How ratification actually works
How Dubai Courts Power of Attorney Notarisation Works
A power of attorney becomes official when a notary public ratifies the signatures on it. This page explains who may do that in Dubai, what the notary checks, and how the Dubai Courts route differs from the others.
- A notary public ratifies
- Arabic record required
- Virtual or personal attendance
Dubai Courts power of attorney notarisation, in short
Notarisation of a power of attorney is the act of a notary public confirming who signed it, that they had the capacity to sign, and that they understood what they were signing. In Dubai that act is called ratification, and it is carried out by a notary public under Dubai Courts, not by a law firm or a typing office.
Who ratifies
A notary public, not a law firm
Law that applies
Dubai Law 4/2013, under Dubai Courts
Language of the record
Arabic, with certified translation where needed
What notarisation does to a power of attorney
Drafting a power of attorney is one job. Making it official is another. A notary public takes the signed document, identifies the people in front of them, checks that each one has the capacity to act, reads the content out, and then records the signatures. Until that happens the paper carries no notarial weight, whatever it says inside.
Our part sits on either side of that moment. Our lawyers and legal consultants draft the wording, arrange legal translation into Arabic, check the file against what the authority asks for, and attend with the client. The ratification itself belongs to the notary public. Notarisation is performed by a notary public, and no provider in Dubai can perform it unless its notary is registered on the Dubai Courts Roll.
The routes a power of attorney can take
Two routes ratify a power of attorney for use onshore in Dubai, and a third serves the emirates that sit on the federal system. A fourth exists for people signing abroad, where an accredited UAE consul handles it and the document then follows the legalisation chain home.
Route one
Dubai Courts notary public
The government notary. Dubai Courts runs the attestation of powers of attorney service and verifies capacity and eligibility by virtual or personal attendance, through its own service centres.
Route two
Private notary public office
A private notary public is a person registered on the Dubai Courts Roll to exercise certain functions of the government notary. Dubai Courts supervises them and lists them as a service channel.
Route three
Ministry of Justice E-Notary
The federal route, used by emirates on the federal system. The Ministry of Justice runs the E-Notary System and a digital power of attorney service needing no visit to a notary office.
What happens at the appointment itself
This is the notarial side of the appointment, the part the notary public controls. It runs in the same order whether attendance is virtual or in person.
1
Identity is verified
The notary checks who is standing in front of them. Federal law puts this first: the notary verifies identity by reviewing the ID card, passport, or another official document issued by the State. Dubai Courts asks for the agent by Emirates ID number, or for an uploaded Emirates ID or passport.
2
Capacity and consent are tested
Identity is not enough. The notary also has to satisfy themselves that each person has the legal capacity to grant or accept the authority, and that the consent is real. The Dubai Courts service describes exactly this: verifying capacity and eligibility, by virtual or personal attendance.
3
The Arabic text is read out
The notary reads out the content of the transaction and reveals its effects. That duty is written into federal law, and it is the reason the Arabic wording matters more than the English. What is read out is what is being ratified, so a loose translation is a live problem, not a formality.
4
Language gaps are bridged
If the notary does not share the language of the people concerned, an interpreter is engaged and interprets in their presence. Under the federal decree-law the interpreter is drawn from the Ministry’s Interpreter Register, and Dubai runs its notaries under its own law, so ask which register applies at the office you attend. This is separate from document translation. One deals with the paper, the other with the conversation in the room.
5
Signatures are taken and recorded
Only then are the signatures given and recorded. In Dubai the instrument is in Arabic, and where a foreign-language version is used it must carry a certified translation, with both versions signed by the parties. An electronically signed and notarised instrument carries the same evidentiary value as a signed paper one.
Who is allowed to ratify, and under which law
Notarial duties are not open to anyone. Federal Decree-Law 20/2022 limits them to three kinds of person, and it excludes local judicial authorities that have their own notary legislation. Dubai is one of those, so a Dubai power of attorney sits under Dubai Law 4/2013 and its notaries public answer to Dubai Courts. The federal decree-law still sets the shape of the profession nationally.
Federal Decree-Law 20/2022, Article 3
The notarial duties shall be exclusively performed by the following persons: 1. Public Notaries; 2. Private Notaries; and 3. Accredited consuls of the State.
What the notary public checks before signing
These are the notary’s own checks, set by law rather than by us. Each one is a point where a power of attorney can stop.
