Cheque Bounce in Saudi Arabia: Penalty and How to Get Paid

You presented a cheque at the bank branch on Sunday morning. A few minutes later the teller returned it with a slip: “insufficient funds”. The amount is SAR 25,000, and the drawer (the person who wrote the cheque) does not answer your calls. You now have two separate paths: collecting your money, and reporting a crime if its elements exist. Many people mix them up. The payee thinks a criminal penalty will bring back the money, and the drawer thinks late payment erases everything.

The correct picture: if the drawer acted in bad faith, the penalty under Article 118 of the Commercial Papers Law can reach three years in prison and a fine of SAR 50,000. Your money, however, is recovered by filing an enforcement request for the cheque directly at the Enforcement Court, without filing a lawsuit.

Today, enforcement is governed by the Enforcement Law of 1433H (2012). The new Enforcement Law, published on 14/11/1447H (1 May 2026), comes into force 180 days after publication, around late October 2026, and the cheque remains an executive instrument (sanad tanfidhi, a document that can be enforced directly at the Enforcement Court) under it. The criminal penalty is governed by the Commercial Papers Law.

Is a post-dated or “security” cheque payable in Saudi Arabia?

Yes. Article 102 of the Commercial Papers Law makes a cheque payable on sight, and any statement to the contrary is treated as if it was never written. If the cheque is presented before the date written on it as the issue date, it must be paid on the day it is presented. So writing a later date does not turn a cheque into a payment delay tool, and the word “guarantee” or “security” on it does not change its nature.

This does not leave the drawer without any defence. If the drawer agreed with the direct payee, for example that the cheque was given as security for an obligation the drawer did not breach, this is a personal defence the drawer can raise against that payee. But if the cheque was endorsed to another holder, these defences cannot be used against the new holder unless the holder, when receiving the cheque, intended to harm the drawer (Articles 17 and 117). How this defence is assessed differs from case to case.

When is a bounced cheque a crime in Saudi Arabia?

Article 118, as amended by Royal Decree No. M/45 dated 12/9/1409H, punishes anyone who, in bad faith, does one of the following:

• Writes a cheque with no available funds to cover it, or with funds less than its value.
• Withdraws all or part of the funds after giving the cheque, so the rest does not cover its value.
• Orders the bank not to pay the cheque.
• Deliberately writes or signs the cheque in a way that prevents payment.
• Endorses or hands over a cheque knowing it has no sufficient funds or cannot be paid.
• As payee or holder, receives a cheque knowing there are no sufficient funds for it.

Note two points. First, bad faith is an element of every one of these acts, so a returned cheque alone is not enough for a conviction. Second, the payee himself can be held liable if he knowingly accepted, in bad faith, a cheque with no funds.

What is the penalty for a bounced cheque in Saudi Arabia?

The court may impose both penalties or only one of them. These are maximum limits, and the court decides the penalty in each case.

Article 121 allows the court to order publication of the names of convicted persons, and the judgment sets how the publication is done. Publication is a penalty the court decides. It is not a right of the payee to post on social media; doing that can turn against him as defamation. Article 120 also punishes with a fine of up to SAR 10,000 anyone who issues a cheque without a date or with an incorrect date, or who draws a cheque on a party that is not a bank.

How do you collect the value of a bounced cheque?

First, keep the evidence. Article 108 allows refusal of payment to be proven by a protest, by a statement from the drawee bank showing the day of presentation, or by a statement from a recognised clearing house. The statement must be dated, written on the cheque itself and signed by its issuer. Article 109 requires the refusal to be proven before the presentation period ends, which is one month for a cheque drawn and payable in the Kingdom (Article 103). Keep the original cheque.

