Signatures, witnesses and notaries
Witness a personal POA in Dubai: what a witness can and cannot do
People use witnessing and notarisation as if they were one thing. They are not, and the difference decides whether a Dubai authority will act on your personal POA.
- Drafted in Arabic
- Legal translation arranged
- We attend, not notarise
The short answer
A witness attests that they saw a named person sign. A document a UAE authority will act on generally needs ratification before a notary public, not a witness alone.
What a witness does
Attests they saw you sign
What a notary does
Performs a notarial act under statute
Our role
Draft, translate, check and attend
Witnessing and notarisation are not the same thing
The two words are used as if they were interchangeable. They describe different acts, performed by different people, with different consequences for the document.
A witness
Someone who saw you sign
A witness attests that they watched a named person put a signature on a page. That is a statement about the signing. It says nothing about the standing of the document.
A notary public
A notarial act under statute
A notary public verifies identity, checks capacity and consent, reads the content out and performs a notarial act. Federal law reserves that work to notaries and accredited consuls.
What people mean by witnessing a personal POA in Dubai
People searching for a witness to a personal POA usually want one of two things. Either somebody to watch them sign, or a document that a registry, a bank or a court will act on. Those are different jobs. A witness attests to the signing. A notarial act is what gives the document official status under the notary law, and that is the part an authority looks for.
The ratification is carried out before a notary public. Our lawyers and legal consultants draft the authority, set it out in Arabic, provide the certified translation, check the identity documents and the wording, and attend the appointment with you.
Personal instruments people ask us to prepare
These are the subject categories Dubai Courts and the Ministry of Justice organise their services around. They are administrative labels, not types of power of attorney set by statute.
Property matters
A registry acts on a ratified instrument, not on a page somebody watched you sign. Dubai Courts asks for the title deed to be uploaded where the terms cover a property.
Vehicle matters
A vehicle POA is handled as its own subject, and Dubai Courts asks for the vehicle ownership certificate. The signature still has to be attested, not merely witnessed by someone.
Inheritance matters
Inheritance is one of the subjects Dubai Courts lists for POA ratification. We draft the authority around the specific act, because wording in general terms only covers management.
Marriage matters
Marriage is a listed subject for POA ratification at Dubai Courts. We draft it, arrange the Arabic and attend. The notarial act itself is performed by the notary public.
Divorce matters
Divorce is also a listed subject. What the receiving body acts on is the ratified instrument, so a witnessed signature on its own will not move the matter forward.
Court and legal case representation
Pleading before the court is one of the acts that needs a special agency naming it. The Ministry of Justice also runs lawyer representation as a digital POA domain.
What UAE law reserves to a notary
Federal Decree-Law 20/2022 sets out who may perform notarial duties in the UAE. Article 7 requires the notary to verify identity from an ID card, passport or another official document issued by the State, to check capacity and consent, and to read out the content of the transaction. A witness does none of that, and no statute we can cite gives a private witness that role.
Federal Decree-Law 20/2022, Article 3
The notarial duties shall be exclusively performed by the following persons: 1. Public Notaries; 2. Private Notaries; and 3. Accredited consuls of the State.
How a personal POA gets from draft to ratification
Four stages. We do the first two and the fourth with you, and we attend the third. The notarial act is the notary’s own.
1
Tell us what the agent must do
We start from the act, not the label. Anything beyond management and preservation needs a special agency naming the act and the dispositions it entails, so the wording has to be exact.
2
We draft it in Arabic
Instruments in Dubai are in Arabic. A foreign language version is accepted with a translation by a legal translator registered with the Ministry of Justice, and both versions are signed.
3
You attend before a notary public
Personal appearance is the default. Dubai Courts verifies capacity and eligibility by virtual or personal attendance. The notary checks identity and consent and reads the content out to you.
4
You receive the ratified instrument
The notarial act is what gives the document official status. We then check what the receiving authority still wants, such as attestation for a document that has to travel abroad.
What to have ready
These are the items the notary law, Dubai Courts and the Land Department actually ask for. Nothing on this list is invented.
