UAE to USA corridor
Power of Attorney From the UAE to the USA
There is no single American requirement, because the office that will receive your deed sets its own. Find out who that is and which state they are in, and we will draft, translate and check the deed to match.
- Drafted in Arabic
- Ratified before a notary
- Written for your recipient
Find out who receives it first
There is no American rule to give you, because your deed will be read by one office or person who sets their own requirements, and the next one asks for something different. So before anything is drafted, find out who is going to receive it and which state they are in, and ask them what they need to see.
First question
Who receives it, and in which state
Apostille
None, the UAE issues none
Language of the deed
Arabic, with a signed certified translation
There is no single American requirement
Ask what the United States requires and there is no honest answer, because a power of attorney sent there is almost never read by a national body. It is read by a county recorder, a state office, a bank, a title company, a school, a hospital or a lawyer, and each sets its own list. So the first question is not what the country wants, but who is receiving this, and where.
The one part that is fixed
The United Arab Emirates is not a contracting party to the 1961 Apostille Convention. The status table published by the Hague Conference listed 130 contracting parties when it was last updated on 30 June 2026, and the UAE does not appear on it. Nothing signed here can be apostilled, whatever a checklist says.
How we work once you have those two answers
Step one is yours, and it is the one that cannot be skipped. The other three are ours, and each of them is written around what you bring back.
1
Ask the recipient, and write the answer down
Contact the person or office in the United States who will receive it and ask what they need to see, in their own words. Get the state they are in, the exact act they want your agent to be able to do, and anything they have said about the form it should take. Send us that, not a summary of it.
2
Drafting the deed around that one act
We write the deed around that act, in the words the law uses. In Dubai a notarial instrument is in Arabic, and a document in another language is accepted only with a certified translation, with both versions signed by the parties, under Article 27 of Dubai Law 4 of 2013. Documents going to the Dubai Courts power of attorney service are translated by a legal translator registered with the Ministry of Justice.
3
Ratification before a notary public
Ratification is carried out before a notary public. Under Federal Decree-Law 20 of 2022 notarial duties belong to public notaries, private notaries and accredited UAE consuls, and in Dubai the notaries public sit under Dubai Law 4 of 2013 and Dubai Courts. The notary verifies identity from an ID card, passport or another official document issued by the State, checks capacity and consent, and reads the content out to you before you sign.
4
MOFAIC, and whatever the recipient asks after it
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs attests the signatures and seals under the service it names Attestation of Official Documents and Certificates. The original must be in Arabic or English, or carry a legally certified translation, and it must not be laminated. Anything asked for after that is set by the receiving side rather than by UAE law, which is exactly why we want their answer before we draft.
Our part in the process
The ratification is carried out before a notary public. Our lawyers and legal consultants draft the deed, arrange the legal translation, check the file and attend the appointment with you, and a notary public ratifies it. We are also not qualified in United States law and will not pretend otherwise, so nothing here tells you what any American office, bank or court will accept.
So this page states no American rule, no state requirement, no form, no recording step and no fee on that side. Every one of those belongs to the person or office in the United States who will receive it, and they will tell you if you ask them. Bring us their answer and we write the deed so that it says what they need it to say.
Six things the deed has to pin down
UAE law limits what a loosely written deed can do, and vagueness is the commonest reason an agent is turned away at a counter.
- The exact act, written out, because an agency expressed in general terms grants only acts of management.
- A special agency wherever the act goes past management and preservation, including sale, mortgage, settlement, acknowledgment, arbitration, oath and pleading before a court.
- Your agent’s name spelled exactly as the passport they will present shows it.
- The property, account, case or institution identified by its own details rather than described loosely.
- A term written into the deed itself, because UAE law sets no general fixed validity period.
- Whether your agent may appoint someone beneath them, settled one way or the other rather than left open.
What is settled here and what is not
Two halves of the same file. One is fixed by UAE law and we can tell you today. The other is not ours to answer.
Settled here
The UAE side of the file
Arabic drafting with a certified translation, ratification before a notary public, attestation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, published official fees. None of that changes with the recipient.
