Decree Amending Certain Provisions of the Notarization Law

- Mandatory completion of a pre-marital counseling program before marriage registration... with imprisonment for one year and a fine of 1,000 dinars, or either of these penalties, for non-compliant marriage registrars or notaries

- Enabling electronic and remote registration of personal status matters and transferring the authority to register company contracts to the Ministry of Commerce

Decree-Law No. (122) of 2026 amending certain provisions of Law No. 10 of 2020 concerning Notarization has been issued, with the aim of simplifying procedures, developing electronic integration among competent authorities, and enhancing official records and documents, while preserving existing legal statuses.

The explanatory memorandum of the law, which includes five amended articles, indicates that practical application has revealed the need to further develop notarization through two main pathways: the first is facilitating the approval process for company contracts and related documents to prevent procedural duplication between the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry; the second is addressing the specifics of personal status matters—such as marriage, divorce, revocation of divorce, and prohibited breastfeeding—through more detailed procedural regulations that safeguard rights and regulate proof, without encroaching on substantive rules governed by personal status laws.

Article One of the Decree replaces Article (9 bis) of the aforementioned Law No. (10) of 2020. Its first paragraph stipulates that the presence of interested parties or their agents must be in person before the notary, or through an automated electronic system, or via video conferencing using modern or electronic communication means approved by the Ministry of Justice, to prevent the use of unsecured tools or applications that could open the door to manipulation, identity fraud, or disputes regarding the validity of presence or the expression of intent.

The second paragraph authorizes judges, government notaries, and marriage registrars, each within their respective jurisdictions, to register personal status matters electronically and remotely, thereby facilitating matters for interested parties and resolving any potential disputes regarding the applicability of electronic notarization rules to personal status issues.

Article Two adds a final paragraph to Article (5), stipulating that government notaries and employees of the Approval Unit at the Commercial Register within the Ministry of Commerce and Industry shall coordinate to ensure no duplication in approval and notarization of documents related to companies, their establishment contracts, amendments, and any occurrences such as expiration, dissolution, liquidation, partner withdrawal, or transfer of shares or rights. This is achieved by enabling government notaries to access necessary commercial register data when notarizing documents related to a company’s estate, a partner, or a partnership dispute, and by enabling the Approval Unit to access necessary notarization records at the Ministry of Justice when approving company contracts. Information and documents shall be exchanged between government notaries and Approval Unit employees according to controls specified in the Executive Regulations.

Article (13 bis) added to the law mandates the notarization of marriage and divorce facts between spouses in all their types, in accordance with the controls outlined in the Notarization Law, its Executive Regulations, and related laws. Furthermore, Article (13 bis (a)) added to the law prohibits the registration of a marriage contract unless both parties have completed a pre-marital counseling program. A decision by the Minister of Justice shall determine the program’s curriculum, duration, completion requirements, and the entity responsible for its implementation.

Article 22 bis, added to the law, penalizes any notary public or authorized official who notarizes a marriage contract before verifying that both parties have completed the pre-marriage qualification program, in violation of the provision of Article 13 bis (a) referred to, with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year and a fine not exceeding one thousand Kuwaiti dinars, or with either of these two penalties, without prejudice to any harsher penalty stipulated in another law.

Article 3 of this decree regulates the transitional provisions necessary to transfer jurisdiction over company documents to the specialized unit within the Commercial Registry at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It stipulates that company contracts, their amendments, and all related documents notarized before the Ministry of Justice prior to the effective date of this decree-law remain valid and continue to produce their legal effects. It further confirms that the transfer of jurisdiction to this unit does not affect the validity, evidentiary weight, or enforceability of such documents in accordance with the law.

Article 4 of the decree repeals paragraph (3) of Article 5 of Law No. 10 of 2020, which had granted government notaries the authority to notarize company contracts, their amendments, the dissolution of companies, their liquidation, or partners’ withdrawal from them. It also repeals any provision that conflicts with the provisions of this decree-law.