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Electronic Transactions and Trust Services Law · Federal Decree-Law 46 of 2021

Article 9

Chapter Two: Electronic Transactions > Original Document

Not yet lawyer-reviewedText from the official portal, corpus snapshot of 26 October 2026.

English translation

If any legislation in force in the State requires the submission or storage of any document, record, information or message in its original form, this requirement shall be considered met by the Electronic Document in the following cases:

1. If there is technical evidence confirming the integrity of the information contained in the Electronic Document since the time when the document, record or information is created for the first time in its final form as an Electronic Document.

2. If the Electronic Document allows presenting the information required to be submitted whenever requested.

3. If there are any additional conditions related to the submission or storage of Electronic Documents as determined by the Government Authority that supervises the submission or storage of such records or information.

Official translation, as published by the portal.

Official Arabic text

أصل المستند إذا اشترط أي تشريع نافذ في الدولة تقديم أو حفظ أي مستند أو سجل أو معلومات أو رسالة في شكلها الأصلي فيعد هذا الشرط متوفراً في المستند الإلكتروني في الحالات الآتية:

.1 إذا وجد ما يعتد به فنياً لتأكيد سلامة المعلومات الواردة في المستند الإلكتروني منذ الوقت الذي أنشئ فيه المستند أو السجل أو المعلومات للمرة الأولى في شكلها النهائي كمستند إلكتروني.

.2 إذا كان المستند الإلكتروني يسمح بعرض المعلومات المطلوب تقديمها متى طلب ذلك.

.3 إذا كان ملتزماً بأي شروط إضافية ذات صلة بتقديم أو حفظ المستندات الإلكترونية تحددها الجهة الحكومية التي تشرف على تقديم أو حفظ تلك السجلات أو المعلومات.

What it means when you sign

This article deals with the legal requirement that a document be submitted or kept in its original form. Where legislation in force in the State requires a document, record, information or message to be submitted or stored in original form, an electronic document meets that requirement in three cases.

The first is when there is technical evidence confirming the integrity of the information in the electronic document since it was first created in its final form. The second is when the electronic document allows the required information to be presented whenever it is requested. The third is when any additional conditions related to submitting or storing electronic documents, set by the government authority that supervises the submission or storage of such records, are met.

When you are about to sign a contract concluded electronically, this article means an electronic copy can serve as the original if it can be shown that the content has not changed since it was first created, and it can be produced on request. A clause that requires the original to be kept or produced may be satisfied by an electronic document that meets these conditions.

Not yet cited in a Fahm report; shown because it sits in the same chapter as one that is.

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