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A power of attorney is the document that lets somebody else act for you: sell your car, sign for your company, appear in a case, transfer a property. In the UAE it only works if it has been through the right authority in the right order, and the order changes completely depending on whether you sign it here or abroad. Getting it wrong is expensive in time rather than money, because the document is refused at the counter where you need it, not at the counter where you made it. Fees below are the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs published amounts, checked on 8 August 2026.
The published attestation fees
| Document | Where it was issued | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| General power of attorney (non-commercial enterprise) | Issued in the UAE | AED 150 |
| General power of attorney (non-commercial enterprise) | Issued outside the UAE | AED 150 |
| Single purpose power of attorney, for example selling a car | Issued in the UAE | AED 150 |
Source: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Attestations Guide, checked 8 August 2026. Two things are worth reading off that table. The fee does not change with the destination country, and it does not change with where the document was signed. A power of attorney does not appear anywhere in the ministry’s AED 2,000 commercial schedule, which covers board resolutions, commercial agencies and capital changes; the ministry treats a power of attorney as a certificate. The fee is charged per document, so three separate powers of attorney are three fees.
Signing one inside the UAE
A power of attorney executed here is notarised by a notary public. Since September 2022 the Ministry of Justice has run an online issuance service on its digital platform: the ministry states that a customer can generate a digitally ratified power of attorney in under 10 minutes without attending a notary office, store it in a blockchain-backed digital wallet and share it with third parties and competent authorities. That service was built for the remote litigation system, so it suits litigation and general authority documents; a property transfer or a company transaction may still be directed to a specific counter by the authority receiving it.
Practical point that costs people a second trip: bring the exact scope you want. A notary will notarise what is written, and a power drafted for one purpose will not stretch to a second one later.
Signing one outside the UAE
This is where documents fail. The chain has four steps and they run in a fixed order.
| Step | Where | What it proves |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Notarisation | A notary in the country of signature | That you signed it |
| 2. Legalisation | That country’s foreign ministry or competent authority | That the notary is genuine |
| 3. UAE mission attestation | UAE embassy or consulate in that country | That the foreign ministry seal is genuine |
| 4. MOFA attestation | UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, inside the UAE | That the UAE mission seal is genuine, AED 150 |
Then comes the step people forget entirely: a legal translation into Arabic by a translator licensed in the UAE. The ministry will not attest a document that has not been legalised abroad first, so there is no shortcut that starts in the UAE. The same chain, with the country-by-country detail, is set out in our certificate attestation guide, and the ministry side is covered in our MOFA attestation guide.
What gets a power of attorney rejected
| Problem | What happens |
|---|---|
| Scope too narrow for the transaction | The receiving authority refuses to act on it, and a new document is needed |
| No Arabic version | Refused; a UAE licensed legal translation is required |
| Chain done out of order | MOFA cannot attest a foreign document that has not been legalised abroad |
| Expired or revoked | A power of attorney can be revoked by the grantor; the counterparty checks currency |
| Attorney named loosely | Name, passport and identity details must match the person who will appear |
What this page does not tell you
It does not quote a notary counter fee. Notarisation is charged by the judicial authority of the emirate where you sign, those tariffs are published on portals that block automated reading from outside the UAE, and we do not publish figures we have not read at the source. Ask the notary or your representative for the counter tariff for your document type and value before you go. The AED 150 above is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs attestation only, and it is a separate charge from notarisation.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to attest a power of attorney in the UAE?
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs charges AED 150 for a general power of attorney for a non-commercial enterprise and AED 150 for a single purpose power of attorney, whether the document was issued inside or outside the UAE. Notarisation at the notary public is charged separately by the emirate’s judicial authority.
Can I make a power of attorney online in the UAE?
Yes for many purposes. The Ministry of Justice launched an online power of attorney issuance service in September 2022 and states that a digitally ratified document can be generated in under 10 minutes without visiting a notary office, then stored in a blockchain-backed digital wallet.
How do I use a power of attorney signed in my home country?
Notarise it locally, legalise it at that country’s foreign ministry, attest it at the UAE embassy or consulate there, then attest it at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs for AED 150 once it is in the country. Add a legal translation into Arabic by a UAE licensed translator.
Does a power of attorney need to be in Arabic?
For use before UAE authorities, yes. Documents in another language need a legal translation into Arabic by a translator licensed in the UAE. Many UAE notarised powers are issued bilingually for this reason.
Is a commercial power of attorney charged at AED 2,000?
No. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs commercial schedule at AED 2,000 covers board resolutions and meeting minutes, commercial agencies, capital adjustments and similar corporate instruments. Powers of attorney appear in the AED 150 certificates schedule.
Can a power of attorney be cancelled?
Yes, a grantor can revoke it. Because a counterparty will check that the document is still current before acting, revoke formally through the same channel that issued it rather than by informing the attorney alone.
Need a power of attorney drafted so it survives the counter it is going to? Browse legal and compliance firms or describe your case and compare offers.
Official references used for context in this article.
- UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Attestations Guide (fee schedule, power of attorney entries)
- UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attestation of official documents and certificates
- UAE Ministry of Justice, launch of the digital power of attorney issuance service
- UAE Ministry of Justice, e-Notary system
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