POA for a Sharjah matter
Power of Attorney Sharjah: Personal, Company and Property
Most Sharjah instructions we see are one of three things: a personal matter, a company matter, or a Sharjah document signed by someone living in Dubai. We draft it, translate it into Arabic, and check it before you book.
- Personal or company POA
- Arabic by registered translator
- We attend, not notarise
Power of attorney Sharjah, the short answer
The body that will receive your document decides what it has to say and who ratifies it, so that is the first thing we confirm. We draft the power of attorney, translate it into Arabic and attend the ratification, which is carried out by a notary public.
Who ratifies it
A notary public, never us
Language of the deed
Arabic, with a certified translation
Fee
Set by the authority that ratifies it, confirmed first
What the federal notary law says, and what it leaves out
Notarial duties in the UAE may only be performed by public notaries, private notaries and accredited UAE consuls. That comes from Federal Decree-Law 20/2022, which applies to everyone performing those duties in the State, free zones included. Article 2 then carves out local judicial authorities whose notarial services are governed by their own local legislation. Dubai is one of them, under Dubai Law 4/2013.
We are not going to tell you on a web page which of those two systems your Sharjah document falls under. We have no published Sharjah notary text in front of us, and guessing at an office, a form or a fee would only waste your time at the counter. Before anything is drafted or booked, we confirm the current requirement with the authority that will receive the document.
What does not change from one emirate to the next is the law of agency. Federal Decree-Law 25/2025, the Civil Transactions Law, governs it at Articles 866 to 903. An agency may be general, special, conditional, or deferred to a future time. Anything beyond management and preservation needs a special agency naming the act, and a power written in general terms grants only acts of management.
Attestation is federal as well. A document signed outside the UAE goes through the foreign ministry of the issuing country, then the UAE embassy or consulate there, then MOFAIC here. The UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille does not replace that chain. MOFAIC publishes AED 150 for individual affairs documents and AED 2,000 for commercial ones.
The published federal fee schedule, Cabinet Resolution 19/2024, prices the execution or notarisation of a general or special power of attorney at AED 100 for each party to it, and notarising a translation inside the instrument at AED 50 per page. That schedule sits under the federal notary law, so it carries the same carve-out. Which figures apply to your document is something we confirm, not something we print here.
Personal power of attorney or commercial power of attorney
Sharjah enquiries split cleanly into two, and the split is not cosmetic. It changes the wording, the papers behind it, and what the attestation costs.
Personal
A personal power of attorney
Family, property, a vehicle, a court matter or an inheritance file. MOFAIC treats a power of attorney of a personal nature as an individual affairs document, at AED 150.
Commercial
A commercial or general power of attorney
Signing for a company, moving shares, dealing with a licence. MOFAIC puts a commercial or general power of attorney in the commercial band, at AED 2,000.
Four Sharjah situations, and what each one changes
These are the four briefs we are actually sent for Sharjah. Read the one that matches yours, because the drafting is different in every one of them.
A property in Sharjah
Identify the property by its title deed and name each act on its own. Sale and mortgage are both named in the law as acts needing a special agency.
A company or trade licence in Sharjah
Name the company and the licence number, then list the acts: signing, banking, share transfer, filings. This is the commercial band for attestation, not the personal one.
You live in Sharjah, the matter is in Dubai
A Dubai property or case puts the document in front of Dubai Courts, under Dubai Law 4/2013. Dubai requires the instrument in Arabic with a certified translation, both versions signed.
You live in Dubai, the matter is in Sharjah
Living here does not make it a Dubai document. We ask the Sharjah side what it wants to see before we draft, rather than assuming Dubai practice carries across.
How we handle a Sharjah power of attorney
Four steps, in this order. The first one is the step providers skip, and it is the usual reason a document comes back from the counter.
1
Ask the receiving body first
We write to whoever will act on the document and confirm what it currently requires. Nothing is drafted, translated or booked on an assumption about Sharjah.
2
Draft each power as a named act
Our lawyers and legal consultants write the powers act by act, with the property, company or case identified. A power in general terms gives away far less than people expect.
3
Put it into Arabic properly
The Arabic is prepared by a legal translator registered with the Ministry of Justice. If the notary does not speak your language, an interpreter from the Ministry’s register is engaged.
4
Attend the ratification with you
The notary verifies identity from an ID card or passport, checks capacity and consent, and reads the content out. We sit with you. The ratification is carried out before a notary public.
