Are electronic signatures legal in Saudi Arabia? Electronic Transactions Law, Nafath and Najiz

Saudi Arabia has moved a remarkable amount of daily legal life online. Employment contracts are documented in Qiwa, leases in Ejar, powers of attorney and property transfers in Najiz, and most people prove who they are with Nafath. That raises a practical question for everything outside those platforms: if you sign a supplier contract, an NDA or a service agreement with an e-signature tool, is it valid in the Kingdom?

Generally yes, under a law that has been in force since 2007 and was updated in 2023.

The short answer

• The Electronic Transactions Law, issued by Royal Decree No. M/18 dated 8/3/1428H (2007), recognises electronic transactions, records and signatures.
• If a law requires a signature on a document or contract, an electronic signature made in accordance with the law satisfies it.
• Electronic transactions, records and signatures are admissible as evidence and are treated as reliable unless proven otherwise.
• The law excludes transactions under personal status law and the issuing of deeds for real estate transactions, unless the responsible authority approves doing them electronically.
• In 2023 the law was amended so that the Digital Government Authority (DGA) is responsible for its implementation, and new implementing regulations followed.
• Evidence of electronic signatures is also covered by the Evidence Law issued by Royal Decree No. M/43 dated 26/5/1443H, in force since July 2022.

The law: the Electronic Transactions Law and its regulations

The law defines an electronic signature as electronic data included in, attached to or logically linked with an electronic transaction, used to verify the signer's identity and approval and to detect any change to the transaction after signing. A digital certificate is an electronic document issued by a certification service provider that links a person to their signature data.

Key rules:

• A contract may be concluded electronically, and a record is not denied effect because it is electronic.
• An electronic record counts as an original if its integrity has been preserved since it was finalised and it can be produced when needed.
• A signature requirement is met by an electronic signature made in line with the law.
• When weighing reliability, a court looks at how the record was created, stored and sent, how its integrity was protected, and how the signer was identified.

Who licenses certification providers

Responsibility has changed hands, so older guides can be out of date:

• Certification services originally centred on the National Center for Digital Certification (NCDC), which ran the national public key infrastructure, and licensing sat with the telecom regulator (now the Communications, Space and Technology Commission).
• Following the 2023 amendments, the Digital Government Authority licenses certification service providers and monitors them. Under the updated implementing regulations, the National Information Center, part of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), supervises how digital certificates are issued and managed.

Under the regulations, the strongest form of electronic signature is one linked to a valid digital certificate from the National Information Center or a DGA-licensed provider. A signature without such a certificate is still an electronic signature, and the general rules of the law still apply to it, but you may have to prove who signed if it is challenged.

Evidence Law 2022

The Evidence Law treats electronic records and signatures as digital evidence, which can be official or unofficial. Unofficial digital evidence is binding on the parties unless shown otherwise, and the person challenging it carries the burden of proof, if it was produced under the Electronic Transactions Law or the E-Commerce Law, through a method the parties agreed in their contract, or through an authenticated or publicly recognised platform. This makes a clause in your contract agreeing to electronic signing worth including.

Documents you cannot sign electronically (or need a special signature)

Article 3 of the Electronic Transactions Law excludes:

1. Transactions under personal status law: marriage, divorce, custody, inheritance and related family matters.
2. Issuing deeds for real estate transactions: title deeds and deeds recording dispositions of land and property.

Both exclusions are subject to the same exception: they apply unless the authority responsible for those transactions approves doing them electronically under its own conditions. That exception is what now allows the Ministry of Justice to handle many of these matters through Najiz, including electronic title deeds and online property transfers. So the practical rule is not "these can never be electronic". It is "these can only be done electronically through the official system, not with a private e-signature".

Other documents that in practice go through official platforms:

• Powers of attorney (wakala): issued through the Ministry of Justice (Najiz e-notarisation or a notary), not by e-signing a PDF.
• Court filings and judicial matters: through Najiz.
• Wills and endowments (waqf): documented through the courts and notaries under their own rules.

The government platforms

Common situations

Employment contracts

Private-sector employers create contracts in Qiwa. The employee reviews and accepts, rejects or asks for changes through their own Qiwa account, and once both sides agree the contract is documented with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. Your internal paperwork (offer letters, NDAs, policy acknowledgments) can be signed with any e-signature tool, but the documented employment contract lives in Qiwa.

Leases

Leases are registered on Ejar using the unified lease contract. Landlord and tenant approve through links that log in with Nafath. A lease documented on Ejar is treated as an enforceable instrument that can go straight to the enforcement court without a separate lawsuit. A privately e-signed lease is still a contract, but it does not give you that enforcement shortcut.

Real estate

Sales and transfers of title go through the Ministry of Justice (Najiz) and the real estate registry system. A private e-signed sale agreement can record what the parties agreed, but it does not transfer title.

Company and commercial documents

Supply agreements, service contracts, NDAs, purchase orders and board approvals are the core case for e-signatures. Add a clause agreeing that the parties accept electronic signatures, keep the audit trail, and consider a certificate-based signature for high-value deals.

Is DocuSign (or KovaPDF) valid in Saudi Arabia?

Platform signatures are electronic signatures under the law and are generally accepted for commercial contracts, especially where the parties agreed to sign that way. Unless the platform uses a certificate from the National Information Center or a DGA-licensed provider, they are not certificate-backed signatures under the implementing regulations. They cannot be used for transactions that must go through Najiz, Qiwa, Ejar or other official systems.

How to get a digital certificate in Saudi Arabia

Certificates for signing come from providers licensed by the Digital Government Authority. They are usually delivered on a USB token or smart card, or as a remote signing service, and the private key usually cannot be exported. Such certificates cannot be used on any website that asks for a certificate file; use the provider's own signing software. If your organisation's licensed provider issues an exportable .pfx or .p12 file, it can be used with a website signing tool, and the signature will carry that provider's certificate. Most individuals never need a personal certificate, because government transactions use Nafath inside each platform.

Where KovaPDF fits

• Contracts with several signers: Request Signatures sends each signer a private link. They sign in the browser without an account, and when everyone is done all parties get the PDF with a certificate of completion (names, emails, times, IP address, browser) and a trusted timestamp seal that shows any later change. These are simple electronic signatures with an audit trail, not certificate-backed signatures under the Saudi regulations.
• Only you: Sign PDF places a drawn, typed or uploaded signature image. It is fine for everyday forms but does not prove the file was not changed.
• Your own certificate: Digital Signature signs with an exportable .pfx or .p12 certificate and adds a timestamp and long-term validation data. How strong the signature is depends on who issued the certificate.
• A signed PDF you received: Verify PDF Signature checks whether each digital signature is intact and who signed it.

KovaPDF cannot sign in Najiz, Qiwa or Ejar for you, and it is not a licensed certification provider. For background, read what a digital certificate is.