Partner and agent authority
Local partner power of attorney in the UAE
An authority between a company’s local partner and its foreign owner or manager is still an agency under UAE law. This page covers what the instrument has to name, what ends it, and when it cannot simply be withdrawn.
- Every act written out
- Arabic drafting included
- We attend, never notarise
Local partner power of attorney at a glance
A local partner power of attorney is a written authority between a UAE national partner or service agent and the foreign owner or manager of a company. UAE law treats it as an agency, so it has to name the acts it covers, and it ends on the events the law lists rather than when the parties assume.
Governing articles
Articles 866 to 903, Decree-Law 25/2025
Wording required
Each act named, not a general phrase
Ends automatically on
Death or loss of capacity of either
The instrument, not the arrangement behind it
A local partner power of attorney is the name people give to a written authority between a UAE national partner or service agent and the foreign owner or manager of a company. It runs in one direction or the other, depending on who needs to act for whom. Whatever it is called, UAE law does not use that label. It treats the document as an agency, and Articles 866 to 903 of Federal Decree-Law 25/2025 apply to it in full.
We draft the instrument. We do not advise on the arrangement that sits behind it, and nothing on this page says whether such an arrangement is a good idea, whether it binds anyone, or what it means for your company. Those are questions for your own lawyer, not for a drafting page. What we can tell you is what the document has to say to work as an agency, and what will bring it to an end.
Where a right of another attaches to the agency
Article 898 starts simply. The principal may revoke or restrict the agent’s authority at any time. Then it names two situations where that stops being true: where the agency involves a right of a third party, and where it was issued in the interest of the agent. In either case the principal may not terminate or restrict it without the consent of the person in whose interest it was issued. That is the sentence to read twice before signing.
Article 898, Federal Decree-Law 25/2025
The principal may revoke or restrict the authority of their agent at any time, unless the agency involves a right of a third party or was issued in the interest of the agent, in which case the principal may not terminate or restrict it without the consent of the person in whose interest it was issued.
What ends an authority like this
Article 897 lists four ways an agency comes to an end, and two more sit beside it in Articles 898 and 903. The death and capacity points matter more here than people expect, because the authority is tied to two named individuals.
- Completion of the work entrusted to the agent. If the authority was written for one transaction, it ends when that transaction is done.
- Expiry of the term specified for the agency. The term is whatever the document says, because UAE law sets no general validity period.
- Death of the principal, or their loss of legal capacity. Article 897 lists this as an extinction event in its own right, separate from any term written in.
- Death of the agent, or their loss of legal capacity. This ends the agency too, so decide in advance who the other side deals with if that happens.
- Revocation by the principal under Article 898, unless a right of another has attached to the agency or it was issued in the interest of the agent.
- Revocation of a principal agency, which under Article 903 revokes every sub-agency derived from it by virtue of law.
Which way the authority runs
The same instrument is asked for in both directions. The drafting question is the same each time: name the acts, write in a term, and settle what happens if the holder can no longer act.
One direction
The local partner grants it
The UAE national partner or service agent is the principal and the foreign owner or manager is the agent. Every act the agent may perform has to be named in the document.
The reverse
The foreign owner or manager grants it
Here the roles swap and the same articles apply. The same two questions arise: what happens to the authority if the principal loses capacity, and who is told when it ends.
From your instructions to a ratified instrument
Four stages, and you appear at the fourth. Timing depends on the notary’s calendar, and on whether any document has to be attested abroad before it can be used here.
1
We read what you already hold
Send us the papers naming both parties and anything already signed between you. We read them so the drafting is accurate, not to give a view on the arrangement itself.
2
We list the acts by name
Article 870 asks for the type of act and the dispositions it entails. We turn your instructions into a named list instead of one wide sentence that covers less than it looks.
3
We produce the Arabic
In Dubai the instrument is in Arabic. Under Dubai Law 4/2013 a foreign language document needs a translation by a certified translator, with both versions signed by the parties.
4
You appear, the notary ratifies
The notary verifies identity, capacity and consent, reads out the content and reveals its effects, then ratifies. We attend with you. The notarisation is carried out before a notary public.
What we ask you to send
Three stacks. On fees, the federal table 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. A private notary adds 30 percent, so AED 130 per party. Dubai Courts sits outside that table under Dubai Law 4/2013 and publishes its own fees.