The principal
The person giving the authority
- Emirates ID, passport or another official document issued by the State
- Attendance in person, or virtual attendance where the service allows it
- Answers on capacity and consent, which the notary is required to verify
- Nothing to arrange on language: if the notary does not share yours, the notary engages an interpreter from the Ministry register
The agent
The person who will act
- Emirates ID number, or an Emirates ID or passport copy in PDF
- A valid passport where the agent is a non-resident foreigner
- Details entered from the identity document itself, not from memory
- No residence visa copy, which no official rule we can cite requires
The document
Language and format
- Arabic text, because instruments in Dubai are drawn up in Arabic
- A translation by a legal translator approved by the Ministry of Justice
- Both the Arabic and the foreign language version signed by the parties
- Soft copies in PDF format for the Dubai Courts service
Where this goes wrong
The first list is what we watch people do. The second is what we check before anybody books an appointment.
- Signing in front of a witness at home or in an office, then presenting that page to an authority that expects a ratified instrument.
- Treating an apostille obtained abroad as enough. The UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so the consular chain still applies.
- Copying wording that cites Article 955 of the repealed 1985 Civil Code. Agency now sits at Articles 866 to 903 of Federal Decree-Law 25/2025.
- Whether the act needs a special agency. A POA in general terms only grants the agent the power to perform acts of management.
- Whether the Arabic text and its certified translation say the same thing, and whether both versions carry the signatures.
- Whether the body that will act on the document accepts a witnessed signature, or requires ratification before a notary public.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often on this one.
Is witnessing a POA the same as notarising it in Dubai?
No. A witness attests that they saw a named person sign. A notary public performs a notarial act after verifying identity from an ID card or passport, checking capacity and consent, and reading the content out to the parties. Federal Decree-Law 20/2022 reserves notarial duties to public notaries, private notaries and accredited consuls of the State.
Will a Dubai authority act on a personal POA that was only witnessed?
Generally no. The instrument a registry, bank or court expects is one ratified before a notary public. Dubai Courts describes its own service as attesting the signatures of the parties and verifying capacity and eligibility. If you need a body to act on the document, plan for ratification rather than a witness signature alone.
Can a lawyer witness my signature instead of a notary public?
A lawyer can draft the document, check it and attend with you, and that is what we do. A lawyer cannot perform a notarial act. Under Article 3 of Federal Decree-Law 20/2022, notarial duties are performed only by public notaries, private notaries and accredited consuls of the State.
My POA was signed and witnessed abroad. What happens now?
It goes through the consular chain. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the issuing country attests it, then the UAE embassy or consulate there, then MOFAIC in the UAE. MOFAIC publishes AED 150 for Individual Affairs documents and AED 2,000 for commercial documents, and asks that the document is not laminated.
Can I get an apostille for the UAE instead?
No. The UAE is not a contracting party to the Apostille Convention, so there is no apostille route into the country and no accession date to quote. An apostille issued in a member state does not, by itself, make a foreign POA usable here. The consular chain still applies.
Do I have to appear in person in front of the notary?
Personal appearance is the default under Article 17 of the notary law, but Article 18 permits the notary to use IT tools without personal appearance. Dubai Courts describes verifying capacity and eligibility by virtual or personal attendance, and the Ministry of Justice operates an E-Notary System and a digital POA service.
Does the power of attorney have to be in Arabic?
In Dubai, instruments are drawn up in Arabic. A foreign language document is accepted with an Arabic translation by a certified translator, with both versions signed by the parties. Documents for the Dubai Courts service must be translated by a legal translator approved by the Ministry of Justice. Bilingual drafting is practice, not a stated legal requirement.
What are the official fees at the notary?
The federal table under 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 included in the instrument. That schedule sits under the federal notary law, and Dubai Courts publishes its own fees.
Start here
Tell us what your agent needs to do
Send us the act you want the agent to carry out and who will hold the authority. We will tell you what the wording has to say, what the Arabic version needs, and which route fits the document. We draft, translate, check and attend. The ratification is before a notary public, and we will say so every time.
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.