Special agency under UAE law
Special Power of Attorney Dubai: Authority for One Named Act
A special power of attorney gives your agent authority over one named act and nothing else. UAE law sets out which acts cannot rest on general wording, so the drafting has to name the act and what it allows.
- Drafted to one act
- Arabic legal translation
- Attended at the notary
Special power of attorney, in short
A special power of attorney is an agency limited to a specific act that the document names, such as selling one property or signing one settlement. UAE law requires this form of wording for any act that goes beyond managing and preserving what you already own.
Legal name
Special agency under Article 869
Governing law
Federal Decree-Law 25/2025
Where it is signed
Before a notary public in Dubai
The law that makes a special power of attorney necessary
UAE agency law now sits in Federal Decree-Law 25/2025, the Civil Transactions Law, at Articles 866 to 903. It replaced Federal Law 5 of 1985, so the Article 955 citation still copied across provider sites points at a repealed statute. Article 869 allows an agency to be general or special. Article 870(1) is the provision that decides how your document has to be written, and it is worth reading in full.
Article 870(1), Civil Transactions Law
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 a special power of attorney actually does
A special power of attorney sets a boundary. It names the act, it names what the act entails, and the agent may do that and nothing else. Article 871(1) explains why this matters: an agency expressed in general terms, without specifying what is intended, grants only the power to perform acts of management. A document saying the agent may act in all matters will not move a title deed or close a claim.
The other statutory form is the general agency, and the two are not interchangeable. A general power of attorney carries acts of management, while the special form is what the listed acts call for. The side by side comparison has a page of its own, so this one stays with the special form and how it is written.
Acts that need a special power of attorney
Article 870(1) names these acts in particular. The list is not a set of extras. It marks the point at which general wording stops being enough and the act has to be spelt out.
Sale
Selling an asset on your behalf. The document has to name what is being sold and the disposition it entails, rather than simply stating that the agent may sell.
Donation
Giving property away for nothing in return. A gift moves ownership without payment, so the law will not read that authority into a general instruction.
Settlement
Agreeing terms that close a dispute. A settlement gives something up on your behalf, so the authority to compromise has to sit in the document itself.
Mortgage
Placing a charge over an asset as security. The agent needs the act named, together with the asset it covers and what the mortgage permits.
Acknowledgment
Admitting a debt or a right on your behalf. An acknowledgment binds you to what is admitted, which is why Article 870(1) singles it out by name.
Arbitration, oaths and pleading
Referring a matter to arbitration, administering and accepting an oath, and pleading before the court. Each is listed separately, and each has to be named in the wording.
What the wording has to pin down
Article 870(1) asks for the type of act and the dispositions it entails. In practice that becomes a short list of points a drafter fixes before the document goes anywhere near a notary.
- The act itself, named in the terms the law uses, not a broad phrase such as all matters or anything required.
- The subject of the act, identified by title deed number, plot, chassis number, case number or account, so it cannot be read across to something else.
- What the act entails, for example whether authority to sell also covers signing the transfer, receiving the price and handing over possession.
- The agent, by full name as it appears on the Emirates ID or passport the notary will check against the document.
- The term, because Article 897 extinguishes an agency on expiry of the term specified for it, and a document with no term written in has none.
- Whether the agent may appoint a sub-agent, and that revoking the principal agency revokes every sub-agency under Article 903(2).
Where a special power of attorney is usually wanted
Dubai Courts organises its ratification service around subjects rather than legal categories. These four come up most often in a special wording.
One property
Selling, mortgaging or transferring a single named property. Dubai Courts asks for the title deed when the terms of the power of attorney relate to a property.
One vehicle
Selling or transferring a single vehicle. The ownership certificate goes up with the application, and the chassis detail stops the authority being read across to a second car.
Court work
Pleading before the court, and the acts that travel with it: settlement, arbitration and the administering of an oath. Article 870(1) lists each one separately.
An insurance claim
Authorising a named representative to file and collect on one claim. The insurer, the policy and the claim belong in the wording, not a loose authority to deal with insurers generally.
How the document is prepared and ratified
We draft, translate, check and attend. The ratification itself is done before a notary public.
1
Fix the scope
We take the act, the asset and the limits from you and set them down in the terms Article 870(1) needs. Anything deliberately staying out gets said now.
