What Documents Can Be Notarised in the UAE?

Notarisation is the official verification of a document by a UAE notary public — at Dubai Courts, the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department or another emirate court. The notary confirms the identity of signers, witnesses signatures and stamps the document, giving it full legal force. It’s required when you create powers of attorney, affidavits, company documents (like an MOA or board resolution), certain contracts, wills and legal notices that will be used with UAE courts, banks, government bodies or the Land Department.

The main categories are: (1) personal documents — powers of attorney, affidavits, declarations, parental travel consent letters, NOC and sponsorship letters, wills; (2) corporate documents — MOA/AA and amendments, board and shareholder resolutions, commercial contracts, company POAs, share transfers; (3) property documents — property POAs, real-estate declarations and undertakings; and (4) legal documents — legal notices, settlement agreements and signature authentication. Authority-issued certificates (degrees, birth/marriage certificates, police clearances) follow the attestation route instead.

Yes, in most cases. UAE notaries require documents to be in Arabic or bilingual Arabic–English. An English-only document must first be translated by a Ministry of Justice-certified legal translator before the notary will accept it. Elite Legal Translation holds MOJ certification Reg. #328, so we prepare the compliant Arabic or bilingual version — accepted by every notary in the UAE — with express options from 1 hour. Order your certified translation online.

Notarisation verifies identity, signatures and intent — it’s done by a UAE notary public for documents created for use inside the UAE (POAs, MOAs, affidavits, contracts). Attestation verifies that an official document is genuine — a chain of stamps from government authorities such as MOFAIC and embassies, used for authority-issued documents like degrees, birth/marriage certificates and police clearances, especially when they cross borders. Many files need both: attestation first, then a certified Arabic translation, then notarisation of swearer documents.

Generally, documents issued abroad are not notarised by a UAE notary — they go through attestation instead: notarisation/authentication in the home country, then the UAE embassy there, then MOFAIC in the UAE. However, documents signed in the UAE (for example, a POA you sign here for use abroad, or a declaration for a UAE authority) can absolutely be notarised at a UAE notary. Once attested, foreign documents also need a certified Arabic translation for official use. Send us your document and we’ll map the exact route for free.

Yes. The UAE operates e-notary services — Dubai Courts and the ADJD both offer remote notarisation by video call for many eligible document types, including powers of attorney and declarations. You verify your identity, sign digitally and receive an electronically notarised document. We prepare the compliant bilingual document, guide you through the e-notary steps, and flag straight away if your specific document requires a physical appearance instead.

For eligible documents, the notary appointment itself is often same-day. The preparation is where time is won or lost: a certified Arabic translation typically takes 1–3 hours with us (1-hour express available), and correctly drafted bilingual documents avoid repeat visits. In practice, most clients complete the full journey — quote, translation, notarisation, delivery — within 24 hours. Urgent deadlines? WhatsApp us and we’ll fast-track it.

Total cost depends on the document type, the emirate’s official notary fees, page count, whether a certified Arabic translation is needed, and urgency. Rather than guessing, use our secure online portal for an instant, fixed, all-inclusive quote — with the government fee breakdown shown upfront: elitetranslation.ae/notary-services. Prefer to talk first? WhatsApp +971 2 412 0000 for a free quote within minutes.