Partner to partner authority
Power of attorney for business partners in the UAE
One partner signing for another is normal in a shared business, and it is also how people lose control of one. This page covers what to authorise, for how long, and how to take it back.
- Each act named separately
- Arabic drafting and translation
- We attend the appointment
Power of attorney for business partners, in short
A power of attorney for business partners is one partner authorising another person to act for them in a business they hold together. Under UAE law it has to name each act it covers, because an agency written in general terms only allows acts of management.
Governing law
Federal Decree-Law 25/2025, Articles 866 to 903
Special agency
Needed for anything beyond management and preservation
Revocation
The principal may revoke at any time
What UAE law says about scope
Two articles decide how much a partner can actually do with your signature. Article 870 says any act that is not management and preservation needs a special agency that names the act. Article 871 says an agency written in general terms grants acts of management only. So a wide, vaguely worded document is both riskier than it looks and weaker than the holder expects.
Article 870(1), Federal Decree-Law 25/2025
Any act that is not an act of management and preservation requires a special agency specifying the type of act and the dispositions it entails, particularly in donations, sale, settlement, mortgage, acknowledgment, arbitration, administering and accepting an oath, and pleading before the court.
What partners authorise each other to do
Six situations partners ask us about, and where each one sits in the law. Four of them are acts that Article 870 names expressly, which means each has to be written out.
Signing for a partner who travels
One partner is out of the country when a document needs a signature. A written authority naming that document lets the other partner sign in their place.
Routine administration only
Collecting papers, filing forms and handling correspondence. Article 871 treats this as acts of management, so it is the part that a general wording actually covers.
Selling a stake in the business
Sale is one of the acts Article 870 names, so it needs a special agency that identifies the disposition. We usually draft this as a separate, single purpose document.
Settling a dispute on your behalf
Settlement and arbitration are both in the Article 870 list. If a partner is to compromise a claim for you, the document has to say so in terms.
Giving security over an asset
Mortgage is named in Article 870 as well. Authority to mortgage an asset the business owns is a large power and belongs in a document of its own.
Acknowledging a claim
Acknowledgment is in the Article 870 list too. It is one of the powers we most often ask partners to think twice about before it goes into a document at all.
Where these go wrong between partners
The risk is not that a partner is dishonest. It is that a document written wide, with no end date and no plan for taking it back, keeps working long after the reason for it has passed.
- A document drafted to cover everything, signed in a hurry before a trip
- No end date, so the authority outlives the deal it was meant for
- A sub-agency passed on to someone the principal has never met
- Revocation left unwritten, so nobody knows who has to be told
- The same document produced again for a second transaction years later
- A wide authority held by the partner on the other side of a disagreement
A power of attorney for a partnership is not one document
A power of attorney for a partnership is still a set of individual authorities. Each partner who wants to be represented signs their own document, with its own list of acts and its own end date, and each can be revoked on its own. We would not draft one sheet of paper as though a single signature could cover every partner in the business.
A power of attorney between partners is personal. You are the principal, your partner or a third party is the agent, and the authority runs from you, not from the business. That is different from a company authorising someone to act for it, which we cover on our page on company power of attorney in Dubai. If you need both, they are two separate documents.
Our lawyers and legal consultants draft the wording, translate it into Arabic, check the identity documents and attend the appointment with you. The ratification itself happens before a notary public. Before we draft, we ask to see the corporate papers that describe who holds what and who may sign, so the wording matches the arrangement you actually have.
How to keep the authority narrow and reversible
None of this is unusual to ask for. These are the points we raise before drafting a partner authority, and they cost nothing to build in at the drafting stage.
- Name each act. Article 870 asks for the type of act and the dispositions it entails, so write that instead of a catch-all sentence.
- Put an end date in the document. Article 897 extinguishes an agency when the term specified for it expires, and that term is whatever you write.
- Tie it to one transaction where you can. Completion of the work entrusted to the agent is itself an extinction event under Article 897.
- Say whether a sub-agency is allowed. Under Article 903, revoking the main agency revokes every sub-agency derived from it by virtue of law.
- Separate signing paperwork from disposing of an asset. They are different powers and there is no reason for them to share one document.
- Decide now how you would give notice of a revocation. Article 902 turns on whether a litigation agent knew of their dismissal before acting.
How we handle it
Four stages, and you attend the fourth. Timing depends on the notary’s calendar and on whether any document has to come in from abroad.
