Commercial registration extract: what it is and how to print it

A commercial registration extract is a Ministry of Commerce document setting out the detailed data recorded for any registration: the company and its partners, the managers or board, or the sole trader. Anyone may request one on the Business Platform. It costs SAR 100, is issued within 72 hours, and can be printed in Arabic or English.

People often say "extract" when they mean the CR certificate, the free data inquiry or a commercial certificate (إفادة). They are four different things, with different fees and different uses. This guide separates them, gives the steps to request and print each one, and explains what "validity" means for an extract under the Commercial Register Law that took effect on 3 April 2025 [1][2]. Every fee and step was checked on the official pages on 14 October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice: for a specific case, confirm with the Ministry of Commerce.

What is a commercial registration extract?

The Commercial Register Law gives two levels of access to registration data. Anyone may view the basic data. Anyone may also ask the registrar for a detailed extract of a registration, or for other specific data from it (Article 18) [3]. If no registration exists, the applicant receives a certificate saying so [3].

Article 15 of the Implementing Regulations says what the detailed extract covers: data on the company and its partners, on the manager or managers or the board of directors, or on a trader who is a natural person [4]. The fee annex to the regulations sets it at SAR 100 for every type of trader [4].

The Ministry's service page adds the practical details. The service is "Commercial registration extract / commercial certificate" on the Business Platform. The extract costs SAR 100 and is processed within 72 hours, and it is offered in Arabic and English. You do not need any role in the registration to request an extract of it [1].

The Ministry's answer on an extract for a court lists, among other items, the data shown once the fee is paid: the registration number, the establishment's name and address, the issue date, the owner's details, the activities, the capital, the managers, any branches, the company's term and the number of shares [5].

Extract, certificate, inquiry or commercial certificate: which do you need?

A quick way to choose:

• Checking a supplier or a shop before you pay? The free inquiry shows whether its registration is active and who manages it.
• A bank, court or tender asks for your registration? Ask whether the CR certificate is enough. Under the new law it carries a QR code with the full data, and the Ministry states that government bodies, private entities and banks accept it [7].
• Someone needs the partners, managers or board in detail, or a document about another business? That is the detailed extract.
• You must prove a change happened, or that you hold no registration? That is a commercial certificate.

How to request a commercial registration extract on the Business Platform

As of 14 October 2026, business.sa redirects to the site of the Saudi Center for Competitiveness and Business, which lists the service with its fee and processing time [8]. The Ministry's steps [1]:

1. Log in to the Business Platform through the National Single Sign-On (Nafath).
2. Open the general services and start "Commercial registration extract / commercial certificate", then accept the terms and choose to apply.
3. Choose the type: a commercial registration extract, or the commercial certificate you need.
4. Enter the beneficiary's details and choose the print language, Arabic or English.
5. Review the data, accept the declaration and submit the request.
6. Pay the SAR 100 fee for an extract. Commercial certificates are free.

The Ministry's published answer for an extract to file with a court follows the same path: new request, details, submit, pay, then print the extract once the request is accepted [5].

How to print or save the extract as a PDF

Once the request is approved, the document is printed from the request itself. The Ministry's steps for printing a commercial certificate are: log in to the Business Platform through Nafath or by email, open "My requests", choose "View and manage request", then select "Print extract / certificate" [5]. The option's label covers both document types.

The platform calls this option "print". To keep a PDF copy for email or a tender portal, open the print dialog on your computer or phone and choose to save as PDF instead of a printer. Keep the file name clear, for example the registration number and the issue date, so the team can find the latest one.

How to print the CR certificate itself

The CR certificate is the document most people mean by "printing the commercial registration". The Ministry's answer for a sole proprietorship is short: print it through the Business Platform [5]. The Ministry's FAQ also states that printing the commercial registration carries no fee [5], and the fee annex to the new regulations lists no fee for printing [4].

Under the new law, the certificate is a single page. A QR code on its left gives access to the registration's activities, registration date, annual confirmation date, approved address, managers and capital. The old expiry-date field has been removed [7].

Printing keeps working even when a registration is in trouble. If a registration is suspended for a missed annual confirmation, the Ministry's services stop except four, and two of the four are printing the registration in Arabic or English and printing a detailed extract (Regulations, Article 11) [4].

How long is a commercial registration extract valid?

Neither the Commercial Register Law nor its Implementing Regulations, as published by the Bureau of Experts and the Ministry, sets an expiry period for a detailed extract [3][4]. The registration itself no longer has an expiry date either; the trader confirms its data every year instead [7].

What limits an extract in practice is that the data can change. A trader must record any change within 15 days (Law, Article 10) [3], and an extract shows the data as recorded when it was issued. So:

• The receiving party decides. A bank, court or counterparty may ask for an extract issued within a recent period. Ask how recent before you pay.
• Update before you request. If your own data changed, record the update first (SAR 100 per update [4]), or the extract will show the old data.
• Request a new one after any change. After a new manager, a new partner or a capital change, an older extract no longer describes the business.

Illustrative example: documents for a joint tender

Illustrative example. A contracting company in Jeddah is bidding with a foreign partner, and the partner's lawyers want proof of who manages the Saudi side.

Before ordering, the company checks that its manager and address are up to date on the registration, because the extract will show whatever is recorded on the day.

How to check that an extract or certificate is genuine

The Ministry offers a free document verification service. It checks documents related to the commercial registration, along with certificates of origin and discount licences: you choose the type of verification and enter the verification code [9]. On the certificate itself, the QR code leads to the registration's data [7]. The free inquiry service searches by establishment name or by the unified national number and shows the current status [6].

When you receive an extract from a supplier or partner, compare three things with the live inquiry: the registration status, the managers and the legal form. If any differ, ask for a fresh extract or a new certificate before you sign.

Common mistakes with CR extracts and printouts

1. Paying for an extract when the free certificate would do. Ask the receiving party what they need: many only need the CR certificate with its QR code.
2. Ordering at the last minute. An extract can take up to 72 hours [1]; allow for it before a tender or court deadline.
3. Requesting an extract while data is out of date. Record changes first; the law gives 15 days for each change [3].
4. Sending a screenshot. Send the printed or saved document from the platform, so the other side can check it.
5. Assuming a suspended registration cannot be printed. It can: printing the registration and the detailed extract stay available during suspension [4].
6. Choosing the wrong language. Pick English at the request stage if the reader is abroad; the language is chosen before you submit [1].
7. Confusing a commercial certificate with an extract. A certificate confirms that one procedure took place [8]; the detailed data on partners, managers and the board is what the extract covers [4].

If you are checking a software or app vendor before signing, our guide on choosing a software or app development company shows where the registration check fits among the ten questions to ask. If a seller lets you down, Dalni, O AI's consumer-rights guide, explains how to file a commercial complaint.

Your next step

Before you request a commercial registration extract, decide which document the reader actually needs, using the table above. If it is the extract, check that your recorded data is current, choose the language, and order it at least three working days before the deadline. Then save the approved document as a PDF with a clear file name. If you build internal tools that track documents like these, you can read about O AI, a software and AI company in Al Khobar, on our home page.