Services
Corporate and Business Notary Services in Dubai
If you run a company in Dubai, sooner or later a bank, a free zone authority or a government department will ask for a notarised or attested copy of a company document. Our business notary services in Dubai cover the paperwork side of that request: company powers of attorney, board resolutions, the memorandum of association and its amendments, share transfer documents and commercial contracts. Our in-house notary public notarises them at our Business Bay office, online, or on a home visit to your office. This page explains which documents usually need notarising, who can sign them, and how the process runs from your side.
Overview
At a glance
- Company documents most often needing notarisation: power of attorney, board resolution, MOA and MOA addendum, share transfer instruments, some commercial contracts.
- Notarisation happens before a notary public, who checks the signatory’s ID and proof of authority, then applies the seal.
- Foreign company documents cannot be apostilled for UAE use, because the UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention. They follow the attestation chain instead: notarisation or legalisation in the home country, then MOFAIC attestation in the UAE.
- Federal notarisation fees are set by Cabinet Resolution No. 19 of 2024. Ask us for the current private notary fee for your company document when you book.
- We prepare your documents, notarise them with our in-house notary public, and take care of the attestation and translation steps around it.
Services
What we cover under company documents
Company POAs, board resolutions, MOAs and contracts: we handle notarisation and attestation of Dubai business documents through licensed notaries.
Company documents
Memorandum of association
What a memorandum of association is for a Dubai company, what it must include, and how we prepare notarisation, translation and attestation.
Read more
Guide
Board resolution
Need a board resolution accepted by a bank, free zone or ministry? When it must be notarised or attested in the UAE and how we prepare the steps.
Read more
Which company documents usually need notarising
A UAE company is built on a small stack of core documents, and most of the requests we see for dubai notary for business matters concern one of these:
- Memorandum of association (MOA), the founding document that sets out shareholders, capital, manager and business activities. See our memorandum of association guide for what it must contain and when it needs notarising.
- Addendum to the MOA, used whenever a shareholder, manager, activity, name or capital figure changes after incorporation. Covered on our addendum to MOA page.
- Board resolution, the company’s written record of a decision, often needed to open or change a bank account, appoint a manager, approve a share transfer or authorise a signatory. Read our board resolution notarisation guide.
- Company power of attorney, used when a company authorises an individual to sign on its behalf, for a bank, a property transaction, a court case or general management. See company power of attorney.
- Share transfer documents, including a power of attorney to sign a share transfer where a shareholder cannot attend in person. See power of attorney for share transfer.
- Commercial contracts, such as agency, distribution, lease or supply agreements, where a party wants the signatures authenticated for extra weight if the contract is ever disputed.
- Trade licence copies and other supporting documents, usually needed as certified true copies alongside the main instrument, not notarised on their own.
Each of these has its own signing rules and its own paperwork, which is why we have kept them as separate pages rather than one long list. If your document is not on it, contact us and we will tell you the right route.
UAE company documents versus foreign company documents
The path a document takes depends on where it was created.
Documents created inside the UAE, such as an MOA drafted for a Dubai mainland or free zone company, go straight to a notary public in Dubai (or, for some corporate acts, a Ministry of Justice channel) for signing and sealing. No cross-border legalisation is needed for domestic use.
Documents created outside the UAE, such as a board resolution passed by a foreign parent company or a power of attorney signed by an overseas shareholder, follow a longer chain before they are accepted here:
- The document is signed and notarised (or otherwise authenticated) in the country where it was created.
- It is legalised in that country, often by the foreign ministry and then by the UAE embassy or consulate there.
- Once in the UAE, MOFAIC (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation) attests it.
- If it is not already in Arabic, a legal translator registered with the UAE Ministry of Justice translates it, and the translation itself is notarised.
There is no apostille shortcut for any step of this. The UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille stamp from another country’s authority has no standing here and will not be accepted in place of the legalisation chain above. If a foreign company or shareholder is in a hurry, this is the most common cause of delay: a document arrives with an apostille instead of embassy legalisation and MOFAIC attestation, and it has to be sent back.
In person or through an online channel
Notarisation in the UAE can happen with the signatory attending in person, or, for some acts, through the Ministry of Justice’s E-Notary system, which uses UAE PASS identity verification and a video session instead of a physical appointment. We also offer our own online notary public services. Where a remote route fits your document, we will tell you; where it does not, our in-house notary public notarises it in person at our Business Bay office or on a home visit to your office, and we guide you through what to bring.
Who signs, and what proof of authority to bring
Company documents cannot simply be signed by whoever is available. The notary will want to see that the person in front of them has the authority to sign for the company, which usually means:
- A valid Emirates ID (for UAE residents) or passport (for visitors and overseas signatories).
- The company’s trade licence, current and matching the company name exactly.
- The MOA or articles of association showing who the manager or authorised signatory is.
- If a director, manager or shareholder cannot attend, a power of attorney authorising someone else to sign on the company’s behalf, itself properly notarised.
- For a board resolution, the resolution itself, often alongside a secretary certificate confirming the quorum and vote.
Names, licence numbers and company details must match exactly across every document you present. A small mismatch, an expired trade licence, or a manager listed differently on the MOA than in the resolution is the most common reason a corporate document gets rejected at the notary’s desk, so we check this before your appointment, not during it.
