The terms and phrases listed below, wherever they appear in this Regulation, shall have the meanings indicated next to each, unless the context requires otherwise:
The Ministry: Ministry of Culture.
The Commission: Heritage Commission.
The Council: Board of Directors of the Heritage Commission.
The President: Chief Executive Officer of the Heritage Commission.
The Law: Law of Antiquities, Museums, and Urban Heritage.
Urban Heritage: All that has been constructed by humans, including cities, villages, neighborhoods, and buildings, along with the spaces, facilities, and items that have architectural, historical, scientific, cultural, or national value.
Heritage Building: Any building that has architectural and urban heritage significance and value.
Urban Heritage Site: Any location containing a heritage building or a group of heritage buildings.
Protection Area: The protection area of urban heritage is the specified distance around the boundaries of the urban heritage site.
The Register: Register of Urban Heritage.
Survey: The process of research and field investigation to identify urban heritage sites.
Mapping: All activities of surveying, examining, tracing, describing, and collecting data and information based on reliable sources about urban heritage sites.
Notarization: The compilation and documentation of all data and information obtained for urban heritage sites.
Classification: Determining the degree of importance of a building, urban heritage site, or artifact, or movable asset, according to its historical, cultural, practical, artistic, or national value.
Registration: Inclusion of the urban heritage site in the register according to its importance and classification degree.
The Owner: Any natural or legal person who owns an urban heritage site.
The Holder: Any natural or legal person who has possession of an urban heritage site.
The Contractor: The natural or legal person assigned to carry out works related to urban heritage.
Qualification: A set of works and procedures that can be followed to preserve the heritage site or building and utilize it in accordance with its authenticity.
Code of Urban Heritage Buildings: A set of requirements, standards, and general technical specifications, as well as heritage construction materials and techniques for urban heritage buildings and sites.
Urban Fabric: A collection of features that define the relationship between urban spaces and building masses within the framework of the overall urban form.
Classification of Urban Heritage Works: Determining the degree of the contractor or consulting office in the field of restoring, maintaining, preserving, and rehabilitating heritage buildings.
Fixed Antiquities: Antiquities connected to the land, such as natural caves, or those excavated by humans, rocks that have been painted or engraved with images or inscriptions, burial mounds, stone circles, ruins of cities and villages, visible or buried structures, water structures, ancient trade and pilgrimage routes, cities, villages, traditional neighborhoods, buildings constructed for various purposes, and the ruins of those buildings, along with their architectural elements.
Movable Antiquities: Artifacts originally made to be inherently separate from the land or fixed antiquities, which can be relocated, such as sculptures, coins, writings, jewelry, decorative tools, and heritage items that hold national value in terms of their historical, scientific, aesthetic, artistic, traditional, or ancient usage characteristics.
License: A document issued by the Commission authorizing the licensee, whether a natural or legal person, to carry out the licensed activities.
License Area: The area defined by its landmarks, boundaries, and descriptions in the license granted to the licensee.
The Mission: Any natural or legal person engaged in archaeological surveying or excavation in the Kingdom.
Archaeological Survey: All activities related to exploring archaeological sites and documenting them using various scientific methods, whether on the surface of the earth, underground, or underwater.
Excavation of Antiquities: All activities of digging, searching, and diving conducted according to scientific principles aimed at discovering antiquities beneath the earth, on its surface, in waterways, lakes, or in marine areas under the sovereignty or legal jurisdiction of the Kingdom.
The Excavator: Any natural or legal person qualified scientifically and professionally in the field of archaeological excavation.
Archaeological Study: The scientific and research study conducted by a licensed specialist researcher on archaeological sites through surveying, archaeological excavation, or both, or studying the archaeological material recorded in the antiquities register or in the Commission's repositories.
The Register: Antiquities Register.
Scientific Publication: Publishing scientific reports of fieldwork and publishing research and studies submitted to the Commission regarding antiquities and heritage in the Kingdom.
The Committee: The Committee for considering violations of the provisions of the Law and imposing the penalties contained therein.
Archaeological Models: All that the Commission produces or licenses to produce as replicas of antiquities, whether they conform to the specifications of the original items or differ in some details.
Relevant Authorities: The authorities related to the investment activities of archaeological and heritage sites and the operation of visitor service sites in archaeological and heritage locations.

