For a marriage matter
Marriage power of attorney in the UAE: what the document is
A marriage power of attorney is a written authority for a person you name to act for you on a marriage matter. Whether the body receiving it will accept one is for that body to decide, and we do not advise on marriage law.
- Arabic before a notary
- Acts named, not implied
- We draft and attend
What this page can confirm
A power of attorney is a contract in which one person authorises another to act in their place, and the wording has to name the act rather than the subject. Whether a particular court, ministry or embassy will accept one for your matter is decided by that body, so put the question to them before anything is drafted.
What it is
A written authority, not a ruling
Language of the instrument
Arabic, before a notary public
Who decides acceptance
The authority receiving the document
A marriage power of attorney in the UAE, as an instrument
A power of attorney is a contract between a principal and an agent. UAE agency law now sits in Federal Decree-Law 25/2025, the Civil Transactions Law, which came into force on 1 June 2026 and repealed the 1985 law. Article 869 allows an agency to be general, special, conditional, or deferred to a future time. Those four shapes are the only ones the statute names, whatever a document is called on its cover.
People searching for a marriage power of attorney usually mean a document tied to a marriage matter rather than a legal category. The archived Dubai Courts page we read, a snapshot from March 2023, organised its power of attorney attestation service around subjects, and marriage was one of the subjects listed. That is an administrative heading for a service. It is not a statutory type, and it does not tell you what any authority requires of you.
What we can help with, and what we cannot
We are a drafting and translation practice. On the law of marriage itself we have nothing to offer you, and we would rather say that plainly here than imply otherwise further down the page.
- Draft the instrument in Arabic and name each act in it, so that general wording is not left to do the work of a special authority.
- Arrange legal translation by a translator registered with the UAE Ministry of Justice, and check every name against the papers you already hold.
- Attend the ratification with you, and set out the attestation chain where the document was signed in another country.
- We do not advise on marriage law, and nothing on this page is a statement about it.
- We cannot tell you whether a court, ministry or embassy will accept a power of attorney for your matter. That body decides, and only that body.
- The ratification is carried out before a notary public. Notarial duties belong to public notaries, private notaries and accredited consuls of the State, and ratification happens before one of them.
The rule that governs the wording
The article that decides how the document is written is Article 870 of Federal Decree-Law 25/2025. It draws a line between routine management and everything else, and on the far side of that line it wants the act named. Article 871 is the other half of the rule: an agency expressed in general terms, without specifying what is intended, grants only acts of management. One citation to avoid is Article 955, which belongs to the repealed 1985 Civil Code.
Federal Decree-Law 25/2025, Article 870(1)
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 the document needs to spell out
Article 870 asks for a special agency specifying the type of act and the dispositions it entails. These are the points we settle before drafting, and each of them has to be checked against what the receiving authority has told you.
- The act itself, written out. A subject heading names a topic, not an act, and Article 870 asks for the type of act and the dispositions it entails.
- The full name of the person you appoint, in the form printed on the Emirates ID or passport that body already holds.
- Your own name in that same form, because a mismatch between a passport and a file is a common reason a document goes back.
- Whether the agent may appoint a sub-agent. Article 903 treats sub-agencies as revoked by law once the principal agency is revoked.
- The term, where you want the authority to end on a date. Article 897 extinguishes an agency on expiry of the term specified for it, so the term is whatever the document states.
- Any wording the receiving authority has asked for in writing. If it has not given you wording, we draft to Article 870 and you confirm it with them before the appointment.
Where the document is signed
The route depends on the country of signature. The UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille obtained abroad does not stand in for the attestation chain.
Signing in the UAE
Signed inside the country
You sign before a notary public. The notary verifies identity from an Emirates ID, a passport or another official document issued by the State, and the instrument is in Arabic.
Signing abroad
Signed in another country
The document is attested by the foreign ministry of the issuing country, then by the UAE embassy or consulate there, then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation here.
The order we work in
Four stages. The first is the one people skip, and it is the one that decides whether the other three were worth doing.
1
Ask the receiving authority first
Before a word is drafted, ask the court, ministry or embassy that will receive the document what it accepts and in what terms. We cannot answer that for you, and neither can a template copied from another site. If they will put the answer in writing, send it to us with your instructions.
