Power of attorney UAE FAQ
Power of Attorney Questions, Answered for the UAE
Every service page here answers the questions that belong to it. This page takes the ones that sit across all of them, gives the short honest answer, and points you at the page that treats it properly.
- Twelve cross cutting answers
- Every answer routed onward
- Sourced to current law
The answer that surprises people most
A power of attorney in the UAE has no statutory expiry date, so nobody can tell you it runs for two years or five without naming the authority that made that rule. It ends on the term written into the document itself, or on one of the events listed in Article 897 of Federal Decree-Law 25 of 2025.
No statutory expiry
The term is whatever you wrote
No apostille route
The UAE is not a party
Who ratifies it
A notary public, never us
Six things the market still gets wrong
The first list is what you will read on other Dubai sites, often word for word. The second is what the current law and the published government sources actually say.
- A power of attorney in the UAE is valid for two years, or for five, depending on which type you chose.
- An apostille from a Hague member state is accepted here in place of consular legalisation.
- Article 955 of the Civil Code is the provision that governs revoking a power of attorney.
- No statutory period exists. Article 897 ends an agency by events, such as a death or the expiry of the term you wrote, not by a clock.
- The UAE does not appear in the Hague status table at all. The chain of foreign ministry, UAE mission, then MOFAIC still applies.
- Article 955 sat in the 1985 Civil Code, repealed by Federal Decree-Law 25 of 2025. Revocation is now Article 898.
Questions that belong to more than one page
Each of these comes up on half the pages here, so none of them owns it. The short answer is below, and the page that carries the detail is named inside it.
How long does it last
There is no fixed period in UAE law. The document sets its own term, and Article 897 lists what ends an agency. Our page on power of attorney validity covers it.
General or special
A power written in general terms grants only acts of management. Anything beyond that needs the act named, under Article 870. Our page comparing general and special powers has the wording.
Apostille or attestation
The UAE is not a contracting party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille replaces nothing. Our page on apostille against attestation sets out the chain that does apply.
How many types exist
Statute names four forms of agency, and the fee schedule works from two. Every other label describes the subject matter. Our page on types of power of attorney explains the split.
What happens when someone dies
An agency ends on the death of the principal or the agent. A power of attorney is therefore no substitute for a will, which our page on wills and guardianship explains.
When the agent goes too far
The wording you signed decides what the agent could do, and you may revoke or restrict it at any time. Our page on power of attorney misuse has the limits.
Why so many pages still cite a repealed code
Search for anything about a power of attorney in the UAE and you will find Article 955 of the Civil Code quoted as the rule on revocation. That article sat in Federal Law 5 of 1985. Federal Decree-Law 25 of 2025 repealed that law, and the new Civil Transactions Law came into force on 1 June 2026. Agency now sits at Articles 866 to 903. Revocation is Article 898, the requirement for a special agency is Article 870, the limit on general wording is Article 871, and the list of events that end an agency is Article 897. A page that quotes Article 955 at you today has not been touched since the repeal, and the rest of what it tells you deserves the same suspicion.
Federal Decree-Law 25 of 2025, Article 2
Federal Law No. (5) of 1985 Promulgating the Civil Transactions Law of the United Arab Emirates, as amended, is hereby repealed.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often on this one.
Why do two websites give me two different answers about the same document?
Three reasons, mostly. Many pages still quote the 1985 Civil Code, which has been repealed. Many invent type names that no statute uses, so a banking power of attorney reads like a legal category when it is only a subject. And many quote a federal fee at a Dubai counter that sits outside the federal schedule. Our page on types of power of attorney in the UAE separates the real categories from the labels.
Everyone abroad tells me to get an apostille. Why do you say no?
Because the UAE is not a contracting party to the Hague Apostille Convention, and it does not appear in the status table the convention’s own depositary body publishes. An apostille on your document is not wrong, it is simply not what the UAE asks for. The chain here runs through the issuing country’s foreign ministry, then the UAE embassy or consulate there, then MOFAIC. Our page on apostille against attestation works through it.
