Real Estate Title Digitization Initiative

The Real Estate Title Digitization Initiative is a Saudi initiative aimed at converting paper real estate documents into digital format. It is one of the largest initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Justice in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The initiative involves the cataloging and digitization of over one hundred million paper documents from courts and notary offices into a secure electronic system.

The initiative was launched in 2016, with implementation starting in 2017, focusing on two main pillars: the digitization of real estate documents and the digitization of real estate processes. This initiative is part of the National Transformation Program's targets to achieve Saudi Vision 2030.

The Real Estate Title Digitization works involve scanning real estate documents and converting their data into electronic formats. The digitization process begins with cataloging and collecting the documents, followed by data entry and verification. The documents are then prepared for transfer to central digitization laboratories, 'special headquarters of the Real Estate Digitization Initiative,' where they undergo sterilization and restoration, scanning and archiving, as well as auditing and quality control.

The oldest digitized real estate document within the Real Estate Title Digitization Initiative dates back over one hundred years and measures approximately three m in length. The oldest digitized real estate are primarily found in Makkah al-Mukarramahand al-Madinah al-Munawwarah Provinces.

The Real Estate Title Digitization Initiative aims to strengthen real estate security within the Kingdom, support the development of the local real estate sector, and increase the efficiency of real estate processes to ensure accuracy and speed. Additionally, it seeks to record property ownership for landowners.

The Real Estate Title Digitization Initiative involves archiving all types of real estate records, deeds, and transactions and digitizing them within the Kingdom's courts and notary offices. This is achieved through a comprehensive and secure electronic system that manages real estate assets. The system operates with precise and rapid procedures for executing real estate documentation processes and enhances the performance efficiency of Ministry of Justice personnel by involving them in the digitization of various real estate documents.

Since the launch of the Real Estate Title Digitization Initiative, the Ministry of Justice has digitized approximately 180 million real estate documents as of February 2024. The central digitization laboratories operate around the clock, seven days a week, with productivity gradually increasing to digitize nearly three hundred thousand real estate documents daily.

Once the Ministry of Justice completes the digitization of real estate documents, they are transferred to the central repository for storing digitized documents, an archive building that can accommodate 115,000 m of documents. This building is designed in accordance with the international ISO 11799 standard for archival repositories.

The study on the Real Estate Title Digitization Initiative lasted approximately sixteen months. It aimed to conduct comparative and international studies on the digitization of real estate documents and to identify the best practices for managing and preserving real estate assets. Additionally, a field survey was conducted involving around 250 judicial entities in the Kingdom.