Corporate · Legal glossary
Commercial registrationIn Arabic: السجل التجاري
Authorization letter to represent the establishmentDefinition
A commercial registration (سجل تجاري) is the public record in which a trader or a company is entered, with the particulars the authority keeps and shows to anyone dealing with them. The number on that record is what banks, courts and counterparties ask for. It is not a trade licence by itself, and it is not a trademark.
Saudi Arabia now keeps one registration for the establishment, kingdom-wide. On the UAE mainland the economic department of the emirate issues the licence, and the National Economic Register is the federal place to look a licence up. The two are not the same filing.
Saudi Arabia
The Ministry of Commerce brought the Commercial Register Law and the Trade Names Law, with their executive regulations, into force on 3 April 2025 (5 Shawwal 1446H). The Cabinet decision described a 29-article law and a central electronic database of traders’ names and data.
Sub-registers are gone. One registration covers the establishment’s activities across the Kingdom, with no expiry date to renew. The trader confirms the data electronically every 12 months from issue. Miss the confirmation by 90 days and the entry, and the services tied to it, are suspended. One year after suspension the entry is struck off, unless the trader lifts the suspension, confirms the data, and pays the fee plus the fine.
United Arab Emirates
On the mainland the emirate’s economic department issues the licence: activity, legal form, trade name, initial approval, the memorandum where the form needs one, then the licence. That department registers the trade name. The Ministry of Economy and Tourism registers a trademark, which is a different right.
The National Economic Register is the federal platform for enquiring about economic licences, activities and trade-name availability. It draws on the Ministry of Economy and Tourism and the economic departments of the emirates. Looking a business up there is not the act of registering it. Under the Commercial Companies Law, a company’s memorandum takes effect against third parties only once it is entered in the commercial register of the competent authority.
The rules that apply to a specific matter depend on the state, any free zone involved and the current text of the law, so check the official source before relying on them.
Practical points
- In Saudi Arabia, diary the annual confirmation. Missing it by 90 days suspends the entry; a year of suspension strikes it off.
- Do not open a second Saudi registration for a new activity or a new city. The ministry’s model is one registration for the establishment.
- In the UAE, take the licence from the economic department that covers the premises. A Dubai lookup does not establish an Abu Dhabi licence.
- Quote the registration number and the legal name exactly. A trade name and a trademark are filed in different places.
Common mistakes
- Treating a Saudi registration as something that expires on a printed date. The renewal date was removed; the confirmation was not.
- Assuming one UAE “commercial registration” covers every emirate and every free zone. Mainland licensing is local, and this page does not state free-zone registers.
- Using a partnership agreement as if signing it entered the parties in the register. It does not.
Questions lawyers actually get
Does a Saudi commercial registration still get renewed every year?
No. The Ministry of Commerce replaced renewal and the expiry date with an electronic confirmation of the data every 12 months from issue.
What happens if the Saudi confirmation is late?
The entry and the services linked to it are suspended if the confirmation is not filed within 90 days of the due date. It is struck off automatically one year after suspension, unless the trader lifts the suspension, confirms the data and pays the fee and the fine.
Where do I register a mainland company in the UAE?
With the economic department of the emirate, including through the channels the government portal lists. The National Economic Register is where you enquire about a licence that already exists.
Is the trade name the same as a trademark?
No. On the UAE mainland the economic department registers the trade name. The Ministry of Economy and Tourism registers the trademark.
Sources
Checked against these official pages. This is general information, not legal advice. The Commercial Register Law text on the Bureau of Experts site did not load from this network, so the Saudi points follow the Ministry of Commerce announcements only.
- Ministry of Commerce, the Commercial Register and Trade Names laws in force from 3 April 2025https://mc.gov.sa/ar/mediacenter/News/Pages/03-04-25-01.aspx
- Ministry of Commerce, Cabinet approval of the two lawshttps://mc.gov.sa/ar/mediacenter/News/Pages/17-09-24-01.aspx
- Ministry of Commerce, five differences from the previous commercial-register lawhttps://mc.gov.sa/ar/mediacenter/News/Pages/17-09-24-02.aspx
- UAE government portal (u.ae), National Economic Registerhttps://u.ae/en/information-and-services/business/important-digital-services/national-economic-register
- UAE government portal (u.ae), steps to start a business on the mainlandhttps://u.ae/en/information-and-services/business/Doing-business/doing-business-on-the-mainland/steps-to-start-a-business-on-the-mainland