Saudi Arabia is preparing to implement significant reforms to its business registration system with the new Law of Commercial Register and Law of Trade Names taking effect on April 3. These changes aim to streamline processes for businesses and enhance the overall business environment in the Kingdom.

Abdulrahman Al-Hussein, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, noted that a key change is the elimination of subsidiary registers, allowing for a single commercial register to suffice. This simplification means that businesses no longer need to specify their city of registration, as one commercial registration will now be valid throughout all regions of Saudi Arabia.

These reforms come in response to a remarkable 60 percent increase in commercial records in 2024, with a total of 521,969 registrations issued compared to the previous year, as reported by the Ministry of Commerce. The changes also align with Saudi Arabia’s broader economic diversification goals, which seek to reduce the country’s dependence on oil and raise the private sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product from 40 percent to 65 percent by the year 2030.

Al-Hussein explained that the new Law of Commercial Register eliminates the expiration date for commercial registrations, which will now require only an annual confirmation of the data. Furthermore, the commercial registration number will serve as the establishment’s unified identifier, beginning with the digit “7.” Existing subsidiary registers will have a five-year period to align with these new regulations.

The updated Trade Names Law introduces the ability to reserve and register trade names in English, including the use of letters and numbers. This marks a significant shift from the previous rule, which restricted trade names to Arabic without foreign characters or numerals. Additionally, the new law allows for the separate management of trade names from the establishment, facilitating their transfer of ownership and preventing the registration of identical or similar names across different businesses.

Al-Hussein added that the new law includes provisions for reserving family names as trade names and establishes guidelines for prohibited or misleading names. These changes received approval from the Saudi Cabinet on September 17, reflecting the government’s strategy to enhance business operations.

Commerce Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi stated in a post on his X account that the reforms will simplify the procedures for reserving and registering trade names, thereby protecting and increasing their value in line with the economic and technological advancements set out in Vision 2030.