The Personal Status Law governs family matters in Saudi Arabia: marriage and its conditions, divorce, khul, annulment, custody and a ward's travel, maintenance, and the division of estates. This page is a general guide within the Personal Status section on Hala Law. It is a general overview — the outcome of any case depends on the documents, the evidence, and the court's assessment.

The governing framework

The core reference is the Personal Status Law issued by Royal Decree M/73 of 2022, supplemented by its Executive Regulations issued in 2025, which add practical detail on matters including custody, proof of harm, and adhl (a guardian preventing marriage). The full statutory text is published by the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers, and the Regulations in the Umm Al-Qura Gazette and on the Ministry of Justice legal portal. The procedural channel for most social-status services — documenting divorce, revocation, and khul, filing statements of claim, and heir determination — is the Ministry of Justice's Najiz platform.

Topic map

| Area | What the law governs | Key articles | | --- | --- | --- | | Marriage | Consent of both spouses, guardianship, witnesses, dowry | 12 to 15, 17 | | Adhl | Court intervention where a guardian blocks a suitable marriage | 20 | | Divorce and documentation | Documentation deadline, wife's compensation, revocation | 90, 91, 92 | | Khul | Separation at the wife's request with the husband's consent, for consideration | 95, 96, 100, 101, 102 | | Annulment | Annulment for harm; two-arbiter route for discord | 108, 109 | | Custody | Definition, custodian conditions, order, forfeiture cases | 124 to 128, 133, 135 | | Ward's travel | Limits on extended travel abroad with the ward | 129 | | Maintenance | Components and assessment criteria | Maintenance provisions | | Estates | Order of rights attached to the estate before division | 198 |

Marriage: consent, guardianship, and dowry

The woman's consent is a condition for a valid marriage contract. Articles 12 to 15 set out the contract's elements and conditions, including the consent of both spouses, the guardian's offer, witnesses, and the recognized formula. Article 17 provides that a guardian — even the father — may not marry off his ward without her consent, and that the contract must record proof of consent.

On adhl: if a guardian, even the father, prevents his ward from marrying a suitable match she has accepted, the court marries the woman upon her request or that of an interested party, and may transfer guardianship to another guardian or authorize a licensed official to conclude the contract, under Article 20 and the related Regulations provisions.

The dowry belongs to the woman alone, and she cannot be compelled to dispose of it.

Routes to ending a marriage

The law provides several distinct routes, depending on the facts:

| Route | Essence | Basis | | --- | --- | --- | | Divorce (talaq) | Pronounced by the husband; must be documented within 15 days of becoming final | Article 90 | | Khul | Separation at the wife's request with the husband's consent for consideration; valid by mutual agreement without a court judgment, but documentation is mandatory | Articles 95, 96, 102 | | Annulment for harm | The court annuls the contract at the wife's request where proven harm makes continued married life untenable | Article 108 | | Separation for discord | Where harm is unproven but discord persists, two arbiters are appointed for no more than 60 days | Article 109 | | Annulment for non-maintenance | An independent statutory route depending on the case facts | Statutory provisions |

In khul, anything that validly counts as property may serve as consideration, but the consideration may never be a waiver of any of the children's rights or their custody (Article 100). If the consideration is the dowry, it is limited to what the wife actually received, and any unpaid balance lapses even if deferred (Article 101). Personal status court cases are exempt from the Judicial Costs Law, except cassation and reconsideration applications.

Documenting divorce and revocation

The husband must document a divorce within 15 days of it becoming final, without prejudice to the wife's right to file a divorce-confirmation case (Article 90). If he fails to and the wife is unaware of the divorce, she is entitled to compensation of no less than the minimum maintenance from the date of the divorce until the date she learns of it (Article 91). Revocation of a revocable divorce must likewise be documented within 15 days of the revocation, where the divorce was documented (Article 92). The steps run electronically through Najiz — see Documenting Divorce on Najiz.

Custody: the order and the best-interest standard

Custody means protecting a person who cannot fend for themselves from harm, raising them, and managing their interests, including education and medical care (Article 124). After separation, the mother comes first, then the father, then the maternal grandmother, then the paternal grandmother, after which the court decides what serves the ward's best interest — and the court may depart from this order based on that interest (Article 127). Old, uncodified rules — such as custody switching at a set age — have no place in the current law.

A custodian must have full legal capacity, the ability to raise, protect, and care for the ward, and be free of serious contagious diseases (Article 125). Article 126 adds gender-specific conditions, including that a female custodian not be married to a man who is a stranger to the ward unless the ward's interest requires otherwise, with specific detail in the 2025 Regulations for children under two.

Custody rights may be forfeited where a condition lapses, where the custodian relocates in a way that defeats the ward's interest, or where the claim is left dormant for more than a year without excuse — unless the ward's interest requires otherwise (Article 128). Forfeiture is not an automatic punitive tool; the court's standard is always the ward's best interest. A mother leaving the marital home over a dispute does not, of itself, forfeit her custody (Article 133). A ward who turns fifteen may choose which parent to live with unless their interest requires otherwise, and custody ends at eighteen, with exceptions for incapacity and illness (Article 135).

Traveling abroad with the ward

The law distinguishes custody from extended travel abroad. A custodial parent may not travel abroad with the ward for more than 90 days per year without the other parent's consent, or the guardian's consent where that parent has died. A non-parent custodian's limit is 30 days per year without the consent of a parent or the guardian (Article 129). In a dispute, the court decides according to the child's interest and the statutory limits.

Maintenance: no fixed percentage

No fixed percentage fits every case. Maintenance covers food, clothing, housing, and basic needs by custom, assessed by the dependent's situation, the provider's means, and economic conditions of time and place. Practical rules in the law include:

  • Spousal maintenance is owed by the husband even if the wife has means of her own, as long as the entitlement conditions stand.
  • Child maintenance falls on the father where the child has no property; a son's maintenance runs until he reaches the point where his peers can earn, and a daughter's until her marriage, subject to exceptions the court assesses.
  • Interim maintenance may be requested while the case is pending, where grounds exist.
  • Increase or reduction may be requested when circumstances change, but such a claim is not heard within one year of the judgment except in exceptional circumstances the court assesses.
  • Ongoing maintenance for the wife, children, and parents ranks as a preferred debt.

The court applies no single table; it weighs the provider's income, the children's needs, housing, education, health, and the family's accustomed standard, with the assessment resting with the trial judge.

Estates: order of rights before division

An estate is what a person leaves at death in property and financial rights. Rights attached to the estate are settled in order before division: reasonable funeral costs, then debts, then the will, then division of the remainder among the heirs (Article 198). Najiz offers an heir determination service issuing a document with the deceased's and heirs' details and their shares, and a consensual estate division service where the heirs agree. In a dispute, the route is generally a statement of claim before the competent court, with careful inventory of assets, debts, and bequests.

When do you need a licensed lawyer?

Family cases are, by nature, cases of facts and evidence: the statutory rule is one, but its application differs from file to file. The matter becomes a specific case calling for a licensed lawyer or accredited advisor when:

  • You need to choose the most suitable route among khul, annulment for harm, annulment for non-maintenance, and separation for discord — the choice turns on the facts and available evidence.
  • The dispute concerns custody, visitation, or travel with the ward — matters the court examines case by case according to the ward's best interest.
  • The claim involves assessing, increasing, or reducing maintenance — a discretionary matter that turns on proving income and needs.
  • An estate is entangled with debts, bequests, or a dispute among heirs.

The information on this page is a general overview, not an assessment of any specific case; the outcome in every case depends on the documents, the evidence, and the court's assessment.