For the Authority, in order to implement the provisions of the Law, this Regulation, and to supervise their execution, the following actions may be taken:
1- Issuing executive decisions, bulletins, information rules, and necessary circulars.
2- Supervising and monitoring the technical and financial aspects of the activities licensed under the provisions of the Law and this Regulation.
3- Collecting the financial fees for licenses and the fines imposed under the provisions of the Law that fall within its jurisdiction.
4- Determining the necessary procedures to protect the site where the licensed activities are conducted.
5- Determining the procedures, controls, and activities, and preparing the necessary forms to implement the provisions of the Law and this Regulation.
6- Specifying the content, form, and specifications of studies, research, surveys, development, and reports required for the licensed activities.
7- Providing natural and legal persons concerned, and relevant entities with copies of the licenses issued.
8- Inventorying, identifying, classifying, maintaining, and restoring the sites that fall within its jurisdiction.

1- All existing architectural heritage within the borders of the Kingdom, or in the maritime areas subject to its sovereignty or legal jurisdiction, is considered public property of the state, except for what its owners can prove ownership of before the competent authorities, through title deeds or completed establishment of title documents in accordance with legal procedures.
2- The ownership of the site and buildings of the architectural heritage includes all architectural elements and movable property associated with it, unless proven otherwise.
 

The Authority is the competent body for all matters related to urban heritage, and it has, in this regard and in accordance with the provisions of the Law and its regulations, the following responsibilities:
1- Conducting studies, research, surveys, and all necessary statistics to update and complete all data and information related to urban heritage, documenting it, and coordinating with the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives regarding historical content.
2- Conducting necessary studies and research to early detect all natural and unnatural factors that lead to the deterioration or destruction of urban heritage sites or affect them, in order to provide the necessary care and protection for them.
3- Identifying and determining urban heritage sites and buildings, specifying what should be registered among them, and classifying them.
4- Establishing a comprehensive information database for urban heritage in the Kingdom, containing all information and studies related to it, updating it continuously, and making it available to everyone for their benefit.
5- Maintaining, restoring, rehabilitating, utilizing, investing in, protecting, and preserving urban heritage and its protected areas, including its architectural elements, movable antiquities, decorations, or archaeological signs and inscriptions, and developing the necessary plans, programs, and standards for that.
6- Working to provide all necessary services and facilities for urban heritage sites and areas, without prejudice to the competencies of other entities, and in accordance with the legal requirements for coordination with them.
7- Publishing the culture of caring for and preserving urban heritage at both local and international levels through various media, in accordance with the regulations and in coordination with relevant authorities. This includes promoting it in various educational stages, through training and rehabilitation courses, and establishing specialized associations.
8- Organizing seminars, forums, and programs aimed at providing insights into internationally leading experiences in the field of reviving urban heritage and benefiting from their experiences in this regard.
9- Working to develop national technical expertise in the field of urban heritage, whether in the areas of restoration, architectural documentation, and surveying of urban heritage sites, or in the development and rehabilitation of those sites.

1- The Authority shall, after cooperation and coordination with the relevant entities, establish a Heritage Building Code, which includes heritage sites, their restoration, rehabilitation, and identification. This includes specifications, requirements, design guidelines, maintenance and restoration methods, reconstruction methods, specifications of the materials used, their technologies, and the minimum requirements and conditions that ensure safety and public health through the durability, stability, and firmness of buildings and structures, facilitating access to them, providing a healthy environment, adequate lighting and ventilation, rationalizing water and energy use, and protecting lives and properties from fire hazards, earthquakes, and other risks associated with buildings.
2- The existing technical requirements applied by the Authority - or those issued by it - for the restoration, maintenance, renewal, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of heritage buildings and sites shall remain in effect until the Heritage Building Code is approved.

The Authority, in collaboration with relevant entities, shall establish mechanisms and procedures to organize joint work between the Authority and those entities, particularly concerning the following matters:
1- Identifying and designating sites of architectural heritage.
2- Preserving architectural heritage sites when planning urban and rural projects or planning agricultural and industrial areas or oil and mining zones, or when expanding, beautifying, implementing their infrastructure, or developing their facilities or services, and the mechanism for considering their easement rights, including the mechanism for creating an unbuilt protection zone around architectural heritage sites, and determining its regulations and requirements and documenting them within the approved plans.
3- Obtaining the Authority's approval before approving urban planning projects that include or are within the spatial scope of architectural heritage sites.
4- Conditions and procedures for granting building, restoration, demolition, or removal licenses, or for the renovation of classified architectural heritage buildings, neighborhoods, and villages, or for renewing or canceling them.
5- Issuing building or restoration licenses or excavation and utility network extensions in areas adjacent to architectural heritage sites.
6- Defining the regulations and requirements for the protection zone.
7- Providing all necessary services for architectural heritage sites and the facilities required for them, such as water, electricity, gas, and communications, in a manner that does not affect the safety of the heritage buildings.