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Updated March 2024

An ideal destination for work, investment, entrepreneurship, education, and life, the UAE sees a number of expats coming into Dubai and the greater UAE and basing themselves here. In a situation like this, expats might be seeking attestation services to the UAE quite frequently.

The attestation service in the UAE is a procedure to confirm the validity of the seal and signature on documents issued in the UAE or abroad. Attestation of documents issued by entities in the UAE or in other countries is provided by the MoFAIC (Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation) in the UAE and by its missions abroad.

Wego has outlined everything you need to know about authenticating certificates in the UAE. Keep reading to learn more!

Table of Contents

Dubai & UAE attestation service

The attestation service in Dubai, UAE is a procedure to confirm the validity of the seal and signature on documents issued in the UAE or abroad. Generally, the attestation services, provided by the MoFAIC (Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation) in the UAE and by its missions abroad, include the attestation of documents issued by entities in the UAE or in other countries including:

Individual Affairs Documents, such as educational documents (certificates & transcripts are treated as two different documents), birth certificates, death certificates, medical reports, good conduct certificates, marriage certificates, court-issued certificates, and power of attorney of personal nature, to may it concern letters, employment contract, employment offers, bank statements, personal tax certificates, and more.
Commercial Documents, such as contract or agreement, commercial registration, the appointment of a manager or a director, minutes of the meeting of the board of directors or partners, company change of name, brand registration, distribution agreement, corporate insurance certificate, trademark registration, power of attorney of commercial nature, a general power of attorney, signature document, and more.
Invoices and Certificate of Origins, such as commercial documents with proof of the sale of any items or products.

Please consult the MoFAIC website or contact the MoFAIC’s call centre at +97180044444 for more details

Dubai & UAE attestation general requirements

Depending on the origin of your documents, the following instructions have to be kept in mind before getting your documents attested by the MoFAIC

For documents issued inside the UAE:

the original document must be attested by the governing government entity except for digital documents issued by a government entity or documents attested electronically
apply for attestation in the UAE through MoFAIC online channels.
include the original document. If the document is digital or electronically attested, include a copy of it.
document can then be attested by one of our embassies or missions abroad by applying for attestation on our online channels.

For documents issued outside the UAE:

the original document must be attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the issuing country.
the document can then be attested by one of UAE’s Embassy or Consulate in issuing country by applying through MoFAIC online channels. Please include the original attested document.

Dubai & UAE attestation required documents

The following are some of the documents required to get your documents attested through MoFAIC:

original document in English or Arabic (or an official translation of it)
the document must be attested by the appropriate governing bodies prior to submission
the document must not be laminated

Dubai & UAE attestation procedure

The attestation procedure in Dubai will depend on whether you are getting your documents attested within the UAE or abroad:

Within the UAE

register on the MoFAIC (Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation) website.
fill in the application, as required.
pay the required fees for attestation
you will receive an email confirming your successful application
you will now hand over and receive the attested documents through the courier company.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation offers various courier services for its customers in the UAE:

normal: (3 working days) – up to 25 documents per transaction
express: (1 working day) – up to 10 documents per transaction
pre-paid courier service – various packages for companies and entities with no documents limit

Please contact the MoFAIC’s call centre at +97180044444 for more details

Outside the UAE

register on the MoFAIC (Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation) website.
fill in the application, as required.
pay the required fees for attestation
you will receive an email confirming your successful application
visit your country’s official UAE Mission to get the documents attested.

Please note that if there is no UAE mission in the host country, please get in touch with MoFAIC’s call centre at +97180044444.

You can refer to the MoFAIC user guide for more details regarding the attestation procedure.

Dubai & UAE attestation fees

The MoFAIC attestation fee for individual affairs documents, including birth certificates, death certificates, etc is around AED 150 (USD 40.84). In contrast, the cost for commercial documents is around AED 2000 (USD 544.50), whereas the invoices range from AED 150 (USD 40.84) to AED 800 (USD 217.80).

Please refer to the MoFAIC website for details regarding the attestation fees for various types of documents.

Dubai & UAE attestation delivery

Delivery services are now available for customers seeking to attest official documents through UAE missions in the Republic of Korea, India, and the Philippines. After completing the attestation process, a delivery service will collect and transport the documents from any location for a timely service delivery experience. The purpose of this initiative is to ensure that service delivery is timely and efficient.