Six things the drafting has to nail down
Most of the refusals we see are drafting problems rather than paperwork problems. Every line below comes from what the agency articles actually require.
- Name the act itself, since anything past management and preservation needs a special agency
- Point at the title deed number for a property, not at the name of the building
- Give the company licence number, because a trade name on its own identifies nothing
- Say which court or which case file, if the agent is going to plead
- Write in the term you want, since the law runs on the term the document states
- Say in the document whether the agent may appoint a sub-agent, or may not
What we need before we can draft
Two people and one subject. Get all three described accurately and the drafting has everything it needs to start.
The principal
The person giving the power
- Emirates ID, or passport
- Name spelled exactly as it reads there
- Where you will be when you sign
- Any earlier POA you want replaced
The agent
The person receiving the power
- Emirates ID, or passport
- Full name and ID number
- Whether a sub-agent may be appointed
- Anything the agent must not do
The subject of the power
What the document is actually about
- Title deed for a property
- Trade licence for a company
- Case or file reference for a court matter
- Attestation papers if it was signed abroad
Why a Sharjah power of attorney comes back
The same problem, seen from two ends. The first list is what we see refused, the second is the check that would have caught it.
- Powers drafted in general terms, which carry only acts of management
- An English document with no Arabic translation by a registered legal translator
- A document signed abroad that never went through the consular chain to MOFAIC
- The receiving body asked directly, so no Sharjah procedure is assumed
- Each act written out separately, with nothing left to be implied
- Names and ID numbers read back against the Emirates ID or passport
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often on this one.
Can you tell me which office in Sharjah ratifies a power of attorney?
Not from a web page, no. The federal notary law applies across the State but carves out local judicial authorities that run their own notary legislation, and we have no published Sharjah text to quote either way. We ask the body that will receive your document, and we tell you what it says before you travel anywhere.
What is a personal power of attorney in Sharjah?
It is a power of attorney about your own affairs rather than a business: family matters, a property, a vehicle, an inheritance file or a court case. UAE statute does not use that label, it splits agency into general and special. MOFAIC does use it, classifying a power of attorney of a personal nature as an individual affairs document at AED 150.
Is a general power of attorney enough for a Sharjah property sale?
No. Article 870 of the Civil Transactions Law requires a special agency specifying the type of act for anything that is not management and preservation, and it names sale and mortgage directly. Article 871 adds that an agency expressed in general terms grants only acts of management. Name the sale, and name the property by its title deed.
Do I have to travel to Sharjah to sign it?
The federal notary law sets personal appearance before the notary as the default, then allows the notary to use IT tools for transactions without that appearance. Which of the two applies depends on the authority handling your document, so we confirm it rather than promise you a remote signing. Dubai Courts, for its own service, verifies capacity by virtual or personal attendance.
My power of attorney was signed abroad. Can I use it for a Sharjah matter?
Only after the chain: the foreign ministry of the issuing country, then the UAE embassy or consulate there, then MOFAIC in the UAE. The UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille on its own does not make the document usable here. MOFAIC charges AED 150 for individual affairs documents and AED 2,000 for commercial ones.
How long does a Sharjah power of attorney stay valid?
There is no general statutory period in UAE law. Article 897 ends an agency on completion of the work, on expiry of the term written into it, or on the death or loss of capacity of either party. The two year figure people repeat is a Dubai Land Department acceptance rule for property deals, reported under Circular 29/R/2025, not a national rule.
Can I cancel it later?
Yes. Article 898 of Federal Decree-Law 25/2025 lets the principal revoke or restrict the agent’s authority at any time, unless the agency involves a third party’s right or was issued in the agent’s interest. Article 899 makes you liable to compensate the agent for revoking at an inappropriate time. Revoking a principal agency revokes the sub-agencies under it.
Why do other sites cite Article 955 and you do not?
Because it comes from Federal Law 5 of 1985, which was repealed by Federal Decree-Law 25 of 2025. The new Civil Transactions Law came into force on 1 June 2026 and puts agency at Articles 866 to 903, with revocation at Article 898. Any page still citing Article 955 for revocation is quoting a law that no longer applies.
Start here
Send us the matter, not just the emirate
Tell us what the agent has to do, where the document will be used, and who will be acting on it. We will come back with what the drafting has to say, what has to go into Arabic, and what we still need to confirm with the receiving authority before you book anything. Our lawyers and legal consultants draft, translate and check the power of attorney, and attend with you. The ratification itself is carried out 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.