Under Ministerial Decision No. 13 of 2026, issued by the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Bahrain has introduced a temporary measure allowing certain supporting documents and powers of attorney to be filed without legalisation/authentication at the outset in industrial property matters.

The Decision, which took effect on 17 March 2026, was issued in light of the current exceptional circumstances in the region and the resulting difficulty in completing notarisation, authentication and legalisation formalities across countries in the region.

Key points include the following:

• Applicants, rights holders and industrial property agents may submit supporting documents and/or powers of attorney without prior legalisation/authentication, provided the reasons for the delay are stated;
• The required legalised/authenticated documents must then be completed within three months from the date of the extension request, or from the expiry of the permitted filing period, as applicable;
• If the required documents are not submitted within the applicable deadline, the application will be treated as if not filed;
• The measure extends to trade marks, patents, utility models, and industrial designs;
• The measure applies to applications that have not yet undergone formal examination, as well as applications that have already undergone formal examination but are still missing the required legalised/authenticated documents and/or powers of attorney; and
• The measure will remain in force for three months from its effective date.