Vehicle Power of Attorney
Power of Attorney to Sell a Vehicle You Own in Dubai
You are selling a car you own in Dubai, but you cannot be at the transfer yourself. A power of attorney to sell a vehicle lets one named person sign that sale for you, and it has to name the car itself.
- Special agency, Article 870
- Chassis and plate named
- We attend the notary
The short answer
To sell a car you own in Dubai through somebody else, you need a special power of attorney that names that car and names the act of sale. It is drafted in Arabic, signed by you, and ratified before a notary public.
What you need
A special agency, not a general one
What it must name
The car, the sale, the money
Who ratifies it
A notary public, never us
Selling your own car through somebody else
A power of attorney to sell a vehicle is a written agency. You are the principal, the person you choose is the agent, and the deed sets out exactly what that person may do with one car that belongs to you. The transfer itself still goes through the Roads and Transport Authority, but the agent signs in your place because the deed says they may.
Most people who ask for one have already left the UAE. The car is still registered in their name, a buyer is ready, and nobody in Dubai can sign for them. Others are still here but cannot take a weekday off, or are in hospital, or have a car sitting with a relative in another emirate. The deed is the same in each case. Only the wording changes.
What the deed has to name to sell one car
Article 870 asks for a special agency specifying the type of act and the dispositions it entails. No statute lists the fields for a car, so this part is drafting practice built on that article. Six things belong on the page.
- The car, not cars in general. Make, model, year, colour, chassis number, engine number, plate number and plate code, written the same way as on the ownership certificate.
- The act of sale itself. Article 870 names sale among the acts a general form of words will not carry, so the deed has to say sell, in plain terms.
- The steps around the sale. Signing the transfer papers, cancelling the registration in your name, and dealing with the authority the transfer goes through.
- The agent, in full. The name as it reads on the passport, the nationality, and the Emirates ID number or passport number, so the notary and the buyer see one person.
- The money. Whether the agent may receive the sale price and give a receipt for it, or whether the price is paid to you and the agent only signs.
- The limits. A minimum price if you want one, a term after which the deed ends, and whether the agent may put somebody else in their place.
How to get a power of attorney to sell a car
Four stages, and only one of them needs you in a room with a notary. Everything before that is drafting, translation and checking, and that part is ours.
1
Send the ownership certificate and the name
We start from the vehicle ownership certificate, because every number on the deed is copied from it. Send that, your passport, your Emirates ID if you hold one, and the full name and identity number of the person who will sign for you. Tell us whether they should also receive the money.
2
We draft it as a special agency
Our lawyers and legal consultants write the deed around your car and your instructions, then have it translated by a legal translator registered with the Ministry of Justice. In Dubai the instrument is in Arabic, and a foreign language version is allowed alongside an Arabic translation, with both signed. You read it before anything is booked.
3
You sign it before a notary public
The ratification is carried out before a notary public. The ratification is done by a notary public, and in Dubai notaries public sit under Dubai Courts. The Dubai Courts service attests the signatures of the parties and verifies capacity and eligibility, by personal attendance or virtual attendance. Identity is taken from the Emirates ID or the passport. We prepare the file and attend the appointment with you.
4
Hand over the deed, the certificate and the keys
The agent cannot sell a car they cannot reach. Give them the ratified deed, the vehicle ownership certificate and both keys, and agree between you what happens to the number plate and to the sale price. Article 897 ends the agency once the work entrusted to the agent is completed, so the deed does not sit open afterwards.
Who is allowed to take the sale money
This is the line owners leave out most often, and it is the expensive one. Decide before drafting whether your agent may receive the price of the car.
Option one
The agent signs, you take the price
The deed lets the agent sign the sale and the transfer but not collect the price. The buyer pays into your own account, and the agent gives no receipt.
Option two
The agent receives and gives a receipt
The deed says the agent may receive the sale price and give a receipt for it on your behalf. Say so in writing, because a silent deed leaves the buyer unsure.
What we need before drafting
Three short lists. The third one only applies if you have already left the country.
From you, the owner
You are the principal.