Arabic translation
Notarised instruments in the UAE are generally drafted in Arabic, with a conditional exception for certain document types. Bilingual Arabic and English drafting is common practice for company documents, since it lets the signatory and the counterparty both read the text they sign, but depends on the receiving authority. Where a translation is needed for an official purpose, it should be done by a legal translator registered with the UAE Ministry of Justice, and the translation itself can be notarised, at AED 50 per page under the federal schedule.
Fees
Fees for notarising business documents
The Ministry of Justice’s federal fee schedule, Cabinet Resolution No. 19 of 2024, sets out fees for notarial acts at that level:
| Act | Federal fee |
|---|---|
| Executing or notarising a power of attorney | AED 100 per party |
| Authenticating signatures on an instrument of unspecified value | AED 200 per party |
| Executing and notarising an affidavit | AED 300 |
| Notarising a translation included in the instrument | AED 50 per page |
| Instrument valued above AED 100 thousand | 0.5% of value, capped at AED 30,000 for notarisation (AED 15,000 for execution) |
A private notary in Dubai, a lawyer licensed by Dubai Courts to work as a notary, may add professional fees of up to 30% on top of the federal figure under Article 2(2) of the resolution. Private notary fees in Dubai are set separately, and we confirm the current fee when you book.
Dubai private notary fees for company documents are set by a separate Dubai Courts decision, so ask us for the current fee when you book. MOFAIC attestation, where a foreign company document needs it, is AED 150 for personal documents and AED 2,000 for commercial documents per the MOFAIC published fee schedule.
How we help
How we help
There are three ways to get it notarised with us: in person at our Business Bay office with our in-house notary public, through our online notary public services, or on a home visit to your office. We prepare your company documents so they are ready to sign the first time: checking the wording against the trade licence and MOA, arranging the Arabic or bilingual version through a registered legal translator, and confirming which signatories and proof of authority the notary will ask for. Our in-house notary public checks the signatories’ ID, witnesses the signatures and applies the seal, and where a document needs MOFAIC attestation or embassy legalisation afterwards, we take care of that step too and keep you updated on where it is. What you do is sign, provide valid ID, and confirm the final wording before we submit anything.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What business documents need notarising in Dubai?
The documents that most often need notarising are a company power of attorney, a board resolution, the memorandum of association and its addenda, share transfer instruments, and some commercial contracts. Which one applies depends on what you are trying to do, for example open a bank account, change a manager or transfer shares.
Can company documents be notarised online in the UAE?
Some notarial acts can be completed through the Ministry of Justice’s E-Notary system using UAE PASS and a video session. We tell you which option applies to your document: our online notary public services, our Business Bay office, or a home visit.
What is corporate attestation?
Corporate attestation is the process of getting an official body, usually MOFAIC in the UAE or an embassy abroad, to confirm that a company document and the signatures or seals on it are genuine, so it can be relied on across a border. It sits after notarisation in the chain, not instead of it.
Do foreign company documents need attestation before use in the UAE?
Yes, in most cases. A document created outside the UAE typically needs notarisation or legalisation in its home country, then legalisation by the UAE embassy there, then MOFAIC attestation once it reaches the UAE. There is no apostille route, because the UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention.
Who can sign company documents for notarisation?
Usually the person named as manager or authorised signatory on the MOA or trade licence, or someone holding a valid power of attorney from the company. The notary checks the signatory’s ID and their proof of authority before accepting the signature.
How much does it cost to notarise business documents in Dubai?
Federal notarial fees under Cabinet Resolution No. 19 of 2024 run from AED 100 to AED 300 per act depending on the document, plus 0.5% of value above AED 100 thousand for high-value instruments. MOFAIC attestation is AED 150 for personal or AED 2,000 for commercial documents. Ask us for the current private notary fee for your company document when you book.
Can someone collect and submit company documents for me?
A company representative can usually submit supporting paperwork, but the person signing the document itself generally needs to attend in person or appear through an approved remote channel, unless they have given someone else a properly notarised power of attorney to sign on their behalf. We can collect documents, prepare the file and set the appointment with our in-house notary public around this.
More answers, grouped by topic, are on our questions and answers page.
Reviews
What clients say
Read what people we have helped say about us on our Google profile, or read about Notary Services Dubai.
Keep reading
Related services
Company documents
Memorandum of association
What a memorandum of association is for a Dubai company, what it must include, and how we prepare notarisation, translation and attestation.
Read more
Guide
Board resolution
Need a board resolution accepted by a bank, free zone or ministry? When it must be notarised or attested in the UAE and how we prepare the steps.
Read more
Services
Power of attorney
How a power of attorney works in Dubai: general or special, what to prepare, notarisation in person or online, and cost, in one guide.
Read more
Get started
Talk to us about your company documents
Call or WhatsApp +971 54 380 1094, or email support@notaryservicesdubai.com, and tell us which document you need notarised or attested. We will confirm the steps, the documents to bring, and set your appointment. Office open Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. WhatsApp and online requests answered 24/7. For our full range of services, visit the Notary Services Dubai home page.