Kuwait's New Notarization Regime: Remote Deeds, Private Notaries and a Five-Year Clock on Powers of Attorney

With Decision No. 590 of 2026, issued on 28 July 2026, the Minister of Justice has replaced the executive regulations of the Notarization Law No. 10 of 2020 in their entirety. The new Regulations give operational detail to the reforms introduced by Decree-Law No. 147 of 2025: notarization without physical attendance, a licensed private notary profession, and fixed validity periods for notarized powers of attorney. They repeal Decision No. 348 of 2021 and apply from the date of issue.

Why this matters

Notarization sits underneath a large share of business activity in Kuwait: company incorporation and amendment contracts, powers of attorney for litigation and transactions, signature attestations and date certifications on private documents. Until now, nearly all of it ran through the Ministry's Notarization Department in person. The Regulations split that single channel into three, each with its own rules on scope, verification and fees, and they attach expiry dates to instruments that many companies treat as permanent.

Remote and automated notarization

Chapter 2 builds the electronic track. A notarization or attestation can be completed in a recorded video session between the notary and the parties, with the deed read out on camera and signed with a protected electronic signature. Identity is verified through the Hawiyati digital ID application, a protected e-signature certificate, or sight of the civil ID or passport during the call (Article 20). Each session is recorded and retained, and the recording may be accessed only at the request of an investigating authority or a court (Article 22). Documents can carry a QR verification code, and fees are the same as for in-person service (Article 23).

A second layer goes further. The special powers of attorney listed in Schedule 1, covering litigation powers without settlement or receipt authority, government transactions, vehicles, utilities, passports and property management, can be issued through a fully automated system with no notary intervention at all; the Department's electronic seal suffices (Article 19). Three groups remain outside the remote channels: persons with a mental disability, persons aged seventy-five or above, and persons under judicial assistance (Article 18). For them, Article 15 preserves in-person service, including visits outside the Department for health cases, those aged sixty-five and above, and detainees.

A licensed private notary profession

Chapter 6 turns the private notary from a statutory concept into a working channel. A private notary may notarize powers of attorney of all kinds except those relating to real-estate ownership or real rights over property, notarize company incorporation, amendment, dissolution and exit contracts, attest signatures, certify dates and notarize revocations (Article 39). The licence conditions are demanding: Kuwaiti nationality, a law degree, ten years of legal experience, prescribed training and examinations (waived for former government notaries of ten years' service), suitable premises and professional indemnity insurance from a Kuwait-licensed insurer with annual cover of at least KD 100,000 (Article 40). Licences run for two renewable years (Article 44), and if the Minister does not decide within the prescribed period the application is deemed rejected (Article 42).

Supervision stays with the Ministry. Private notaries keep Department-approved registers, deliver originals of notarized deeds within a month, collect and remit the official fees, and face inspection and a disciplinary ladder running from warning to striking off (Articles 45, 48 and 57). Schedule 2 fixes their fees: KD 100 for notarizing a company contract, KD 50 for individuals, KD 25 for a power of attorney and KD 20 for attestations, with the official Schedule 3 fees deducted from those amounts and paid to the Department.

Powers of attorney now expire

Article 16 is the provision most likely to catch companies unprepared. A notarized power of attorney is valid for five years from notarization unless a shorter period is agreed. Two categories run for ten years: litigation powers granted to lawyers registered on the roll of practising advocates, and powers prepared for use exclusively outside Kuwait. The deed must state its own expiry date. Standing powers held by group treasury functions, government-relations officers and external counsel should be inventoried now and renewal dates entered into the same systems that track licences and registrations.

Corporate signing discipline

Article 10 restates two rules that transaction teams should take seriously. A power of attorney drawn in general terms confers authority over acts of administration only, and representatives of legal persons must prove their capacity from the incorporation documents or subsequent amendments; informal authorizations and correspondence are not accepted. Self-dealing by an agent requires express authority in the deed itself (Article 11). On the practical side, Article 33 removes the requirement that all parties attend a single attestation sitting: each party may attest separately, including by video, which simplifies closings with signatories in different jurisdictions.

What businesses should do now

The Regulations are in force today, so the sensible first steps are administrative rather than strategic. Inventory notarized powers of attorney across the group and record expiry dates. Align signing matrices and constitutive documents so that every corporate signatory can evidence authority in the form Article 10 requires. Enrol frequent signatories for protected electronic signatures and the Hawiyati ID so the remote track is available when speed matters. Watch for the first private notary licences; once issued, incorporations and amendments gain an alternative to the Department's queue, while real-estate instruments remain with the government channel.

WEFAQ advises clients on notarization strategy for corporate and financing transactions, powers of attorney governance and the new private notary licensing regime, and can audit existing mandates against the validity limits introduced by the Regulations.

Source: Ministry of Justice Decision No. 590 of 2026, dated 28 July 2026; Decree-Law No. 147 of 2025 amending Law No. 10 of 2020 on Notarization.

This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice specific to your circumstances, please contact WEFAQ Law Firm.