Settled there
Everything past the last UAE stamp
The wording the recipient expects, the state they sit in, and what happens to the deed on arrival. Only they can tell you, so ask before we draft.
The file we open for you
Two sets of identity details, the papers behind the matter, and the answer you brought back from the recipient. Send scans first, we check them, then the appointment is booked.
From you, the principal
You attend the ratification
- Emirates ID
- Passport, or another official document issued by the State
- Your signature, given before the notary
- A contact for the person who will act for you
From your agent in the United States
They do not travel here
- Passport copy as a PDF
- Full name spelled exactly as that passport shows it
- A way to reach them while the file is open
- The same set again for every further agent you name
From the recipient, in writing
This shapes every line of it
- The state they are in
- The act they need your agent to be able to do
- Any wording they have asked you to include
- Their requirements in their own words, not summarised
The mistakes that cost a month
A rejection means a second round of drafting, translation and fees. Most of these are settled on the day the deed is written.
- Drafting started before anyone asked the recipient what they wanted
- A deed in general terms used for an act that needed a special agency
- A name on the deed that does not match the passport your agent will present
- That the recipient’s own requirement is on the file, in writing, before a word is drafted
- That names, numbers and descriptions read the same on both language versions
- That the law relied on is current, since the 1985 Civil Code was repealed by Federal Decree-Law 25 of 2025 and Article 955 no longer applies
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often on this one.
Who exactly should I ask before anything is drafted?
The person or office in the United States who will receive it. That might be a county recorder, a state office, a bank, a title company, a school, a hospital or a lawyer, and each of them sets its own list. Ask what they need to see and which state they are in, then send us their answer in their words.
Does it matter which state it is going to?
Tell us the state and we will note it, but we will not tell you what that state requires. We are not qualified in United States law and we do not guess at it. The office receiving your deed knows its own requirements, so that answer has to come from them before we draft anything.
Is an apostille available on a document signed in the UAE?
No. The United Arab Emirates is not a contracting party to the 1961 Apostille Convention. The status table published by the Hague Conference listed 130 contracting parties when it was last updated on 30 June 2026, and the UAE is not among them. No authority here can issue one, so the deed is notarised and attested instead.
What language will the deed be written in?
Arabic. Under Article 27 of Dubai Law 4 of 2013 a notarial instrument in Dubai is in Arabic, and a document in another language is accepted only with a certified translation, with both versions signed by the parties. Documents going to the Dubai Courts power of attorney service are translated by a legal translator registered with the Ministry of Justice.
Do I have to appear in person to sign it?
Personal appearance is the default under Federal Decree-Law 20 of 2022, which requires the persons concerned or their legal representatives to appear before the notary. The same law lets the notary use information technology tools for transactions within their competence without that appearance. The Ministry of Justice also operates an E-Notary System for submission and verification.
Which fees here are official and published?
The federal schedule in Cabinet Resolution 19 of 2024 publishes AED 100 per party for executing or notarising a general or special power of attorney, and AED 50 for each page of a translation notarised in the instrument. A private notary adds 30 per cent, so AED 130 per party. Dubai Courts sits outside that schedule.
Why is the attestation fee different from one deed to another?
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes AED 150 for Individual Affairs documents and AED 2,000 for Commercial documents. A power of attorney of a personal nature sits in the first group. A power of attorney of a commercial nature, and a general power of attorney, sit in the second. The gap is wide, so the category is worth settling early.
What brings the authority to an end?
Under the Civil Transactions Law an agency is extinguished when the work entrusted to the agent is complete, when the term specified for it expires, or on the death or loss of legal capacity of the principal or the agent. Separately, the principal may revoke or restrict the authority at any time, unless it involves a third party’s right or was issued in the agent’s interest.
Start here
Send us the two answers first
Who is going to receive this, and in which state do they sit. Ask them, get the answer in writing, and send it to us with the act you need done. From there we draft the deed, put it into Arabic, check the file, attend the notary appointment with you and take it through attestation. If you do not have those two answers yet, that is the one thing to do today.
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.