From the principal
The party granting the authority
- Emirates ID, or a passport if you are not resident
- Full legal name, spelled as the passport spells it
- The acts you intend to grant, in your own words
- The date you want the authority to stop
From the agent
The party receiving it
- Emirates ID number, or a copy of the card
- Passport copy where there is no Emirates ID
- The same spelling of the name on every paper
- Their agreement to hold what is being given
If anything comes from abroad
There is no apostille route into the UAE
- Attestation by the foreign ministry of the issuing country
- Attestation by the UAE embassy or consulate there
- MOFAIC attestation once the document reaches the UAE
- Arabic legal translation by a Ministry of Justice translator
What we do, and what needs your own legal advice
The first list is our work. The second is not modesty, it is the honest boundary of what a drafting service can tell you, and it belongs with a lawyer who can look at your company.
- Draft the instrument so each act is named, as Article 870 asks
- Produce the Arabic, and the certified translation where a foreign language version is signed
- Check the identity papers against the names in the draft, and attend the appointment with you
- Whether the arrangement behind the document is sound, or binds anyone
- Whether an authority of this kind should be given at all, and on what terms
- How the arrangement sits with the rules that apply to your company
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often on this one.
What is a local partner power of attorney?
It is the everyday name for a written authority between a UAE national partner or service agent and the foreign owner or manager of a company. UAE law does not use that label. It treats the document as an agency under Articles 866 to 903 of Federal Decree-Law 25/2025, and the rules on scope, ending and revocation apply to it in full.
Can a general wording cover whatever comes up later?
No. Article 871 says an agency expressed in general terms, without specifying what is intended, grants only the power to perform acts of management. Article 870 says anything beyond management and preservation needs a special agency naming the type of act and the dispositions it entails, and it lists sale, mortgage, settlement, acknowledgment, arbitration and pleading before the court.
What happens to the authority if the principal dies?
It ends. Article 897 extinguishes an agency on the death of the principal or their loss of legal capacity, and separately on the death of the agent or their loss of legal capacity. That matters in an arrangement built around two named individuals, because the document stops working on an event neither party controls. Plan for it in advance.
The other side says the authority cannot be withdrawn. Can that be right?
It can. Article 898 lets the principal revoke or restrict the agent’s authority at any time, unless the agency involves a right of a third party or was issued in the interest of the agent. In those two cases it cannot be ended without that person’s consent. Article 899 also obliges a principal to compensate an agent for revoking at an inappropriate time.
Is Article 955 still the right citation for revocation?
No, and it is worth checking any draft you are handed for it. Article 955 belongs to the 1985 Civil Transactions Law, which Federal Decree-Law 25/2025 repealed. The current provision on revoking or restricting an agent’s authority is Article 898. A document, a template or an article still carrying the old number has not been updated.
Who is allowed to ratify an instrument like this?
Federal Decree-Law 20/2022 says notarial duties are performed exclusively by public notaries, private notaries and accredited consuls of the State. That law does not cover local judicial authorities with their own legislation, and in Dubai notaries public sit under Dubai Law 4/2013 and Dubai Courts. The DIFC Courts notary service covers oaths, affidavits, declarations and certified true copies, not powers of attorney.
What if one of the parties does not read Arabic?
Two separate things happen. The document itself is in Arabic, and Dubai Law 4/2013 allows a foreign language document only with a translation by a certified translator, both versions signed. Separately, if the notary is unfamiliar with a party’s language, Article 8 of Federal Decree-Law 20/2022 has the notary engage an interpreter listed in the Ministry’s Interpreter Register.
Do both parties have to be in the room?
Federal Decree-Law 20/2022 sets personal appearance before the notary as the default, then allows the notary to use IT tools without the personal appearance of the persons concerned. Dubai Courts verifies capacity and eligibility by virtual or personal attendance, and takes the agent’s details by Emirates ID number or an uploaded copy. Confirm the arrangement with the notary office handling it.
Start here
Before either of you signs anything
Send us the wording you have been handed, or just the instruction if nothing is drafted yet. We come back with the acts named as Article 870 asks, a term written in, a line on whether a sub-agency is allowed, and the Arabic. We will also say plainly which parts of your question belong with your own lawyer. We draft, translate, check and attend. A notary public ratifies.
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.