Notarisation is the procedural act that gives a Dubai power of attorney legal force. Without notarisation, an instrument cannot be presented at the Dubai Land Department, banks, the RTA, or other Dubai authorities. The act itself is short — the substance lies in the drafting that precedes it and, where the POA is to be used outside the UAE, the consular legalisation that follows.
notarization.ae is the dedicated Dubai reference on POA notarisation, maintained by Cendale Documents Clearing Services FZCO. The site covers what notarisation establishes, why bilingual drafting must precede it, and the post-notarisation legalisation route for instruments used outside the UAE.
Notarisation is the formal attestation by a Dubai Notary Public — an officer authorised under UAE law to certify the authenticity of legal acts — that the principal personally appeared, was identified, understood the instrument, and signed it freely. The notary’s seal and signature on the instrument convert it from a private document into one with legal force under UAE law.
What notarisation does not establish: that the powers granted are suitable for every later transaction. An authorised notary checks identity, capacity, consent and the document’s compliance with the applicable requirements; the notary does not draft the POA or advise on its commercial scope. Whether the powers fit the matter at hand is a separate review.
This is why drafting precedes notarisation. A notary reviews the instrument for compliance with the applicable requirements and can decline a defective one, but notarisation does not guarantee that generic powers, an ambiguous scope or a mis-identified property will be accepted at the desk where the POA is to be used (DLD, bank, RTA). Transaction-specific review before notarisation prevents rejection later.
A Dubai property POA is usually prepared in Arabic-English bilingual format because the receiving authority may require Arabic; where a bilingual instrument is used, the Arabic is the operative version and the English the working version, and the two must be aligned in substance. Confirm the language requirement with the receiving authority for the specific document; some channels, such as ADJD’s English Notary Bureau, accept English documents for their own process.
The instrument must identify: the principal (full name as on Emirates ID and passport, with both numbers); the attorney (the person to whom power is delegated, with the same identification); the matter (the property by community, building, unit number, and title deed reference, or the bank account by IBAN, or the company by trade licence); the powers granted (specifically itemised, not generic); and the validity period (where applicable).
Generic drafting — “power over real estate matters” without naming the property, “banking authority” without specifying the account, “general representation” without identifying the matter — is rejected at the receiving desk. The notary will notarise it; DLD or the bank will not accept it.
For property POAs in particular, DLD has issued guidance on the acceptance and verification of POAs (Circular No. 29/R/2025); confirm its current requirements with the receiving DLD service or trustee before relying on an instrument. Drafting should anticipate the verification step: a QR code on the instrument should lead to an official verification record at the issuing authority.
For drafting against the standard transaction types (property purchase, sale, gift, mortgage, ownership management, banking, RTA, company representation), see poas.ae.
The principal attends a Notary Public office in Dubai with: the drafted bilingual instrument; original Emirates ID and passport; the same documentation for the attorney (or a copy if the attorney is not present); and any supporting documentation referenced in the POA (e.g., title deed for a property POA, where the notary may want to verify the property reference).
The notary verifies identity against the original documents, reads the instrument with the principal (in Arabic, with translation as needed), confirms the principal’s understanding and willingness, witnesses the signature, applies the notary seal, and registers the notarisation in the official record.
The act itself is short — typically 15–30 minutes once the principal is at the desk. The waiting time at the notary office is the variable; major notary offices in Dubai operate by appointment and walk-in, with appointment slots strongly recommended.
The notary’s fee is set by regulation and varies with the instrument type and the value of the matter. Property POAs attract higher fees than banking POAs; high-value instruments attract higher fees than low-value ones. The fee is paid at the notary office at the time of notarisation.
Where the principal cannot attend a notary office in person — overseas, hospitalised or otherwise unable to appear — there are two routes: remote UAE notarisation, which may be available to an eligible overseas principal, or execution and notarisation in the principal’s location followed by the UAE authentication route (issuing-country foreign ministry, UAE embassy or consulate there, UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Choose the channel for the document and the principal’s eligibility, then confirm acceptance with the receiving authority.
