Letter of Undertaking (UAE): Format, Sample and When It Binds

A letter of undertaking is a signed, one-sided promise to do something or not to do it: that a sponsored daughter is unmarried, that a bank will pay a loan into an escrow account, that an employer will not move an employee’s salary to another bank. No UAE law gives it a special form. It binds through the general rules of evidence, under which a signed private document counts against the person who signed it. This page explains what that means, which official services ask for an undertaking, what the letter should contain and when to notarise it, and gives an editable sample in Word and PDF. The rules were checked against Federal Decree-Law No. 35 of 2022 on evidence and Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2022 on notaries public on 27 September 2026.

What gives an undertaking its force

UAE law does not define a letter of undertaking or prescribe a form for it, and the Labour Law does not mention it. Its force comes from the Evidence Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 35 of 2022 on evidence in civil and commercial transactions:

• A signed private document binds its signer. Article 28 treats it as issued by the person who signed it and as evidence against them, unless they expressly deny the handwriting, signature, seal or fingerprint attributed to them.
• An acknowledgment can be written. Articles 14 to 16 define an acknowledgment as a person’s statement that they owe a right to another. It can be express or implied, spoken or written, and the person must have capacity over what they acknowledge.
• Signed letters count too. Article 29 gives signed correspondence the evidentiary force of a private document.

In practice an undertaking is only as strong as its wording and its signature. A general promise to cooperate, signed by someone who cannot bind the company, proves little. A specific obligation with a date, signed by the right person, can be used against them.

When an undertaking is asked for

These services ask for a written undertaking on their official pages. None of them publishes a template, so the letter has to state exactly what the service asks for.

The two bank formats also state that the letter is not a guarantee: the employer promises where the salary goes, not that the employee’s loan will be repaid. We found no undertaking requirement on the GDRFA Dubai, ICP or MOHRE service pages we checked on 27 September 2026. When the receiving party has its own form, as banks do for salary transfers, that form is the one to sign.

What a letter of undertaking should contain

• The title “Letter of Undertaking”, the date, and the reference it relates to, such as an application or file number.
• Who gives the undertaking: full name, nationality and passport or Emirates ID number; for a company, its name, trade licence number and the signatory’s name and position.
• Who receives it: the authority, bank or company, by its exact name.
• The promise itself as one specific obligation: what will be done or not done, by when, and for how long the undertaking lasts.
• What happens if the undertaking is not kept, where the receiving party asks for it.
• A statement that the information is true and that the letter is signed freely.
• The signature and the name under it and, for a company, the stamp if the receiving party asks for one.
• A witness if you want one, and notarisation only where it is required.

For a company, check that the person signing has authority to bind it, under the company’s articles or a power of attorney. The sample in the download follows this structure.

Notarisation: when it helps and where to do it

No general rule makes notarisation a condition for an undertaking to be valid. It matters for two reasons: the receiving party may require it, and it changes the evidence. A private document can be challenged by expressly denying the signature (Article 28 of the Evidence Law), while an official document is evidence against everyone unless forgery is proven (Article 25). Under the Notary Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2022, a notary authenticates the signatures of the parties on private documents at their request (Article 12), may do so electronically without the parties attending in person (Article 18), and an authenticated electronic signature and document have the evidentiary force the Evidence Law gives to a signature or an official document (Article 23).

• Federal: the Ministry of Justice service “Writing and authentication of contracts and deeds” runs online: register with UAE PASS, sign the document with UAE PASS and receive it electronically, with a service time of one day.
• Abu Dhabi: the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department’s English Notary Services Bureau lists declarations and undertakings among the documents it notarises digitally.
• Dubai: notaries attest the signatures of the parties on all types of documents and contracts under Dubai Law No. 4 of 2013, at Dubai Courts or at a licensed private notary office. Dubai charges per instrument, not per type of document: attesting the signatures on an instrument of unspecified value costs AED 200 per party. See our guide to notary public services in Dubai.

No fee for an undertaking by name is published on any official page we checked. A notarised document that will be used abroad normally also needs MOFA attestation.

Undertaking, declaration, affidavit or NOC?

• Undertaking: a promise about what you will or will not do.
• Declaration or acknowledgment: a statement of a fact, or an admission that you owe a right to someone; the Evidence Law calls this an acknowledgment (Article 14).
• Sworn declaration: a declaration made under oath, which a notary writes and authenticates (Article 11 of the Notary Law).
• No objection certificate: another person’s consent, such as a sponsor’s or an employer’s. The DLD Golden Visa service lists both: the undertaking about the children and a separate NOC that must be notarised. See the NOC letter format.

Common mistakes

• A vague promise such as “I will cooperate fully”, with no specific act, date or duration.
• Signing for a company without authority to bind it.
• Writing your own letter when the receiving party has its own form.
• Promising something you do not control, such as another person’s conduct.
• Notarising when nobody asked for it, or skipping it when the service requires it.
• Not keeping a signed copy, or the notary’s certificate if it was notarised.

For the undertaking banks ask employers for, see the salary transfer letter. The family sponsorship rules are in the UAE family visa sponsorship guide, and the investor route in the UAE Golden Visa guide.