In this Code, the following terms shall have the meanings assigned thereto, unless the context requires otherwise:

• 1. Forgery: Any change made deliberately and in bad faith using one of the methods stipulated in this Code to an instrument, seal, mark, or stamp protected by the law, if such change results in physical, moral, or social damage to any natural or corporate person.

• 2. Seal: A tool used to stamp documents for authentication or the imprint made thereby.

• 3. Stamp: An adhesive label, or a similar label produced electronically or printed, that is affixed to an object and is used for purposes of postage or revenue collection.

• 4. Mark: A sign or symbol used by a public entity to convey a certain meaning specifically associated thereto that entails a legal effect, regardless of the type or shape thereof.

• 5. Document: Any document that includes letters or marks conveying a specific meaning, regardless of the form in which it is written or kept, including information technologies.

• 6. Bank Papers: Documents used by banks for deposit, withdrawal, or transfer from their treasuries or accounts, or from a customer’s account, including letters of credit, letters of guarantee, credit cards, and debit cards.

• 7. Historical Document: An old and rare document that includes facts and information about the Kingdom’s history, and has a historical value but no legal authority.

Any of the following shall constitute forgery:

• a) Producing a document, seal, mark, or stamp that is counterfeit, adulterated, or has no original.

• b) Including in any document a seal, signature, fingerprint, mark, or stamp that is counterfeit, adulterated, or has no original.

• c) Including in any document a valid signature or fingerprint obtained through deception.

• d) Changing or altering any document, seal, mark, or stamp, whether by means of addition, deletion, or substitution, or the partial destruction of a document resulting in a change to its content.

• e) Changing a personal photo in a document or replacing the same with a photo of another person.

• f) Including in a document a false incident implying it is true or knowingly omitting an incident from a document that should be otherwise included.

• g) Falsifying the acknowledgment of concerned parties for which a document is executed.

• h) Misusing a blank signature entrusted thereto.

Any person who forges the Seal of the State, the King, the Crown Prince, the Prime Minister or any of his deputies, or the seals of the Royal Court or the Court of the Crown Prince, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term ranging from three years to ten years and a fine not exceeding 1000,000 riyals.

Any person who forges the seal or mark of a public entity or any of its ex officio members, or forges a legally authentic seal or mark in the Kingdom belonging to a public international law entity or any of its ex officio members, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term ranging from one year to seven years and a fine not exceeding 700,000 riyals.

Any person who forges the seal of a nonpublic entity shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years and a fine not exceeding 300,000 riyals, or by either penalty.