Promissory Note Validity Period in Saudi Arabia: 3-Year Rule

In your desk drawer there is a promissory note for SAR 50,000 that fell due almost three years ago. Every time you call the debtor, he promises to pay "next month". Then you read that "a promissory note expires after three years". The debtor read the same sentence and relaxed.

The short answer is more precise: the holder's claim against the maker of the note is not heard after three years from the due date. But the debt for which the note was written does not disappear automatically, and claims against endorsers have shorter periods.

Enforcement today is governed by the Enforcement Law of 1433H. The new Enforcement Law published on 14/11/1447H (1 May 2026) comes into force 180 days after publication, in late October 2026. It adds a new time limit for accepting enforcement requests, explained below.

Does the debt expire when the period passes?

The law does not say the debt expires. Article 84 of the Commercial Papers Law uses the words "the claim shall not be heard", and it starts with an important qualification: "without prejudice to the holder's rights arising from the original relationship with the person from whom he received" the paper. So the period closes the route of a claim based on the commercial paper itself. It does not erase the loan or the sale price for which the note was written.

The Civil Transactions Law confirms this in Article 295: a right does not end with the passage of time, but a claim for it is not heard against a party who denies it after ten years, unless a provision sets a different period. Article 297 sets shorter periods for certain rights, including one year for merchants' claims for goods and services supplied to people who do not trade in them. So pay attention to the nature of the original deal.

What is the limitation period for a promissory note in Saudi Arabia?

Article 84 was written for bills of exchange and applies to promissory notes through Article 89. Because Article 90 makes the maker of a note liable like the acceptor of a bill of exchange, the periods are:

Note that the claim against the maker starts from the due date, not from the date the note was written. If the note is payable on sight, its due date is linked to its presentation, which needs a separate calculation.

What stops or interrupts the period?

Article 85 sets three cases. If a lawsuit is filed, the period runs only from the day of the last step in that lawsuit. If a judgment is issued for the debt, or the debtor acknowledges the debt in a separate document in a way that renews the debt, these periods do not run at all.

Article 86 adds a practical limit: interruption only works against the person the step was taken against. Your lawsuit against the maker does not automatically protect your right against an endorser or guarantor you did not sue.

Phone calls and verbal promises are not an acknowledgement in a separate document. If the debtor wants more time, ask for a signed written acknowledgement of the debt and its amount.

A note was issued on 1 January 2022, with a due date of 1 January 2024.

The holder's claim on the note against the maker is not heard after about 1 January 2027, three years from the due date, not from the date of issue.

If the debtor signs a separate acknowledgement of the debt in 2026 that renews the debt, Article 85 stops this period from running.

Even if the period passes without an acknowledgement, the creditor can still look at claiming the original loan under the Civil Transactions Law.

What changes under the new Enforcement Law?

Article 11 of the new law provides that, without prejudice to other relevant legal provisions, an enforcement request is not accepted for an executive instrument (a document enforceable directly at the Enforcement Court) whose due date passed more than ten years ago. This is a time limit for accepting enforcement requests, and the text itself preserves the rules of other laws. So do not assume the ten years cancel or extend the Article 84 periods for commercial papers.

The new law also requires a promissory note to be registered on the national electronic platforms to be an executive instrument (Article 7). As an exception, paper promissory notes issued before the law takes effect and meeting their conditions remain executive instruments for one year after it takes effect, even if not registered (Royal Decree M/237, Clause Five). A creditor holding an old paper note must act within that year, and before the Article 84 period ends.

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 creditor:

• Put in your calendar the due date of each note and the date three years after it.
• If the debtor asks for more time, get a separate written acknowledgement of the debt and its amount.
• Do not wait until the last months. File the enforcement request or the lawsuit early.
• If the note has endorsers or a guarantor, remember their periods are shorter, and a step against one does not protect your right against the others.
• Keep evidence of the original deal. It is your route if the note's period passes.

If you are the debtor:

• Count the period from the written due date, not from the date of issue.
• A time bar is a defence you must raise yourself before the court. Article 306 of the Civil Transactions Law does not allow the court to apply it on its own initiative for the rights it governs.
• Be aware that any paper in which you acknowledge the debt may stop the period from running.
• Remember that the end of the note's period does not necessarily end a claim for the original debt.

If you have an old note and want to know where its period stands today, send us a photo of it and the dates of any payment or message on WhatsApp and we can calculate it with you.