Arabic-to-English Company Power of Attorney Translation

What a Saudi Company Power of Attorney Contains

A Saudi commercial power of attorney (wakāla) is a formal legal instrument through which a company authorises an individual to act on its behalf. It typically identifies the grantor company by its commercial registration number, legal form, and address, then names the attorney-in-fact and specifies the scope of delegated authority. Common powers include signing contracts, managing bank accounts, representing the firm before ministries such as the Ministry of Commerce or the General Authority of Zakat, Tax and Customs, and handling employee matters with the Ministry of Human Resources. The document bears the company’s seal, the signatures of authorised signatories, and often an endorsement from the local chamber of commerce.

Common Arabic Terms in a Commercial Power of Attorney

Arabic commercial powers of attorney use a standardised legal vocabulary. The table below lists terms frequently encountered, with their romanised pronunciation and English equivalents.

Arabic term	Roman transliteration	English meaning
وكالة	wakāla	power of attorney, proxy
صلاحية	ṣalāḥiyya	authorisation, authority
إدارة الشركة	idārat al-sharika	company management
توقيع العقود	tawqīʿ al-ʿuqūd	contract signing
فتح حساب مصرفي	fatḥ ḥisāb maṣrifī	bank account opening
ممثل تجاري	mumaththil tijārī	commercial representative
السجل التجاري	al-sijill al-tijārī	commercial registration
غرفة التجارة	ghurfat al-tijāra	chamber of commerce
وزارة التجارة	wizārat al-tijāra	Ministry of Commerce
الهيئة العامة للزكاة والضريبة والجمارك	al-hayʾa al-ʿāmma lil-zakāh wa-l-ḍarība wa-l-jamārik	Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA)
وزارة الموارد البشرية	wizārat al-mawārid al-bashariyya	Ministry of Human Resources
سندات / مستندات	sanadāt / mustanadāt	documents, instruments

Why Companies Translate This Arabic Power of Attorney

Businesses routinely need an English translation of a Saudi company power of attorney when dealing with banks, regulators, or partners outside the Arab world. Common scenarios include opening a corporate bank account abroad, appointing a local representative for a foreign branch, participating in international tenders, or filing documents with an overseas company registry. An English version is often a prerequisite before any official use in an English-speaking jurisdiction, and having it ready accelerates compliance checks without waiting for a certified translator’s availability.

Where an AI Translation Helps, and When a Certified Translation Is Required

Lekhak’s AI translation delivers a prompt, accurate English draft that is perfectly suited for internal review, legal due diligence, or preparing a brief for counsel. It lets company officers understand the full scope of authority long before a human-certified version is commissioned. However, for formal submission to a foreign bank, government authority, or court, the receiving institution will almost always demand a certified translation bearing a translator’s signed certificate of accuracy, often accompanied by notarisation and an apostille or embassy legalisation. Lekhak does not offer certified translation; those official processes must be sourced separately through a credentialed provider.

What Lekhak’s AI Translation Produces

When you upload a scanned or photographed Arabic power of attorney, Lekhak’s platform runs the image through OCR, translates the text, and assembles a formatted DOCX file, all in minutes. The output preserves the original document’s structure: headers, table layouts, numbered clauses, and separator lines are kept intact. Company seals and stamps appear as [seal] markers; handwritten notes are rendered to the best of OCR capability. No translator’s certificate, notarisation stamp, or apostille is included. The file is a clean English working document ready for on-screen review, printing, or sharing internally.

Notarisation, Apostille, and Embassy Attestation for a Saudi Power of Attorney

Taking a Saudi power of attorney abroad usually involves a chain of formal authentications. The original Arabic document is first notarised within Saudi Arabia, then attested by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If the destination country is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, a single apostille from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs may suffice; otherwise, further legalisation by the destination country’s embassy in Saudi is required. The English translation itself may also need certification, notarisation, and apostille or embassy attestation. These are separate, regulated processes that Lekhak does not provide. Users must arrange them independently through a Saudi notary, a licensed translation agency, or an attestation service.

How Power of Attorney Requirements Vary Across the GCC

Although Gulf Cooperation Council states share broad legal traditions, the specifics of commercial powers of attorney differ. In the UAE, a notarised power of attorney often requires Arabic–English bilingual drafting and attestation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Qatar mandates a similar chain, with additional chamber-of-commerce endorsement for corporate documents. Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain each have their own notarisation and legalisation pathways. A Saudi power of attorney, uniquely, may require prior authentication by the local chamber of commerce before notarisation, a step less common elsewhere in the region. An English translation must comply with the destination’s own certified-translation rules, which vary country by country.

How to Obtain a Duplicate of the Original Power of Attorney

If the original Arabic power of attorney is lost or damaged, the issuing company can request a duplicate through the Saudi Ministry of Justice’s Najiz portal or directly from the notary office that prepared it. The company’s authorised signatories must verify their identity using the Absher platform or attend in person. A duplicate carries the same legal force as the original, but the process sits entirely outside Lekhak’s translation platform. Our AI translation can work from a clear scan of the duplicate once it is obtained.

FAQ

Is Lekhak’s translation of a Saudi power of attorney legally valid?

Lekhak’s translation is an AI-generated working document, not a certified translation. It is useful for internal review, reference, and drafting, but most official bodies will require a certified human translation with a translator’s signed certificate.

How fast is the AI translation?

Translation is completed in minutes after upload. The platform processes the file immediately, and the finished DOCX is available for download as soon as the AI finishes structuring the output.

Does the translation include the company’s commercial registration number?

Yes. All printed details in the original Arabic document, including commercial registration numbers, dates, and ministry references, are transcribed and translated. Personal identifiers such as shareholder names are systematically redacted to maintain privacy.

Can I use this translation to open a corporate bank account abroad?

Most international banks require a certified translation bearing a translator’s certificate, not an AI-generated version. Lekhak’s output can serve as a preparatory draft, but you will likely need to engage a certified translator for the final submission.

What happens if the original contains a seal or stamp?

Seals and stamps are flagged in the DOCX as [seal] markers. The surrounding text is translated normally, ensuring that the document’s content is fully intelligible while clearly indicating where official impressions appear.

Do I need a certified translation for Saudi government agencies?

When dealing with Saudi authorities, the original Arabic document is usually sufficient. If a translation is required by a Saudi entity, it must generally be a certified translation prepared by a licensed translator in Saudi Arabia; Lekhak’s AI output would not meet that standard.

What is the difference between this AI translation and a certified translation?

A certified translation includes a signed statement from a human translator attesting to its accuracy and completeness, and it may be notarised. Lekhak’s AI translation provides a faithful English rendition but carries no translator’s certificate or notarisation.

Does Lekhak provide notarisation or apostille?

No. Lekhak does not offer notarisation, apostille, embassy attestation, or any certified-translation service. These must be arranged separately through the appropriate authorities or licensed professionals.

Can I get a duplicate of the original Arabic power of attorney through Lekhak?

Lekhak cannot issue duplicates of legal documents. The issuing company should request a duplicate through the Saudi Najiz portal or the notary that prepared the original.

How accurate is the AI translation with complex legal phrasing?

The AI is trained on a large corpus that includes legal Arabic and produces highly reliable translations for standard clauses. For highly unusual language or poor image quality, occasional minor phrasing adjustments may be needed; the translation is ideal as a first draft or comprehension tool.

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