- Passport copy, and your Emirates ID if you hold one
- The vehicle ownership certificate for the car being sold
- The make, model, year, chassis number and plate details
- Your instruction on price, on the money and on any term
From the person signing for you
This is your agent.
- Emirates ID number, or a copy of the Emirates ID or passport
- The name spelled exactly as it reads on the passport
- A contact number, so the notary appointment can be arranged
- Their agreement to act, because an agency is a contract
If you have already left the UAE
The UAE is not an apostille country.
- Signed before an accredited UAE consul, or a local notary
- Attested by the foreign ministry of the issuing country
- Attested by the UAE embassy or consulate in that country
- Attested by MOFAIC in the UAE, and never laminated
The law behind the wording
Agency sits in Federal Decree-Law 25/2025, the Civil Transactions Law, at Articles 866 to 903. It replaced the 1985 Civil Code, so any page citing Article 955 for a UAE power of attorney is citing a statute that no longer exists. For a car sale the article that matters is 870, and it is the reason a general deed will not do.
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 gets a car sale deed sent back
A power of attorney for a car sale in Dubai usually fails on small things, not big ones. Here is what goes wrong, and what we read back line by line before you sign.
- A general power of attorney with no mention of sale. Article 871 leaves the holder with acts of management only.
- A chassis number or a plate number that does not match the ownership certificate, digit for digit.
- An English deed with no Arabic, or an Arabic version that nobody signed alongside it.
- The car named in full, with every number read back against the ownership certificate.
- The act of sale, the transfer, and the cancellation of your registration all written out.
- One spelling of your name across the deed, the passport and the ownership certificate.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often on this one.
Can I sell my car in Dubai if I have already left the country?
Yes. Sign the deed in front of an accredited UAE consul at the embassy or consulate, or before a notary in the country you are in. If it is signed locally it then needs the foreign ministry of that country, the UAE mission there, and MOFAIC in the UAE. The UAE is not an apostille country, so an apostille will not replace that chain.
Is a general power of attorney enough for selling a car?
No. Article 871 of Federal Decree-Law 25/2025 says an agency written in general terms, without specifying what is intended, grants only acts of management. Selling is a disposal, not management. Article 870 requires a special agency that specifies the type of act and the dispositions it entails, and it names sale among them.
Does the deed really have to name the chassis number?
No statute lists the fields, so this is drafting practice built on Article 870. That article asks for the type of act and the dispositions it entails, and a deed that says only my car does not do that. Name the make, model, year, chassis number, engine number, plate number and plate code, copied from the ownership certificate.
Can the agent keep the money from the sale?
Only if the deed says so. Receiving the price and giving a receipt for it is a separate disposition from signing the sale, so it has to be written in. If you would rather the money never passed through the agent, we draft it the other way and have the buyer pay you directly.
What are the official fees for a power of attorney to sell a car?
The federal schedule, 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 in the instrument. MOFAIC publishes AED 150 for individual affairs documents and AED 2,000 for commercial ones. Dubai Courts sets its own fees, so check those directly.
Does the power of attorney have to be in Arabic?
In Dubai the instrument is in Arabic. Dubai Law 4/2013 allows a foreign language document only with an Arabic translation by a certified translator, and both versions are signed by the parties. Documents going to the Dubai Courts service are translated by a legal translator registered with the Ministry of Justice. We provide that translation.
How long does a power of attorney to sell a vehicle last?
There is no general validity period in UAE law. Article 897 says an agency ends on completion of the work, on the expiry of the term written into it, or on the death or loss of capacity of either the principal or the agent. So the term is whatever your deed says. For one car sale, keep it short.
Can I cancel the power of attorney before the car is sold?
Article 898 lets the principal revoke or restrict the agent at any time, unless the agency involves a right of a third party or was issued in the interest of the agent. Article 899 adds that revoking at an inappropriate time, or without acceptable justification, can leave you owing the agent compensation. In practice, tell the agent, and have the cancellation notarised.
Start here
Send us the ownership certificate
Send the vehicle ownership certificate and the full name of the person who will sign. Our lawyers and legal consultants draft the deed, arrange the legal translation, check every number against the certificate, and go with you to the notary public appointment. The ratification is done by the notary public. Everything up to it is ours.
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.