Enforcement instruments in Saudi Arabia: which documents let you skip a full lawsuit

Which documents count as enforcement instruments in Saudi Arabia?

The main ones are judgments of Saudi courts, arbitration awards and cheques. Promissory notes count too. The new Enforcement Law changes how they are enforced, including the role of Nafith, the national electronic platform. An invoice or an ordinary contract is usually not one.

The Enforcement Court is the court that enforces judgments and other enforceable documents. With an enforcement instrument, you ask that court to act on the document itself. You usually do not need a new lawsuit to prove the debt first.

Some other documents also count. The official Arabic text of the Enforcement Law lists them; we check whether your document is one. If a translation of a Saudi law differs from the official Arabic text, the Arabic text is the one that applies.

What changes for promissory notes in Saudi Arabia from 28 October 2026?

From 28 October 2026, the new Enforcement Law changes how promissory notes are enforced, including the role of Nafith, the national electronic platform. Older paper notes are covered by a limited transition period. The official text sets out the current rules, including that period.

A promissory note is a signed, written promise to pay money to someone. Suppliers and lenders often ask for one when they give a customer time to pay. Nafith holds promissory notes electronically. Nafith and Nafath sound alike, but they are different things. Nafath is the Saudi government’s login app.

Our page on promissory notes, cheques and the Nafith platform explains what to check, note by note. For the other changes in the law, see the new Enforcement Law: what changes for creditors.

Can a bounced cheque be enforced directly in Saudi Arabia?

Usually, yes. A cheque is an enforcement instrument. If the bank refuses to pay it, which people call a bounced cheque, the Enforcement Court can act on it without a full lawsuit.

The official text of the new Enforcement Law sets out how cheques are treated, and we check each cheque you hold against it. For how cheques and Nafith relate, see promissory notes, cheques and the Nafith platform.

Keep the original cheque safe where it is. Once we agree to act, we tell you what the court needs and how to send the original.

What if you hold only an unpaid invoice or a contract with someone in Saudi Arabia?

Then a court claim usually comes first. If the court decides in your favour, its judgment can then become an enforcement instrument. If the debtor, the person or company that owes you, still does not pay, you can take the judgment to the Enforcement Court.

Settling first is often worth trying. A written demand and talks can end the matter if the debtor agrees to pay. Taradhi is the Ministry of Justice’s online platform for settling disputes by agreement. If you agree a payment plan, ask us whether it should be backed by a document you can enforce directly.

Your contract’s dispute clause, the part that says where disputes are decided, matters too. It may send disputes to arbitration, or to the courts of another country. Without such a clause, a claim between businesses usually goes to the commercial courts, the courts that hear commercial disputes. Our page on recovering an unpaid invoice from a Saudi company explains the claim route.

Can a foreign judgment or arbitration award be enforced directly in Saudi Arabia?

Not straight away. A Saudi court first checks a foreign judgment or a foreign arbitration award. Enforcement against what the debtor owns in Saudi Arabia starts only if the court accepts it.

Under the new Enforcement Law, foreign judgments are still assessed on reciprocity. Reciprocity means the court looks at whether courts in that country enforce Saudi judgments. Agreements between some countries can change the process, and we check whether one applies to yours. Our page on enforcing a foreign court judgment in Saudi Arabia explains what the court usually checks.

Foreign arbitration awards are checked under their own rules. Saudi Arabia is a party to the New York Convention, the treaty on enforcing foreign arbitration awards. The treaty shapes how a foreign award is reviewed.

A judgment or award from abroad usually needs official stamps and a certified Arabic translation before it is filed. Depending on the issuing country, the stamps are an apostille or legalisation. An apostille is one certificate that confirms the signature and seal on a public document. Legalisation is a chain of stamps from several offices. A certified translation is one made by an approved translation office.

We are writing a page on enforcing awards:

• How an arbitration award is enforced against assets in Saudi Arabia.

  Enforcing an arbitration award in Saudi ArabiaComing soon

How do you enforce a document at the Saudi Enforcement Court, step by step?

With an enforcement instrument, you go straight to the Enforcement Court, usually in six steps. The court opens an enforcement file, its record of your request. The order can change, and the file can close at any step if the debtor pays.

1. Check that your document qualifies. Confirm that what you hold is an enforcement instrument, and that the debtor’s name on it matches your records. Where a lawyer helps: checking the document against the official Arabic text before anything is filed.
2. Prepare the document and a power of attorney. A document from abroad usually needs an apostille or legalisation and a certified Arabic translation. Apostille or legalisation? Documents for Saudi Arabia by country shows which one your country uses. You sign a power of attorney, a document that lets a Saudi lawyer act for you, in your own country.
3. File the enforcement request on Najiz. Your lawyer files the request with the Enforcement Court on Najiz, the Ministry of Justice’s online platform for cases, enforcement and powers of attorney. To sign in, Najiz uses Nafath, which needs a Saudi digital identity linked to an ID issued in Saudi Arabia. So if you are owed money and are abroad, you usually act through a lawyer.
4. Let the court notify the debtor. The Enforcement Court tells the debtor about the file and calls on them to pay.
5. Follow the file if the debtor does not pay. The court can then take steps to reach the debtor’s assets. The new law puts more weight on finding and reaching those assets. Where a lawyer helps: telling the court what you know about the debtor’s business, bank accounts and property.
6. Close the file on payment or settlement. Payment, or a settlement between you and the debtor, usually closes the file.

A travel ban on the debtor, an order that stops a person leaving Saudi Arabia, is a later step, used within limits.

We are also writing a stage-by-stage guide to Enforcement Court cases:

• What happens in an enforcement file, from the request to its close.

  How an Enforcement Court case moves, stage by stageComing soon

Do you need a court claim first, or can you go straight to enforcement in Saudi Arabia?

What you hold decides the route. With an enforcement instrument, you usually go straight to the Enforcement Court. Without one, a claim usually comes first.

This table compares the usual first step for each kind of document.

What should you prepare before contacting a Saudi lawyer about a debt?

A short outline is enough for a first message. Keep these details ready:

• What the document is, such as a judgment, an award, a cheque or a promissory note, and its date.
• For a promissory note, whether it is on Nafith or on paper.
• Who owes you: the full name and, for a company, its commercial registration (CR) number if you know it. A commercial registration is a company’s entry in the official commercial register.
• The contract, and the main invoices and emails behind the debt. A list is enough.
• Whether anything has already been filed, such as a court claim or an enforcement file.
• Where the debtor’s assets are, if you know.
• Who can sign a power of attorney for you, if we agree to act.

Work starts only after an engagement letter, the written agreement between you and the firm, is signed. Fees are agreed in writing before any work starts. Please don’t send documents until we agree to act.

Where you’ll meet this in practice

Enforcement instruments come up on these pages:

• When you hold invoices but no enforcement instrument, and a claim usually comes first.

  Recovering an unpaid invoice from a Saudi company

• How to check your notes and cheques under the new Enforcement Law.

  Promissory notes, cheques and the Nafith platform

• How a Saudi court checks a judgment from another country before enforcement.

  Enforcing a foreign court judgment in Saudi Arabia

• The main changes from 28 October 2026, in plain words.

  The new Enforcement Law: what changes for creditors

• For the debtor’s side: in some cases, an enforcement file can lead to a travel ban.

  How travel bans end in Saudi Arabia

Read how we write and update our guides.

Frequently asked questions

Related

• Recovering money owed in Saudi Arabia
• Saudi Arabia’s new Enforcement Law: what changes for creditors
• Recovering an unpaid invoice from a Saudi company
• Promissory notes, cheques and the Nafith platform in Saudi Arabia