Rushdby O AIRushd by O AI · Company templates
A company's articles of association are the document in which the partners agree on the company's existence, form, activity, capital and management. They are governed by the Companies Law, issued by Royal Decree M/132 of 1/12/1443H, and are now prepared electronically through the services of the Ministry of Commerce and the Saudi Business Center, which set the details required for each company form.
Written by the O AI editorial team from the official texts. Last reviewed:
This page is general information, current as of October 2026. It is not legal advice: have a licensed lawyer review any document before you rely on it.
Articles of association are the document by which a company is created and known to authorities and third parties: who its partners are, what it does, its capital, and who manages it with what powers. They are where you look to find who may sign for the company, including issuing powers of attorney for it.
The Companies Law speaks of a company formed under articles of association (عقد تأسيس) or bylaws (نظام أساس), depending on its form: some forms, such as joint-stock and simplified joint-stock companies, have bylaws. The Ministry of Commerce's services show the document required for each form.
The Ministry of Commerce's formation platform sets the required fields for each company form. Most articles of association cover the company's name and form, activity, head office, capital and partners' shares, management, financial year, profit distribution, transfer of shares, and dissolution.
| Item | What it sets |
|---|---|
| Name and form | The company's trade name and legal form |
| Activity | The company's activities under the approved classification |
| Head office | The city of the company's head office |
| Term | The company's term, if one is set |
| Capital | Its amount, each partner's share, and whether contributions are in cash or in kind |
| Partners | Each partner's details |
| Management | The manager, managers or board, and their powers to sign and contract |
| Decisions | How the partners take decisions |
| Financial year and profits | When the financial year starts, and how profits and losses are shared |
| Transfer of shares | Conditions for transferring shares to a partner or to others |
| Dissolution and liquidation | When the company ends and how it is liquidated |
Companies are now formed electronically: the founders choose the form and name, enter the articles' details through the Ministry of Commerce's services, the partners approve them, and the commercial registration is issued. Service details change, so follow what the platform shows.
Choose the company's form and reserve its trade name.
Enter the articles of association's details through the formation services of the Ministry of Commerce or the Saudi Business Center.
The partners or their representatives approve the articles in the way the platform sets.
The commercial registration is issued, then registrations with the other relevant authorities are completed.
Sample structure
Headings and blank fields for what you prepare before using the formation platform. This structure is not articles of association: they are prepared through the Ministry of Commerce's services.
Sample structure: headings and placeholder fields, not a completed legal document
[First partner: name, ID or registration number]
[Second partner: name, ID or registration number]
[Trade name], [legal form], [head office city]
[Activities under the approved classification]
[Capital]
[Each partner's share], [cash or in kind]
[Manager or managers], [powers to sign, contract and appoint agents]
[How decisions are taken]
[Start of the financial year], [sharing of profits and losses]
[Conditions for transferring shares]
[Grounds for dissolution and method of liquidation]
Before you file or sign
FAQ
Both are the document a company rests on under the Companies Law, but the document differs with the company's form: some forms, such as joint-stock and simplified joint-stock companies, have bylaws. The Ministry of Commerce's services show the document required for each form.
The Ministry of Commerce prepares the articles through its electronic services from the details the founders enter. Any additional clauses it allows are worth having a lawyer draft, especially management powers and the transfer of shares.
Yes. The articles are amended by a decision of the partners, as the articles and the Companies Law provide, and the amendment is registered through the Ministry of Commerce's services.
Because whoever acts for the company in court needs a power of attorney from the person authorised under its articles of association or registration, as the Implementing Regulations of the Law of Procedure before Sharia Courts provide (Regulation 49/2). The management powers in the articles decide who issues it.
Keep your clients' articles of association and powers of attorney in Rushd with their cases and other contracts.
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