Format and wording, explained
Power of attorney format in Dubai: the parts, not a template
People searching for a power of attorney format in Dubai want a deed they can copy. We explain what each part of a UAE power of attorney has to establish instead, because the wording is drafted per matter.
- Built from six parts
- Arabic instrument explained
- Drafted, not copied
What a power of attorney format in Dubai really means
We do not publish a power of attorney template, and we cannot send you one. A power of attorney is drafted for one matter and one receiving authority, and a copied deed is the kind that gets handed back at the counter.
Language of the deed
Arabic, translated if foreign
Scope rule
A special agency must name the act
Who ratifies it
A notary public
The parts a UAE power of attorney is built from
Six parts, and what each one has to establish. The wording that carries them is drafted for the matter, so we describe the job of each part rather than supply the text.
The parties, named and identified
The principal and the agent, identified so the notary can verify them. Article 7 of the notary decree-law has the notary check an ID card, passport or other official State document.
The words that create the agency
The operative grant. Article 869 allows an agency to be general, special, conditional, or deferred to a future time, and the opening words settle which one you are signing.
The scope, set out act by act
The heart of it. Article 870 requires a special agency to specify the type of act and the dispositions it entails, so each act the agent may do is named.
The subject the authority attaches to
The thing being dealt with. Dubai Courts organises its attestation service around subjects such as property, companies and institutions, inheritance, marriage, vehicles and trademarks, each with its own supporting document.
The term, and how the agency ends
Article 897 ends an agency on completion of the work, on expiry of the term specified in it, or on the death or loss of capacity of either party.
Language, signature and ratification
The instrument is in Arabic, the parties sign, and a notary public ratifies it. The notary verifies capacity and consent and reads the content out to the parties before that happens.
What UAE law requires the wording to do
Two articles of the Civil Transactions Law do most of the work. Article 870 sets the rule for anything beyond management and preservation. Article 871 adds the trap: an agency expressed in general terms, without specifying what is intended, grants only the power to perform acts of management. The current law is Federal Decree-Law 25/2025. The 1985 Civil Code, and the Article 955 still quoted on many sites, is repealed.
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.
Why we publish no power of attorney template
A power of attorney is not a form you fill in. It is a grant of authority over one matter, written so that one receiving authority will act on it. The act, the subject, the limits and the term all change with the matter, and Article 870 requires the act and its dispositions to be specified. A template cannot specify anything, because it does not know your matter.
There is a second reason. Handing a stranger a deed to sign is legal drafting without knowing who is signing, what they own, or who will receive the document. The wording also has to work in Arabic, since that is the language of the instrument, so an English paragraph copied from a website is only half of the problem.
What the wording has to pin down
Six things a power of attorney has to settle rather than assume. Each one is a question we ask before any drafting starts, and each one is a question a template leaves open.
- Which act, named the way Article 870 names it: sale, mortgage, settlement, acknowledgment, arbitration, an oath, or pleading before the court
- The subject the act attaches to, tied to the title deed, the trade licence, the case number or the vehicle it concerns
- The limits on the agent, including whether they may receive money, sign in your name, or accept a figure you have not agreed
- Whether a sub-agent may be appointed, remembering that revoking the principal agency revokes every sub-agency under it by force of law
- The term, because an agency ends on the expiry of the term specified in it, and no general statutory period fixes one for you
- Which authority will receive the deed, because that body decides what it will accept and what it wants translated
Arabic, and what happens to an English draft
The deed itself is an Arabic instrument. An English version has a job, but it is not the document the notary ratifies.
Federal rule
The instrument is drafted in Arabic
Article 5 of the notary decree-law says the instrument drafted by the notary shall be in Arabic, and may be drafted in a foreign language on conditions set by ministerial resolution.
In Dubai
A foreign document needs a certified translation
Dubai Law 4 of 2013 permits a foreign language document only with an Arabic translation by a certified translator, with both versions signed by the parties.
