The Implementing Regulations of the Enforcement Law Are Published: What Should Your Business Have Ready Before It Files to Enforce an Unpaid Debt?

What has been officially published, and what has not started yet

What is established in the official gazette is that the Implementing Regulations of the Enforcement Law were published on 23 October 2026 and apply from the date the Law takes effect. The new Law replaces the Enforcement Law issued in 1433H and its amendments. As for what some news sites reported about the number of articles in the Regulations and other details, we present them here only to the extent we verified them in the official text, and we recommend reading the full text on the official gazette website or the Ministry of Justice legislation platform before taking any step.

• The new Law: published in the official gazette on 1 May 2026, and applies one hundred and eighty days after its publication.
• The Implementing Regulations: published on 23 October 2026, and apply from the date the Law takes effect.
• The effective date: reports place it on 29 October 2026, so confirm it at the official source before you build a collection plan on it.
• Pending requests: we found no express transitional rule for enforcement requests registered before the effective date in the text we reviewed, so review your file's position with your lawyer.

Is your debt enforceable without a judgment? The papers the new Law treats as executory instruments

The rule in the new Law is that compulsory enforcement is only permitted under an executory instrument, to collect a specific right that is due for performance. So the first question before any step is: is the paper in your hand one of the instruments the Law lists? If it is, your path is a direct enforcement request; if it is not, your path is first a lawsuit before the competent court to obtain a judgment. The instruments that usually matter to a creditor business include the following.

• Bills of exchange and promissory notes, when they are registered on the national electronic platforms. The Regulations require the platform to be approved by the Ministry, the obligor to consent to the registration, and the instrument to contain the data required for its validity under the relevant laws. The Nafith platform is the electronic platform that allows a promissory note to be created and the debtor's consent to it to be documented.
• Cheques.
• Contracts and acknowledgments notarised under the Notarisation Law. A signed contract or a debtor's acknowledgment of debt does not fall into this category merely because it is signed; it must be notarised.
• Settlement agreements and reconciliation deeds notarised under the Notarisation Law or issued by bodies authorised by law to do so.
• Final judgments, orders and decisions of the Kingdom's courts, judgments with provisional enforcement, and arbitral awards in accordance with the relevant laws.

Note two points. First, the previous Law treated as executory instruments ordinary papers whose content is acknowledged as due in whole or in part, and this category does not appear in the new Law's list, so an unnotarised acknowledgment may remain strong evidence in a lawsuit but does not by itself open the direct enforcement path. Second, if the right in a notarised contract or settlement agreement is conditional on performing an obligation that does not appear from the instrument itself, such as delivering goods or completing work, an enforcement request may be filed accompanied by a report from one of the expert bodies approved by the Ministry proving that obligation was performed.

Notice before the enforcement request is registered: where the demand letter now sits

The new Law left it to the Regulations to set the cases in which the creditor must notify the debtor to pay before the enforcement request is registered. Under the published text, the creditor must notify the debtor, or whoever represents the debtor, with a demand to pay the right under the executory instrument at least five working days before the enforcement request is registered, in any of the following cases.

• If the creditor and the debtor agreed that notice is required.
• If the debtor is a private legal person, which is the usual case in commercial debts between businesses, so if your customer is a company, assume notice is required.
• If the debtor died or lost or had reduced legal capacity before the request is registered, in which case notice goes to the heirs, guardian or executor, as applicable.
• If the right was deferred when it was created, in which case notice is given after the due date arrives.

Notice is not required if the right is a recurring periodic obligation for which an enforcement request was previously registered. Most important in practice, the Regulations route this notice through the Ministry of Justice's electronic systems, unless the creditor and the debtor have agreed otherwise in writing, and if notice cannot be delivered its content is announced on the website the Ministry designates. This means the demand letter you send by email or by hand remains an important step to document the claim and open the door to settlement, but it should not be assumed to replace, on its own, the formal notice in the cases that require it, unless the two of you have a written agreement on another channel, and this is a point worth confirming with your lawyer before filing.

The checklist: what to prepare before filing the enforcement request on Najiz

The Ministry of Justice offers the enforcement request service electronically through the Najiz portal without the need to visit the court. The requirements below are taken from the current service page on the Ministry's website, and the service screens may be updated when the new Law starts to apply, so review them on the day you file.

1. Identify the type of your paper: a promissory note registered on an approved platform, a cheque, a notarised contract or acknowledgment, a notarised settlement agreement, or a judgment. If your paper is not on the list, do not start with an enforcement request; consult your lawyer about filing a lawsuit.
2. Make sure the right is specific and due: the amount is fixed and the due date has passed. If the right is conditional on an obligation that does not appear from the instrument itself, prepare the report from the approved expert body.
3. Check whether prior notice is required, especially if the debtor is a company, send it through the channel the Regulations set, and then wait at least five working days before filing. Keep your earlier demand letter and proof of its delivery in your file.
4. Prepare a clear copy of the instrument, with a translation if it is not in Arabic, and the debtor's details: type, full name, nationality, ID type and number, and address if available.
5. Make sure there is an active IBAN registered in the name and ID number of the person requesting enforcement, as this is a service requirement.
6. If the person filing is an agent or represents the business, prepare a valid power of attorney with the necessary powers, or proof of the capacity to represent.
7. File the request and follow it up. If the competent department decides not to register it because requirements are missing, you have ten working days from being informed to complete what is missing, otherwise the request is deemed rejected, and you may file a grievance as the Law provides.

If you do not hold an executory instrument: invoices and the correspondence trail, and what to change in your next contracts

Many SME debts rest only on invoices, purchase orders, emails and account statements. These documents matter a great deal in proving the debt, but an invoice is not one of the executory instruments the new Law lists, so it does not by itself open the direct enforcement path. The usual route in this case is to try to obtain a stronger paper from the debtor while the debtor is still cooperating, such as an acknowledgment of debt that is then notarised, or a promissory note through the Nafith platform as part of a settlement or rescheduling agreement, and otherwise a lawsuit before the competent court.

• Organise each overdue customer's file: the contract or purchase order, the invoices, proof of delivery or completion, the account statement, and the correspondence.
• Send a clear demand letter stating the amount, its cause and a payment deadline, since it documents the claim and opens the door to settlement before escalation.
• If the debtor shows willingness to pay, ask for an acknowledgment of debt or a promissory note through Nafith in return for rescheduling.
• In your new contracts, consider with your lawyer agreeing in writing on the notice channel, and requesting a promissory note through Nafith when granting long payment terms.

Frequently asked questions