1
Scope conversation first
We ask what the agent needs to do, and for how long. A wide draft gets cut back to the acts you meant to give, with an end date.
2
Drafting and Arabic translation
We write the wording and produce the Arabic. In Dubai the instrument is in Arabic, and a foreign language version needs a certified translation, with both versions signed.
3
Identity and document check
The notary verifies identity from an ID card, passport or other official document issued by the State, and checks capacity and consent. We make sure nothing is missing first.
4
Ratification before a notary public
You attend, in person or virtually where the service allows it. The notary reads the content out and reveals its effects, then ratifies. We attend the notarisation with you, before a notary public.
What to bring
Bring originals where you have them. If anything was issued outside the UAE, tell us early, because the attestation chain takes longer than the drafting.
From the principal
The partner giving the authority
- Emirates ID, or a passport if you are not resident
- Your full legal name, exactly as the ID spells it
- Contact details a notary can use to reach you
- Your instructions on scope and on the end date
From the agent
The partner or person receiving it
- Emirates ID number, or a copy of the Emirates ID
- Passport copy where there is no Emirates ID
- The name spelled the same way across every document
- Confirmation that they accept what is being given
About the business
What we ask to see before drafting
- The trade licence for the entity you share
- The corporate papers that set out who holds what
- Anything recording who may sign for the business
- Papers for the specific transaction, if there is one
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often on this one.
Can one business partner sign for another in the UAE?
Yes, if the partner has been given a written authority and it names what they may do. Under Article 870 of Federal Decree-Law 25/2025, anything beyond acts of management and preservation needs a special agency that specifies the act. The document is ratified before a notary public.
Is a general power of attorney enough between partners?
Usually not, and it does less than the name suggests. Article 871 says an agency expressed in general terms, without specifying what is intended, grants the agent only the power to perform acts of management. If you want a partner to sell, settle, mortgage or acknowledge, that has to be written out.
How long does a power of attorney between partners last?
As long as the document says. UAE law does not set a general fixed period. Article 897 extinguishes an agency when the work is completed, when the term specified in it expires, or on the death or loss of legal capacity of either the principal or the agent. Write a term in.
Can I revoke a power of attorney I gave my business partner?
Article 898 says the principal may revoke or restrict the agent’s authority at any time. There are two exceptions: where the agency involves the right of a third party, or where it was issued in the interest of the agent. Then it cannot be ended without that person’s consent.
Is there any cost to revoking it?
There can be. Article 899 obliges the principal to compensate the agent for damage suffered as a result of revoking the agency at an inappropriate time, or without an acceptable justification. For the government fee on notarising a revocation, ask the notary office that will handle it.
Does the partner holding it have to be told before it stops working?
Telling them matters. Article 902 deals with an agent authorised for litigation: if they act within the scope of the agency after learning of their dismissal they are liable, and if they act before becoming aware, the act is effective. So record when and how notice was given.
What does it cost to have it notarised?
The federal fee schedule in Cabinet Resolution 19/2024 sets AED 100 per party for executing or notarising a general or special power of attorney, and AED 50 per page for notarising a translation included in the instrument. Dubai Courts publishes its own schedule, so check the current figure before you budget.
My partner is abroad. Can they sign there?
Yes, and it then has to be legalised. The document is attested by the foreign ministry of the issuing country, then by the UAE embassy or consulate there, then by MOFAIC in the UAE. MOFAIC lists a power of attorney of commercial nature under commercial documents, at AED 2,000, against AED 150 for individual affairs documents. The UAE is not an apostille country.
Start here
Talk to us before you sign
If a partner has asked you to sign a power of attorney, send us the draft before you sign it. We will tell you which acts it actually covers, what Article 870 requires it to name, and what is missing on duration and revocation. If you are the one who needs the authority, we will draft it so it is narrow enough to be signed without argument.
Tell us what the document has to do
Say who will receive it and what you need it to allow, and you will get a straight answer on the wording, the government fees and what to bring. You can also send it through the contact form.
Call us
Speak to the person who will handle your file and get an answer on the same call.
Send photographs of your passport, your Emirates ID and anything the matter attaches to.
Best for a company matter, or anything that runs to several documents.
Visit the office
Jebel Ali area, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai. Come in, or have it handled remotely and only turn up to sign.
Opening hours. Monday to Thursday, 9:00 to 18:00. Friday, 9:00 to 12:00. Saturday, 9:00 to 18:00. Sunday, closed.