Second, file an enforcement request. A cheque is a commercial paper, and commercial papers are executive instruments under Article 9 of the Enforcement Law, so you do not need a lawsuit to prove the debt. The request is filed through Najiz (the Ministry of Justice e-services portal). The drawer is notified of the enforcement order. If five days pass after notification and he has not paid or disclosed enough assets, Article 46 treats him as a defaulting debtor, and the enforcement judge immediately orders:

1. A travel ban.
2. A stop on issuing powers of attorney from him for financial matters.
3. Disclosure of his current assets and any assets he receives in the future up to the debt, and their seizure and sale.
4. Disclosure of his commercial and professional licences and registrations.
5. Notification of the credit information company (such as SIMAH, the Saudi credit bureau) of non-payment.

Depending on the case, the judge may also take stronger measures, including banning government bodies and financial institutions from dealing with him, and imprisonment in accordance with the law.

If the drawer files an enforcement dispute, the general rule is that the dispute does not stop enforcement unless the court decides to stop it (paragraph 6/6 of the Implementing Regulations). For a cheque dispute specifically, paragraph 6/7 requires the debtor to deposit the cheque value in the Enforcement Court's account to stop enforcement, unless the court decides otherwise.

The two paths are independent. The criminal fine goes to the state, not to you. Enforcement is what brings your money back.

A cheque for SAR 25,000 was returned for insufficient funds, and the payee got the bank's statement written on the cheque.

Two weeks later, the drawer transferred SAR 10,000 and wrote that it was for the cheque.

The balance the payee claims in enforcement is SAR 15,000.

The criminal side is assessed by the investigation authority and the court; paying part of the amount does not settle it on its own.

What changes with the new Enforcement Law?

• Cheques are executive instruments under a separate item, without the electronic registration condition that applies to promissory notes and bills of exchange (Article 7).
• An enforcement request is not accepted on an instrument more than ten years past its due date (Article 11), so do not delay presenting the cheque.
• After five working days from notification without payment, compulsory enforcement starts immediately: notifying credit information companies, and seizing the drawer's assets and any future assets, including amounts due to him from public bodies. The court may also impose a daily fine of up to SAR 5,000, within a cap set by the regulations, paid to the state treasury. If the drawer provides a bank guarantee sufficient to pay, he gets ten extra working days (Article 18).
• A travel ban is no longer automatic. It is issued at the request of the creditor, for up to three years, and can be extended by a new request up to six years (Article 19).
• Imprisonment to force the debtor appears in the chapter on direct enforcement (performing or refraining from an act), not in enforcement against money (Article 37).
• Hiding assets or deliberately refusing to comply with an enforcement order is a crime punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of up to SAR 1 million, or one of them (Article 50).
• Procedural details are set by the Implementing Regulations, which the Minister of Justice issues within 180 days of the law's issuance and which apply from the date the law comes into force (Article 64).

This is general information based on the official Arabic texts of Saudi laws, which prevail over any translation. It is not legal advice for your specific case.

Practical solutions for both sides

If you are the payee:

• Present the cheque within one month of its date, and ask for the refusal statement to be written on the cheque itself.
• Keep the original cheque, the contract and any messages from the drawer.
• File an enforcement request to collect the money, and keep the criminal report for cases with clear bad faith.
• Do not accept a replacement cheque or a verbal promise without a written payment schedule, and deduct any payment you receive from your claim.
• Once the new law is in force, ask expressly for a travel ban on the drawer if you think it is needed.

If you are the drawer:

• Check the reason for the refusal immediately; it may be a banking error you can prove.
• If the amount is due, pay quickly or sign a written settlement that records what you paid.
• If the cheque was security for a contract you did not breach, collect the contract and messages that prove it.
• Do not issue a new cheque you know has no funds to cover the first one; that is a new crime.
• If you receive an enforcement order, watch the five-day period. If you dispute it, be ready to deposit the cheque value to ask for a stay. Under the new law the period is counted in working days, and a bank guarantee gives you ten extra working days.

If a cheque bounced on you, or you received an enforcement notice based on a cheque, send us a copy of it and the bank statement on WhatsApp and we will explain the right next step.