Khaberni - The House of Representatives approved, by a majority of votes, during a session held today, Wednesday, chaired by the council's president, Mazen Al-Qadi, and attended by members of the government team, an amended bill for the Traffic Law for the year 2026.
The representatives agreed on the decision of the joint parliamentary committee (legal and public services) regarding the first article of the bill, where it was approved: "after adding the phrase (after thirty days) after the phrase (and it shall become effective)".
This article states: "This law is to be named (Amended Traffic Law for the year 2026) and shall be read together with Law No. (49) of 2008 referred to hereinafter as 'the original law', and any amendments thereto, as one law, and shall become effective from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette".
Regarding the second article of the amended bill, the representatives endorsed the decision of the joint parliamentary committee regarding paragraph (c) of the second item, which included "approval and considering it as text for item (1) and adding an item numbered (2) to it with the following text: Transactions that are conducted by means other than electronic means remain valid and correct without the requirement to deposit the price in the account referred to in item (1) of this paragraph unless the parties agree otherwise".
The second article, as stated in the amended bill, states: "Amend article (7) of the original law as follows: Firstly - by considering what is mentioned in paragraph (a) thereof as item (1) and adding item (2) to it with the following text: 2- For the purposes of item (1) of this paragraph, electronic communication means, visual and auditory communication means, and electronic signature may be used to perform the duties of the notary prescribed in this article. Secondly: by adding paragraph (c) to it with the following text: c - It shall not be permissible to register or certify vehicle ownership transfers and other legal transactions related to them unless the price is paid through a vehicle price assurance account to be established under a system issued for this purpose, with the procedures for deposit and disbursement mechanisms and exceptions to paying the price through the account being specified.
The seventh article, as stated in the original law, provides: 'a. Notwithstanding any other law, officers and non-commissioned officers holding a bachelor's degree in law working in the Licensing Department shall perform the duties of a notary when they undertake the authority to organize and authenticate contracts related to vehicles, including contracts for their ownership transfer, mortgage, mortgage release, and issuing special powers of attorney for their sale and use, taking necessary pledges and other legal transactions related to them, hearing and recording the declarations and statements of the parties involved, and authenticating their signatures on them, in accordance with the norms and procedures applied by the notary in organizing and authenticating contracts. b. The director of the Licensing Department has the approval to transfer the officer in charge of the transactions mentioned in paragraph (a) of this article outside the Licensing Department against special fees for that. c. Transactions of vehicle ownership transfer, and mortgage and other legal transactions related to them are considered void unless they are registered and authenticated in the Licensing Department.
The representatives also agreed on the decision of the joint parliamentary committee regarding the amendments made to the third article of the bill.
Regarding the first item in this article, the parliamentary committee decided "approval after deleting the phrase (6 months) and replacing it with the phrase (12 months) and deleting the phrase (announcing that by means of two local daily newspapers) and replacing it with the phrase (notifying its owner thereof) ".
The committee also amended the second item in paragraph (c), deciding "approval after rephrasing it to become as follows: No disbursement from the sold vehicle's price, according to the provisions of item (1) of this paragraph, to the rights-holders thereon shall be done except by judicial decisions that have acquired finality, and the rest of the vehicle's price should be transferred to its owner".
The third article, as stated in the amended bill, states: "Modify article (49) of the original law as follows: Firstly - by canceling the phrase (24 months) mentioned in paragraph (a) thereof and replacing it with the phrase (6 months). Secondly - by adding paragraph (c) to it with the following text: c-1- Notwithstanding what is stated in article (9) of this law, the provisions of this article apply to vehicles that have a lien preventing their ownership transfer, and upon the sale of the vehicle, it is purged of lien rights, insurance, mortgage, and seizure, and these rights transfer to the price, with the special laws being observed in this regard. 2- No disbursement from the sold vehicle's price, according to the provisions of item (1) of this paragraph, to the owner or the rights-holders thereon shall be done except by judicial decisions that have acquired finality.
Meanwhile, the forty-ninth article, as stated in the original law, provides: 'a- The director may establish a committee composed of representatives from the directorate, the Ministry of Finance, the Audit Bureau, and any other relevant entity for the sale of seized vehicles at public auction in the event the owners do not review, claim, receive, or relinquish them to the benefit of the Treasury after a period of (24) months from the date of their seizure, provided that such sale is announced by two local daily newspapers unless there are cases pending before the judiciary regarding those vehicles, and the bases and conditions of this sale and the committee's working mechanism are to be determined by instructions issued by the minister for this purpose. b- The proceeds from the vehicles sold in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a) of this article are to be kept in custody after fulfilling the fees, fines, shelter costs, and sales expenses due on them, to become property of the Treasury after five years from the date of their sale without being claimed".
The House of Representatives agreed, on March 30, 2026, to transfer the amended bill of the law to the joint parliamentary committee (legal and public services), which in turn approved it on April 13, 2026, with some modifications.
The "amended traffic", which was approved by the Council of Ministers during a meeting held on March 11, 2026, aims to enable citizens to conduct all transactions related to the sale and purchase of vehicles, including receiving their prices, using electronic means, and implementing remote transactions and adopting the electronic signature to complete transactions.
For this purpose, the electronic signature will be adopted by the notary in transactions related to the sale and purchase of vehicles; enabling the completion of the sale process without physical presence in front of the notary, through the approval of the use of electronic communication means, visual and audible communication means, and the electronic signature, in the notary transactions conducted by the officers and non-commissioned officers working in the Licensing Department.
To ensure the completion of the sale and purchase of vehicles electronically, and to preserve the rights of their owners, the system mandates that the buyer deposit the vehicle's price into a special account in the Licensing Department to assure vehicle prices, which will be established for this purpose, with the amount being transferred to the seller's account upon the completion of the sale.
To carry out the sale and purchase of vehicles through various financing institutions, a special regulation will be issued to regulate this process, according to the new electronic sale and purchase mechanism.
With the adoption of these procedures, all procedures related to the sale and purchase of vehicles will be completed electronically without the need to review the drivers and vehicles licensing departments.
The amendments to the bill also give the relevant authorities the authority to sell vehicles in impound yards within one year instead of two years, in case the owners do not review to rectify their conditions, and given the depreciation of these vehicles due to the length of time they are held without settling their conditions, all while preserving the rights of the mortgaged creditor or the impounding entity.