The UAE is not listed as a Contracting Party to the Hague Apostille Convention (HCCH status table, checked 10 September 2026). A foreign-executed POA therefore follows the UAE authentication route rather than an apostille-only route.
For a POA executed abroad the chain is: drafted in compliant format; notarised by a notary in the issuing country; attested by that country’s foreign ministry; legalised at the UAE embassy or consulate there; attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs on arrival; and, where not in Arabic, translated by a UAE-sworn translator. An apostille does not replace these steps. Confirm the document, translation and submission requirements with the receiving authority — the Dubai Notary Public, DLD, RTA or the bank — before execution.
The chain must be intact. Missing the originating-country foreign ministry attestation is a common defect. The UAE embassy will only legalise documents that have been pre-attested at the originating end; without that step, the chain is broken and the document will not be accepted at the Dubai receiving desk.
The chain typically takes 2–6 weeks depending on the originating jurisdiction’s processing speeds and consular load. MOFAIC charges AED 150 per personal document and AED 2,000 per commercial document. Plan accordingly when transactions are time-sensitive.
Where a POA notarised in Dubai is to be used outside the UAE, the reverse legalisation chain applies: notarisation by Dubai Notary Public; attestation by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC); legalisation by the destination country’s embassy or consulate in the UAE; on receipt in the destination country, translation into the destination language by a sworn translator if required.
Common destinations for outbound Dubai POAs include the UK, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, the United States, Canada, and major European jurisdictions. Each destination’s embassy in the UAE has its own legalisation process, fees, and turnaround. The MOFAIC step is uniform.
For a UAE-issued document destined for use abroad, an apostille is not available, because the UAE is not a Contracting Party to the Apostille Convention. The destination country’s own authentication requirements apply; confirm them with the receiving authority there before arranging attestation, and treat the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs step and any destination-embassy legalisation in the UAE as separate requirements to verify for that destination.
Recurring rejection causes at the receiving desk (DLD, bank, RTA, courts):
Generic powers. The instrument grants “authority over real estate” without naming a specific property; “banking powers” without naming a specific account; “general representation” without identifying the matter. Specific drafting is mandatory.
Mis-identified subject. Property identified by an old address rather than the current title deed reference; a bank account identified by the wrong IBAN; a company identified by an old trade name. The receiving desk will not match the POA to its records.
Missing or expired identity documents. The principal’s Emirates ID has been replaced (number changed) without the new ID being presented; the principal’s passport has expired; the attorney’s identity documents are missing.
Defective authentication chain. For a POA executed abroad the chain must be complete: notarisation in the issuing country, that country’s foreign-ministry attestation, UAE embassy or consulate legalisation there, UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs attestation, and sworn Arabic translation. An apostille presented in place of these steps is not a recognised substitute in the UAE. A missing or invalid link causes rejection.
POA verification not confirmed. For property POAs, confirm the instrument’s authenticity, scope and current status through the issuing authority and the receiving DLD service; a QR code should lead to an official verification record, and the accepted verification method should be confirmed with the trustee before the appointment.
Validity expired. POAs issued with a stated validity period that has passed; or POAs revoked by the principal between issue and presentation. The receiving desk verifies validity at the point of use.
Notarisation through a channel whose permitted scope does not cover the document. Use an authorised public or private notary whose permitted scope covers the instrument — authorised private notaries operate under Dubai’s notary rules (Resolution No. 137 of 2022) and are a legitimate channel — and confirm the receiving authority’s requirements for the transaction.
Property POAs (purchase, sale, gift, mortgage, ownership management): notarised through an authorised channel with the property identified by community, building, unit and title deed reference. Where the property is off-plan, the Oqood reference replaces the title deed reference. Used at DLD and Trustee Offices. DLD has issued guidance on the acceptance and verification of POAs used in property transactions (Circular No. 29/R/2025); confirm the current requirements with the receiving DLD service or trustee before relying on an instrument.
Banking POAs (account management, transaction authority, fund transfers): notarised in Dubai with the account identified by IBAN. Used at the issuing bank’s branch. Some banks require their own POA template in addition to the Dubai-notarised instrument.
