The Umm Al-Qura newspaper (the official gazette) announced the issuance of the regulations for practicing franchise brokerage activities, in 12 articles, which are as follows:
Article One:
Definitions
Taking into account the provisions of Article (1) of the Commercial Franchise Law issued by Royal Decree No. (M/22) dated 9/2/1441H, and its Executive Regulations issued by the Minister of Commerce Decision No. (00591) dated 18/9/1441H, the following words and terms - wherever mentioned in these controls - mean the meanings indicated before each of them - unless the context requires otherwise:

Ministry: Ministry of Commerce.
Enterprises: The General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises.
Controls: Controls for practicing franchise brokerage activities.
Center: The Center for Commercial Franchises established by Cabinet Decision No. (122) dated 9/2/1441 AH.
Mediation Agreement: An agreement in which the parties agree to appoint one of them to perform mediation activities.
Mediator: Franchise mediator.
Mediation: Franchise mediation activities between franchisor and franchisee for a fee or commission agreed upon with one of the parties, including but not limited to brand marketing, consideration of franchise offers, negotiation, and matchmaking.
Client: A current or prospective recipient of brokerage services.
License: License to practice franchise brokerage activities.
Article II:
Objectives
The controls aim to regulate the practice of franchise brokerage activities in accordance with the Franchise Law and its Executive Regulations and the relevant rules and instructions.
Article III:
Scope
1- The controls apply to all intermediaries, whether natural or legal persons.
2- Franchise brokerage activities may only be practiced after obtaining a license from the Center.
Article Four:
Registration of Brokers
1- The Center shall establish a register to register brokers, and the Center may entrust the tasks of preparing, maintaining and updating this register to the entity specified by it.
2- Without prejudice to what is stated in paragraph (1) of this Article, the expiration, revocation or approval of the termination or temporary suspension of the license shall result in removing the name of the broker from the register of brokers.
Article Five:
Tasks of the Center
In order to implement the provisions of the controls, the Center - in cooperation with the relevant authorities - works on a number of tasks, including but not limited to:
1- Preparing, developing, and adopting training curricula for franchise mediation.
2- Holding or supervising the necessary training courses to qualify brokers.
3- Monitoring and supervising the implementation of the provisions of the franchise mediation controls and receiving complaints of beneficiaries against brokers.
4- Preparing programs and mechanisms to motivate intermediaries.
5- Issuing a guide for licensing procedures.
Article Six:
License application
1- To obtain a license, the following requirements and conditions are required:
A- Filling the form prepared for the license application on the Center's website or the channels allocated to receive license applications.
B- The license applicant must have full eligibility.
C- The license applicant must pass the qualification program approved by the Center.
d- The license applicant must be of good conduct and not sentenced to a limit or penalty in a crime against honor or honesty unless he has been rehabilitated.
e- Paying the financial fee prescribed for the license.
f- The address of the license applicant must be registered in the national address service provided by Saudi Post.
2- Exceptions to the requirement to pass the above-mentioned qualification program are those who have specialized experience in commercial franchising (as a grantor/grantee), provided that this specialized experience is accredited and documented by the entity determined by the Center with a minimum of three commercial franchises and the duration of practice is not less than one year for each commercial franchise.
3- The Center shall consider the license application within a period not exceeding (fifteen) working days from the date of completion of the application, and decide either to approve the application, or rejection with reasons, and in all cases must inform the applicant of the Center's conclusion.
4- Without prejudice to what is stated in paragraph (1) of this Article, the Center, in cooperation with the relevant authorities, may establish the necessary controls for the equivalence of experiences and qualification programs specialized in mediation, obtained by persons from international organizations or bodies.
Article Seven:
Duration of License
The Center grants the license for (three) years and may renew the license for a similar period or periods in accordance with the provisions of Article (Eight) of the Rules.
Article Eight:
Renewal of License
1- Application for renewal of the license shall be submitted not less than (ninety) days before its expiry.
2- Renewal of the license shall require the following:
A- Continued applicability of the license requirements mentioned in Article (Six) of the Regulations.
B- Providing proof of practicing brokerage activities.
Article Nine:
Request to terminate the license
1- The licensee may submit a request to terminate the license according to the following conditions:
A- The request must be submitted at least sixty (60) days before the date set for termination with a statement of the reasons.
B- Prior to submitting the request, he must terminate all works, rights and obligations resulting from its submission.
2- The broker may not submit a request to terminate the license if there is an existing complaint against him.
3- In all cases, the broker is not entitled to refund the financial consideration for the license.
Article Ten:
Broker Obligations
The broker is obligated to:
1- Practice brokerage activities in accordance with the relevant laws, regulations and instructions.
2- Maintain records in which his business, its description, the duration of the brokerage agreement, the method of amendment and its geographical scope are recorded.
3- Indicate the license number and date on all papers, correspondence and official documents issued by him.
4- Attend such training programs as determined by the Center - in coordination with the relevant authorities - of training programs.
5- Maintain the privacy and confidentiality of customer information.
6- Develop a mechanism to deal with customer complaints as issued by the Center.
7- Allocate an independent bank account that is clearly separated from its other accounts and designated as a franchise brokerage account in which it deposits the commission it receives from the brokerage.
8- Ensure the safety of customer funds and develop written internal procedures governing the handling of customer funds.
9- Provide the Center with any data or documents it requests, and notify it of any material change to its data within (thirty) days from the date of the change.Article Eleven:

Temporary suspension from the practice of brokerage business
1- The licensee may submit a request for temporary suspension from the practice of brokerage activities, subject to the provisions of Article (Tenth) of these controls.
2- The period of temporary suspension may not exceed half of the license period.
3- The broker must notify the Center of the brokerage business he practices that will be affected by the suspension period, and the procedures that will be taken to preserve customer rights, thirty days before the date of his suspension.
4- The broker is prohibited from practicing any of the brokerage activities after approving the temporary suspension request.
Article Twelve:
Relationship of the Center with the commercial broker
The Center's license does not constitute a contractual relationship, partnership or any kind of direct or indirect business relationship between the Center and brokers or their dealers.
Article Thirteen:
Classification and Evaluation
The Center may prepare a classification of brokers and evaluate them, and for this purpose, it may survey the opinion of the beneficiaries of mediation services, and publish this on the Center's website or any other means it deems appropriate.<The Center, in coordination with the Ministry, shall undertake the task of inspection, control and periodic follow-up on mediators to ensure their compliance with the provisions of the regulations, and the Center, in agreement with the Ministry, may entrust the task of inspection, control and periodic follow-up to the entity agreed upon.
Article Fifteen:
Violations
1- If the broker violates any of the provisions of the controls, the Center may impose any of the following sanctions:
A- Warning.
B- Suspending the license for a period not exceeding (six) months.
C- Revocation of the license.
2- The Center's imposition of any of the above sanctions does not prejudice the rights of those affected by the broker's violations to claim compensation before the competent judicial authorities.
Article Sixteen:
Grievances
The concerned party has the right to appeal to the Governor of Monshaat against the decisions taken by the Center against him within (sixty) days from the date of informing him of the decision, and if the Governor's decision is rejected or the period of (sixty) days expires without the Governor issuing his decision, the concerned party has the right to appeal before the competent court within (sixty) days from the date of informing him of it.
Article Seventeen:
Effectiveness of the Controls
The Controls shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall enter into force (ninety) days after the date of publication.