What a copied template gets wrong
On the left, what we see in deeds copied from the internet. On the right, what the drafting has to do instead.
- General wording that carries acts of management and nothing more
- An act the deed never names, so the receiving authority will not act on it
- A subject copied from someone else’s matter, or left blank for the counter to fill
- Each act named, in the terms Article 870 uses
- The subject tied to a title deed, a trade licence or a case number
- An Arabic instrument checked line by line against the English before the appointment
How the wording gets drafted
Four steps, from your matter to a ratified deed. We draft, translate, check and attend. The ratification is done by a notary public.
1
You tell us the matter
What the agent has to do, on which property, company, case or vehicle, and which authority will receive the deed. That last answer shapes the wording more than anything else.
2
We draft the Arabic instrument
The acts are named and the dispositions spelled out, so the grant is a special agency where it needs to be rather than general wording that falls back to management.
3
We check the papers with it
Identity documents for both sides, and the supporting document the subject calls for, such as a title deed for property or an ownership certificate for a vehicle.
4
You sign before a notary public
The notary verifies identity, capacity and consent, reads the content out, and ratifies it. We attend with you. The ratification is carried out before a notary public.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often on this one.
Do you publish a power of attorney sample or a Dubai format PDF?
No. We do not publish a template, a sample deed or a PDF form, and that is deliberate. A power of attorney is drafted around one matter and one receiving authority, and generic wording is the wording that gets refused. We would rather explain the parts here and draft the text for your matter.
Is a general power of attorney enough to sell or mortgage property?
Not on its own. Article 871 of Federal Decree-Law 25/2025 says an agency expressed in general terms, without specifying what is intended, grants only the power to perform acts of management. Article 870 requires a special agency that specifies the type of act and the dispositions it entails, and it names sale and mortgage among them.
Does a power of attorney need translation?
It depends on the language of the document. In Dubai, Law 4 of 2013 permits a foreign language document only when it comes with an Arabic translation by a certified translator, and both versions are signed by the parties. Documents going to Dubai Courts must be translated by a legal translator approved by the Ministry of Justice.
Is notarisation of a power of attorney compulsory in the UAE?
There is no single blanket rule we can point to. What the law does say is that notarial duties are performed only by public notaries, private notaries and accredited UAE consuls. In practice the receiving authority decides what it will accept, and the Dubai Courts service for powers of attorney is built around attesting the parties’ signatures.
What is the time frame for getting a power of attorney done?
We do not publish a turnaround figure, because drafting time follows the matter and the papers behind it. For comparison, the Ministry of Justice says its digital power of attorney service produces a digitally ratified document in under ten minutes without a visit to a notary office. A drafted deed for a live transaction is a different exercise.
Why should I use a legal consultant instead of a template?
Because the parts that decide whether a deed works are the parts a template leaves empty. Which act, on what subject, with which limits, for how long, and for which authority. Our lawyers and legal consultants draft the Arabic wording, arrange the translation, check the documents and attend the appointment with you. A notary public ratifies it.
What does the notary charge for a power of attorney?
Under the federal fee schedule in Cabinet Resolution 19 of 2024, execution or notarisation of a general or special power of attorney is AED 100 for each party to it, and notarising a translation included in the instrument is AED 50 for each page. Dubai Courts publishes its own schedule, so check the current figure with the receiving office.
What about a power of attorney for company formation?
The subject changes, the anatomy does not. Companies and institutions are one of the subjects Dubai Courts organises its power of attorney service around, and each subject brings its own supporting document, such as a title deed for property or an ownership certificate for a vehicle. The scope still has to name each act, because company work goes beyond management and preservation.
Start here
Tell us the matter, not the template
Send us what the agent has to do, on what, and which authority will receive the deed. We draft the Arabic instrument, arrange certified translation where a foreign language document is involved, check it against what that authority asks for, and attend the appointment with you. The ratification itself is done by a notary public.
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.