2
Draft and translate
In Dubai, instruments are drawn up in Arabic. A foreign language version is permitted with an Arabic translation by a certified legal translator, and both versions are signed by the parties.
3
Check the papers
Emirates ID or passport for you and for the agent, plus the title deed, ownership certificate, trademark certificate or case reference the act attaches to, all as clean PDFs.
4
Attend for ratification
Dubai Courts describes the service as verifying capacity and eligibility by virtual or personal attendance. The notary checks identity, capacity and consent, and reads the content out before it is ratified.
Documents to have ready
Three groups. The first two are asked for every time. The third only applies once the act attaches to a specific asset or case, which for a special power of attorney it nearly always does.
From you
The principal giving the authority
- Emirates ID card
- Passport, for a non-resident principal
- Soft copies in PDF, which is what Dubai Courts asks for
- Any earlier power of attorney covering the same act
For the agent
The person you are appointing
- Emirates ID number, or the card itself
- Passport, where the agent holds no Emirates ID
- Full name spelt exactly as the identity document has it
- Their details entered on the application, or the document uploaded
For the act
Whatever the authority attaches to
- Title deed, where the act concerns a property
- Vehicle ownership certificate, for a vehicle
- Trademark registration certificate, for a trademark
- The case reference, for work before a court
What gets a document sent back, and what gets it through
Most of the trouble sits in the wording and the paperwork rather than the law. These are the two lists worth reading before anyone books an appointment.
- Wording that authorises the agent in general, when the act is a sale, a mortgage, a settlement or an acknowledgment.
- An asset described loosely, so nobody can tie the authority to one property, one vehicle or one case.
- A foreign language document with no Arabic translation by a legal translator registered with the UAE Ministry of Justice.
- The act named in the terms Article 870(1) uses, with the dispositions it entails written out in full.
- Identity documents whose names match the names in the document, for the principal and for the agent.
- A term written into the document, so everyone reading it can see when the authority ends.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often on this one.
What is a special power of attorney in Dubai?
It is an agency limited to a specific act that the document names. Federal Decree-Law 25/2025 allows an agency to be general or special, and Article 870(1) requires the special form for any act that is not an act of management and preservation. The wording must state the act and what it entails.
Which acts require a special power of attorney?
Article 870(1) names donations, sale, settlement, mortgage, acknowledgment, arbitration, administering and accepting an oath, and pleading before the court. It introduces them with the word particularly, so the test is wider than the list. Any act that is not an act of management and preservation needs the special form.
Can a general power of attorney cover a sale instead?
Not on general wording. Article 871(1) says an agency expressed in general terms, without specifying what is intended, grants only the power to perform acts of management. A sale is a disposition, so it has to be named and its effects written out. The page comparing the two forms goes into this further.
Does a special power of attorney have to be in Arabic?
In Dubai, instruments are drawn up in Arabic. Dubai Law 4 of 2013 permits a foreign language document only where an Arabic translation by a certified translator comes with it and both versions are signed. Dubai Courts asks that documents sent to its ratification service be translated by a legal translator approved by the Ministry of Justice.
How long does a special power of attorney last?
For the term written into it. There is no general statutory validity period in UAE law. Article 897 extinguishes an agency on completion of the work entrusted to the agent, on expiry of the term specified for the agency, or on the death or loss of capacity of the principal or the agent.
What does it cost to have one notarised?
The federal schedule in Cabinet Resolution 19 of 2024 sets 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. Dubai Courts publishes its own fees separately, so confirm the current Dubai figure with the court.
Can I cancel a special power of attorney after signing?
Yes. Article 898 lets the principal revoke or restrict the agent’s authority at any time, unless the agency involves the 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 bring a claim for compensation.
I signed a special power of attorney abroad. Will Dubai accept it?
Only after legalisation. It must be attested by the foreign ministry of the issuing country, then by the UAE embassy or consulate there, then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE. The UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so an apostille alone is not enough. Attestation is published at AED 150 for individual affairs documents and AED 2,000 for commercial documents.
Start here
Tell us the act, we will draft to it
Send us the act you need covered and the asset or the case it attaches to. Our legal consultants draft the wording, arrange the Arabic legal translation, check the identity documents against the names in the document, and attend with you on the day. The ratification is carried out before 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.