Company POAs (signature authority, contract execution, regulatory filings): notarised in Dubai with the company identified by trade licence number. Where the company is foreign-registered, additional corporate documentation is required (memorandum, board resolution, certificate of good standing, all attested through the foreign jurisdiction’s consular legalisation chain).
Court POAs (litigation representation, settlement authority): notarised in Dubai with the matter identified by court reference where available. The Dubai Courts have specific POA requirements that go beyond the standard notarisation.
RTA POAs (vehicle registration, transfer, traffic file management): notarised in Dubai with the vehicle or traffic file identified.
A notarised POA can be cancelled by the principal at any time. The cancellation is itself a notarised act — the principal attends a Notary Public office, executes a cancellation instrument identifying the original POA, and the cancellation is registered.
Where the cancelled POA has been used to register a position (e.g., the POA-holder has signed a Form F that has been registered with DLD), the cancellation does not unwind the registered act — it only stops the POA from being used for further acts. Restoring the underlying position requires a separate corrective process.
Replacement of a defective POA — where the original is rejected at the receiving desk for substantive defects — runs as fresh execution and notarisation of a corrected instrument. The defective POA is retired (and may be formally cancelled if it has been registered anywhere).
Bilingual drafting, Notary Public booking, MOFAIC attestation, and onward consular legalisation are coordinated through poas.ae.
No. The notary verifies identity, capacity, consent and the document’s compliance with the applicable requirements; drafting is a separate, prior step. Prepare the instrument in the bilingual format the receiving desk requires before the notarial appointment.
No. Original Emirates ID is required for principal verification at the notary office. Where the ID has expired, the renewal must be processed first.
No. Only the principal is required at notarisation. The attorney’s identification is included in the instrument but the attorney does not need to attend.
The notarisation act itself is 15–30 minutes once at the desk. Waiting times at notary offices vary; appointments are recommended.
The POA can be executed and notarised in your location, then legalised for use in the UAE through the full consular legalisation chain: originating-country notarisation, foreign ministry attestation, UAE embassy legalisation in the issuing country, MOFAIC attestation in the UAE, and Arabic translation. The chain takes 2–6 weeks. Because the UAE is not a Contracting Party to the Hague Apostille Convention (status table checked 10 September 2026), an apostille from the issuing country does not replace these steps; the full authentication chain is required whatever the issuing country, and the deed still needs Arabic translation.
It can, with reverse legalisation: MOFAIC attestation in the UAE, destination embassy legalisation in the UAE, destination-language translation if required. The UAE is not a Contracting Party to the Hague Apostille Convention (status table checked 10 September 2026), so no apostille is issued in place of destination-embassy legalisation. Confirm the destination country’s requirements with the receiving authority there before reliance.
The UAE is not a Contracting Party to the Hague Apostille Convention (HCCH status table, checked 10 September 2026), so an apostille is not issued for a UAE document and does not replace the consular legalisation chain. For a document executed abroad, the UAE authentication route applies: notarisation and foreign-ministry attestation in the issuing country, UAE embassy or consulate legalisation there, then UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs attestation. For a UAE document destined for use abroad, the destination country’s own requirements apply and should be confirmed with the receiving authority there.
The fee is regulated and varies with instrument type and matter value. Property POAs cost more than banking POAs; high-value instruments cost more than low-value ones.
The operative version under UAE law is Arabic. POAs are typically drafted bilingually in Arabic and English, with the Arabic prevailing where there is a discrepancy.
Rejection is typically substantive (generic powers, mis-identified subject, attestation defect, non-compliance with DLD Circular No. 29/R/2025) rather than notarisation defect. The remedy is fresh drafting and re-notarisation of a corrected instrument.
notarization.ae is an information resource published and maintained by Cendale Documents Clearing Services FZCO – Trade Licence 78065 – VAT 105334659700003.
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notarization.ae is an independent reference resource. It is not a government website. The information on this site is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice.
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Last reviewed: May 2026