It is the statutory process of creating a recognised commercial entity: choosing the legal form, obtaining the commercial register, drafting the articles of association, and completing the required registrations with the competent authorities. Mistakes at this stage — particularly in the articles — are what later turn into expensive shareholder disputes.
We advise on the legal form best suited to your activity, draft the articles of association and the shareholders' agreement setting out shares, authority, decision-making and exit mechanics, handle commercial register and statutory registrations, and amend existing articles when partners join or leave.
Limited Liability Company · Single-person company · Closed joint stock company · General partnerships · Sole establishments · Branches of foreign companies · Professional companies · Converting a sole establishment into a company.
You need one if you are forming with a partner (this is precisely where the articles protect you in a future dispute), if the activity requires special licensing, if a partner is non-Saudi, or if you are amending existing articles or removing a partner. Fast electronic incorporation does not give you a robust partnership agreement.
Formation is handled through the Ministry of Commerce and the commercial register, with registrations at ZATCA, GOSI, and the authority licensing your activity. Subsequent disputes between partners are heard before the Commercial Court.
We start with your activity, ownership structure, and future plans, because the right legal form depends on those rather than on whichever procedure is quickest. We then draft articles and a shareholders' agreement with clear provisions on decisions, profits and exit, and follow the process through to issuance of the register. See also commercial law services for disputes that arise later.
Most of the shareholder disputes we later litigate could have been avoided by two or three clauses in the articles. We write those while you are still agreeing rather than arguing — far cheaper and easier than litigating years afterwards.
It depends on the activity, the investor's nationality, and the licence type; some activities permit full foreign ownership through an investment licence, others require a local partner.
A sole establishment does not separate the owner's liability from the business, whereas an LLC limits a partner's liability to their shareholding — a difference that surfaces on default or a major claim.
Yes, to admit or remove a partner, change shareholdings, or change the activity, through a statutory procedure requiring partner approval as set out in the articles.
The general statutory provisions apply, and they may not reflect what you actually agreed — which is where most disputes over management, profit distribution and exit begin.
Send us your case details on WhatsApp and we will set out the right route and the expected fees before any commitment.