- Identity, from an ID card, passport or other official document issued by the State
- The legal capacity of the principal and of the agent
- That the consent given is real, and given in the notary’s presence
- That the instrument is in Arabic, or carries a certified Arabic translation
- That a special agency spells out the act, where the authority goes beyond management and preservation
- That the party understood what was read out, with a registered interpreter if not
Where a power of attorney gets stopped
Most refusals are not about the substance of the authority. They are about the record the notary is being asked to make, or about the document that arrived from somewhere else.
- Wording that reads in general terms, where the act needs a special agency
- An English-only text with no certified Arabic translation
- A document signed abroad with no legalisation chain behind it
- The act named and its dispositions spelled out, as Article 870 requires
- Arabic translation by a legal translator registered with the Ministry of Justice
- Foreign ministry, then UAE embassy or consulate, then MOFAIC in the UAE
What the ratification itself costs
The federal schedule sets AED 100 per party for executing or notarising a general or special power of attorney, and AED 50 for each page of a translation notarised inside the instrument. A private notary adds a professional fee of 30 percent of that prescribed amount. Dubai Courts publishes its own schedule under its own legislation, so confirm the Dubai figure against the live Dubai Courts page. Drafting, typing and translation are commercial charges, not government fees.
| Item | Fee | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Notarisation of a power of attorney | AED 100 per party | Cabinet Res. 19 of 2024 |
| Private notary public | plus 30 percent | Article 2(2) |
| Notarisation of a translation | AED 50 per page | Cabinet Res. 19 of 2024 |
| Cancelling a property power of attorney | No fee | Dubai Land Department |
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often on this one.
What does a notary public do in Dubai?
A notary public ratifies signatures on instruments. In practice that means verifying identity from an ID card or passport, checking capacity and consent, reading out the content of the transaction and its effects, and then recording the signed instrument in Arabic. In Dubai those notaries sit under Dubai Courts, which also licenses private notary offices.
Does a power of attorney need notarisation?
If you want an authority that UAE bodies will act on, yes. The federal fee schedule is written around the execution or notarisation of a general or special power of attorney, and Dubai Courts runs a dedicated attestation of powers of attorney service. A document that has not been ratified carries no notarial record behind the signatures.
What is the charge for a notary public in Dubai?
The federal schedule sets AED 100 per party to the power of attorney, and AED 50 for each page of a translation notarised in the instrument. A private notary charges that prescribed fee plus a professional fee of 30 percent. Dubai Courts publishes its own schedule under Dubai legislation, so check the current Dubai figure on the Dubai Courts page.
Can a power of attorney be notarised without attending in person?
Personal appearance is the default under federal law, but the same law lets a notary use IT tools for transactions within their competence without the people concerned appearing in person. Dubai Courts describes verifying capacity and eligibility by virtual or personal attendance. The Ministry of Justice also runs the E-Notary System and a digital power of attorney service.
Does the power of attorney have to be in Arabic?
In Dubai the instrument must be in Arabic. A foreign-language document is allowed only with an Arabic translation by a certified translator, and both versions are signed by the parties. Dubai Courts asks for legal translation approved by the UAE Ministry of Justice. Federal law sets the same default, with a narrow ministerial exception for foreign-language drafting.
Can DIFC Courts notarise a power of attorney for onshore use?
Treat that as a separate service. The DIFC Courts Notary Service covers oaths, affidavits, affirmations, declarations and certified true copies. A power of attorney is not on that list, and DIFC Courts states that acceptance, recognition or validity of anything it notarises remains subject to the laws, policies and discretion of the receiving authority.
What if the power of attorney is signed outside the UAE?
It goes through legalisation, not apostille. The UAE is not a contracting party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille alone does not make a foreign document usable here. The chain is the issuing country’s foreign ministry, then the UAE embassy or consulate, then MOFAIC, which charges AED 150 for individual affairs documents and AED 2,000 for commercial ones.
Which law governs a power of attorney now?
Federal Decree-Law 25/2025, the Civil Transactions Law. It repealed Federal Law 5 of 1985, so the old Civil Code and its article numbers no longer apply. Agency sits at Articles 866 to 903, with revocation at Article 898. Content that still cites Article 955 of the 1985 law is citing a repealed statute.
Start here
Get the document right before the notary sees it
Most of what stops a power of attorney at the notary’s desk is fixable a day earlier: the wrong kind of wording, an English text with no certified Arabic behind it, a foreign document that never went through the legalisation chain. Our lawyers and legal consultants draft it, arrange the translation, check the file and attend with you. The notary public does the rest.
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.