. The Ministry of Investment (MISA), for example, still asks for some foreign company documents “authenticated by the Saudi Embassy”. So before you pay for any stamp or certificate, we check what the office that will receive your document accepts.

Which countries use the apostille for documents going to Saudi Arabia?

Many do, including the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Pakistan, the Philippines and China. The table below lists a selection of them. The full, current list is the status table of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). The HCCH is the international body that looks after the convention.

For each country in the table, the HCCH shows no objection between that country and Saudi Arabia. The date in the second column is when the apostille route for Saudi Arabia started. For most countries, that is 7 December 2022, when the convention began to apply to Saudi Arabia. For a country that joined later, it is the date the convention began to apply to that country.

Among the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, only Bahrain and Oman are in the HCCH table. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait are not, so their documents go through legalisation.

Is your country not listed? Check the HCCH status table, or ask us. If your country has not joined, see documents from countries that need legalisation for use in Saudi Arabia.

What does a note next to a country in the HCCH table mean?

It concerns other countries, not Saudi Arabia. In the HCCH table, some countries are marked A**, which stands for an objection raised by some other members. The table shows no such objection between Saudi Arabia and the countries listed above.

If you also need to use the same document in a third country, ask that country’s embassy what it accepts. We advise only on what applies in Saudi Arabia.

What are apostilled documents used for in Saudi Arabia?

Mostly for papers signed or issued abroad that a Saudi court, bank or government office will use. These are common examples, each with its own page.

• letting a Saudi lawyer act for you while you stay in your own country

  Power of attorney for Saudi Arabia, signed abroad

• company papers signed and certified in your country

  Setting up a Saudi company from abroad

• the company documents the Ministry of Investment asks for

  Foreign investment registration in Saudi Arabia

• the judgment and the papers that support it

  Enforcing a foreign court judgment in Saudi Arabia

• following a case without travelling

  Court cases in Saudi Arabia while you live abroad

• the other direction: Saudi papers going abroad

  Using Saudi judgments and documents in your countryComing soon

How do you get a document apostilled for Saudi Arabia, step by step?

Most documents go through the same few steps, and most of them happen in your own country. The order matters. The apostille confirms the signature of the official before it, such as the notary.

1. Ask which Saudi office will receive the document. A court, a bank and a ministry may each ask for something different. What that office accepts decides the route and the translation. Where a lawyer helps: we check what the receiving office accepts before you pay for any stamp or certificate.

2. Have private documents notarised first. A power of attorney or a company decision is a private document. You usually sign it in front of a notary, an official who checks your identity and confirms your signature. The apostille then goes on the notary’s act.

3. Get the apostille from your country’s competent authority. This is the office your country names to issue apostilles, and some countries have several. The HCCH lists them on its Apostille Section pages.

4. Arrange a certified Arabic translation, if the receiving office needs one. Ask us first where it should be done, in your country or in Saudi Arabia, and whether before or after the apostille.

5. Send the original to us as agreed. Keep a copy of every page, stamp and certificate. Please don’t send anything until we agree to act.

6. Let the receiving office check it, or let us present it for you. The office may check the apostille through its QR code or the issuing country’s online register.

How can a Saudi office check your apostille?

Usually through the country that issued it. Many apostilles carry a QR code, or the contact details of the office that issued them. Many countries also run an online register, called an e-Register, where an apostille can be looked up.

The HCCH keeps a list of these registers on its Apostille Section pages. The HCCH itself does not issue or check apostilles; only each country’s competent authority does. SAMA’s circular to banks names the same two ways to check: the QR code or contact details on the certificate, and the HCCH website.

An apostille issued in Saudi Arabia, on a Saudi document going abroad, is checked in a different way. The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs runs an online register for those, in Arabic. Our main documents page explains how to check an apostille, whichever country issued it.

Does an apostilled document still need an Arabic translation for Saudi Arabia?

Often, yes. An apostille confirms where a document comes from, but it does not translate it. Saudi courts and many offices work in Arabic. So a document in another language usually needs a certified translation, made by an approved translation office.

Offices differ. The Ministry of Investment’s own answers say that documents submitted to it do not need translating. They add that other ministries may require translations. So ask us before you pay for a translation in your own country. We’ll tell you what the receiving office needs, and where the translation should be done.

Write your name exactly as it appears in your passport. A name written in English letters can be spelt more than one way in Arabic. So ask the translator to use the same Arabic spelling on every document.

Will every Saudi office accept your apostille?

Not automatically. Each court, bank or government office follows its own procedures, and some of their guides still mention embassy stamps. So before you pay for any certificate, we check what the office receiving your document accepts.

An apostille covers only the signature and the stamp. The office still reads the document itself, and it may ask for other papers that go with it. Our main documents page explains why offices differ in more detail.

What should you check before paying for an apostille service?

Check a few points first, so that you pay only for the steps your document needs:

• Your country’s row in the HCCH status table, and the date from which the apostille route applies to Saudi Arabia.
• What the Saudi receiving office accepts. This decides the route and the translation.
• Whether an embassy step is needed at all. Some services still offer embassy attestation, another word for legalisation, for countries that now use the apostille for Saudi Arabia.
• Who issues the apostille. It should come from your country’s competent authority, as listed by the HCCH.
• Where the translation is done, and whether before or after the apostille.
• Official fees. A government fee may apply; the official page has the details.

What to prepare

For a first message, a few facts are enough:

• What the document is, for example a power of attorney, a company certificate or a court judgment.
• Who issued or signed it, and in which country.
• Which Saudi office will use it, if you know.
• Your name exactly as it appears in your passport.
• Whether it already has a notary’s stamp or an apostille.

Please don’t send documents until we agree to act.

Frequently asked questions

Related

• Apostille or legalisation? Documents for Saudi Arabia by country
• Documents from countries that need legalisation for use in Saudi Arabia
• Power of attorney for Saudi Arabia, signed abroad
• Business setup in Saudi Arabia from abroad: what can be done remotely