2
Settle the acts
We turn what you have been told into named acts. Article 870 requires a special agency specifying the type of act for anything beyond management and preservation, and Article 871 limits general wording to acts of management. This is the step where a document either works or fails.
3
Draft in Arabic and translate
The instrument drafted by the notary is in Arabic, with a foreign language permitted only in the circumstances set by a resolution of the Minister. In Dubai a foreign-language document is accepted when a certified translator’s Arabic version goes with it and both versions are signed by the parties.
4
Attend the ratification
You sign before a notary public and we attend with you. The notary verifies identity, checks capacity and consent, and reads out the content of the transaction and its effects. If the notary is unfamiliar with your language, an interpreter from the Ministry’s Interpreter Register is engaged.
What to bring, and what to confirm
Identity, language and, for a document signed abroad, attestation. Anything specific to a marriage matter has to come from the authority that will receive the document, not from this page.
From you
The principal
- Emirates ID, passport, or another official document issued by the State
- Your name exactly as that document prints it
- The term you want the authority to run for
- Anything the receiving authority has given you in writing
From the person you appoint
The agent
- Emirates ID number, or a copy of the Emirates ID
- A passport copy where no Emirates ID is used
- The full name as it should appear in the instrument
- The same spelling on every paper you submit
Language and format
Before submission
- Documents as PDF soft copies
- Arabic legal translation approved by the Ministry of Justice
- Both versions signed where a foreign language is used
- For a document from abroad, the full attestation chain
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often on this one.
Can a marriage be carried out through a power of attorney in the UAE?
We cannot say. That turns on marriage law and on the practice of the authority that would handle the marriage, and we advise on neither. Put the question to the court, ministry or embassy concerned. What we can tell you is what the instrument is, and that Article 870 requires a special agency specifying the type of act.
Why will you not answer questions about marriage requirements?
Because an answer from us would be a guess dressed up as advice. We draft, translate, check and attend. Requirements for a marriage matter come from the body that will receive the document, and they are the only source worth acting on. We would rather send you there than fill this page with wording we cannot stand behind.
What exactly does a special agency have to specify?
Article 870 requires a special agency specifying the type of act and the dispositions it entails for anything that is not an act of management and preservation. It names donations, sale, settlement, mortgage, acknowledgment, arbitration, administering and accepting an oath, and pleading before the court. Article 871 adds that general wording alone grants only acts of management.
Which language will the notary work in?
The instrument drafted by the notary is in Arabic, and a foreign language is permitted only in the circumstances set by a resolution of the Minister. In Dubai, a foreign-language document is accepted when an Arabic translation by a certified translator goes with it and both versions are signed. Dubai Courts asks for legal translation approved by the Ministry of Justice.
Is a document signed abroad usable here as it stands?
Not on its own. A document issued in another country is attested by the foreign ministry of that country, then by the UAE embassy or consulate there, then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the UAE. The UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille does not replace that chain.
Which charges for this are published by government?
Under the federal schedule in Cabinet Resolution 19/2024, executing or notarising a general or special power of attorney is AED 100 per party, and a private notary charges that plus 30 percent, which is AED 130 per party. Notarising a translation included in the instrument is AED 50 per page. Dubai Courts sits outside that schedule under Dubai Law 4/2013 and publishes its own.
How much does the foreign ministry charge to attest one?
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation publishes AED 150 for individual affairs documents and AED 2,000 for commercial documents. It lists a power of attorney of a personal nature among individual affairs papers, and a commercial or general power of attorney among commercial ones. Which list your document falls into is the Ministry’s call, not ours.
Can I take the authority back once it has been ratified?
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. Article 899 can require you to compensate the agent for revoking at an inappropriate time. Revoking a principal agency revokes every sub-agency under it.
Start here
Send us the wording you were given
Tell us what the authority receiving the document has asked for, and who you want to appoint. We draft the instrument in Arabic, arrange the legal translation, check the names against your own papers and attend the appointment with you. The ratification itself is done by the notary public. If you have not put the question to that authority yet, do that first and come back to us with their answer.
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.