Where does the two year rule people keep quoting come from?
From the Dubai Land Department, not from the Civil Transactions Law. Legal commentary on Circular 29/R/2025 reports that a power of attorney used in a Dubai property disposition must have been issued within the previous two years. That is one authority and one class of transaction, not a general rule about how long any power of attorney lasts. Our page on power of attorney validity in the UAE sets out the difference.
Why does the word general cause so much trouble?
Because it promises more than it delivers. Under Article 871, an agency expressed in general terms without specifying what is intended grants only acts of management. Article 870 then requires a special agency naming the type of act for anything past management and preservation, including sale, mortgage, donation, settlement, acknowledgment, arbitration and pleading before a court. Our page comparing general and special powers of attorney shows what the text has to spell out.
If I have a power of attorney, do I still need a will?
Yes, because the two do different jobs and one of them stops at the moment the other starts. Article 897 ends an agency on the death of the principal, so the authority you gave dies with you, and nothing your agent does after that rests on the document. Our page on wills, guardianship and powers of attorney explains where one ends and the other begins.
Why is the notary fee different depending on which page I read?
Because there are two schedules. The federal table under Cabinet Resolution 19 of 2024 charges AED 100 per party for executing or notarising a general or special power of attorney, and a private notary adds 30 percent on top, making AED 130 per party. Dubai Courts is a local judicial authority under Dubai Law 4 of 2013 and publishes its own fees. Our page on power of attorney cost in Dubai keeps the two apart.
What part of this is yours, and what is the notary’s?
Drafting, translation, checking and attendance. Our lawyers and legal consultants write the powers so they name the acts you need, arrange the Arabic legal translation, check the document against the body that will receive it, and go with you to the appointment. Ratification is a notary public’s function, and a notary public performs it. Our page on how notarisation works in Dubai sets out who is allowed to do it.
Do the answers change from one emirate to the next?
The law of agency does not, because the Civil Transactions Law is federal. What changes is the notary you stand in front of. Dubai runs its notaries under Dubai Law 4 of 2013 and Dubai Courts, while the emirates on the federal system work through the Ministry of Justice under Federal Decree-Law 20 of 2022. Our page on a power of attorney in Abu Dhabi covers that.
Can I download a template and have it stamped?
A template gives you wording, not authority. The notary reads out the content of the transaction before recording the signatures, and what is read out is the Arabic text, so a form copied from another country usually fails on scope rather than on format. Article 870 wants the act named. Our page on power of attorney format and sample goes through what a usable document has to contain.
What should I check before I trust a power of attorney somebody hands me?
Three things before anything else. Whether the act you are relying on is actually named in the text, because general wording carries only acts of management. Whether the principal is alive and holds legal capacity, since either failing ends the agency under Article 897. And whether it has been revoked, which the principal may do at any time. Our page on verifying a power of attorney in Dubai covers the checks.
My agent is doing more than I meant. Is that my problem or theirs?
It turns on the wording, not on what you intended. An act that is not named, and sits beyond management and preservation, is outside a general agency under Article 870. You may revoke or restrict the authority at any time under Article 898, unless a third party’s right is involved or the agency was issued in the agent’s own interest. Our page on power of attorney misuse in Dubai goes further.
Why does it matter who is going to receive the document?
Because the receiving body decides whether it will act on what you hand over, and each one reads the same wording differently. A bank, a court, a land registry and a company registrar are not looking for the same words. We draft against the body that will receive it rather than against a general template. Our page on a power of attorney for a bank account shows one of those views up close.
Start here
Ask us the question this page did not cover
If your question is not here, it is probably on one of the pages above, and if it is not there either, send it to us. Our lawyers and legal consultants write the powers, arrange the Arabic legal translation, check the document against the authority that will receive it, and attend the appointment with you. The ratification itself is carried out by a notary public. We do not perform it, and nobody outside the notary register can.
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.