Special Power of Attorney (SPA) in Dubai

What a special power of attorney is, and how it differs from a general one

Under UAE law, an agency written in general terms only authorises the agent to manage, not to sell, donate, mortgage, settle, acknowledge, arbitrate, or represent the principal in court. Any of those acts needs a special power of attorney that names the specific act and its scope. That is the whole legal purpose of the special form: it limits the agent to exactly what you wrote down, which protects you if the agent oversteps, and it satisfies what banks, Dubai Courts and the Dubai Land Department expect to see before they act on the document.

If you want your agent to handle ongoing, routine matters rather than one named act, a general power of attorney may be the better fit; that page covers the difference with a full comparison table.

Common uses for a special power of attorney

• Selling or managing property. Authorising someone to sign a sale, lease, or manage a property in your absence. See power of attorney for property in Dubai.
• A vehicle transaction. Selling, registering or transferring a car. See vehicle power of attorney.
• Banking. Naming a specific banking act you want your agent to carry out on your account.
• Court representation. Authorising a lawyer or representative to act for you in a specific case. See power of attorney for a court case.
• Company matters. Signing for a business on one named transaction or licence step.
• Collecting a document. Authorising someone to collect a certificate, deed or other paper on your behalf from a specific office.

How to get a special power of attorney in Dubai

1. Name the act precisely. State exactly what the agent may do, for example “to sell the property described as [address]” rather than a general instruction. Vague wording is the most common reason a special power of attorney gets rejected by the receiving authority.
2. Draft the document. The instrument is prepared in Arabic; a bilingual Arabic and English draft is common practice in Dubai so both parties can read it, with a certified translation required for any foreign-language supporting document.
3. Gather identity documents for both principal and agent, and any document specific to the act (see below).
4. Notarise it, either in person before a notary public, who checks identity and capacity before applying the seal, or through the notary’s electronic channels where the parties’ attendance can be virtual. The UAE Ministry of Justice also runs its own E-Notary System.
5. Collect the notarised copy, and if it needs to be used outside the UAE, arrange the further attestation it requires.

We prepare and translate the wording, check it names the act the way your bank, Dubai Courts or the Dubai Land Department expects, and our in-house notary public notarises it.

Using a Dubai special power of attorney in another country

A special power of attorney notarised in Dubai for use abroad follows the same legalisation chain as any other UAE document. The UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so there is no apostille for it. Instead, MOFAIC attests the document in the UAE, followed by the destination country’s embassy or consulate here, and then whatever further legalisation that country itself requires. MOFAIC’s published fee is AED 150 for a personal document and AED 2,000 for a commercial one. See power of attorney attestation in Dubai for the full attestation service.

Price

The federal Ministry of Justice fee schedule, Cabinet Resolution No. 19 of 2024, sets execution or notarisation of a special power of attorney at AED 100 per party at a public notary. Under the same schedule, a private notary may add a professional fee of up to 30 percent. Private notary fees in Dubai are set separately, and we confirm the current fee when you book. Notarising a translation included in the instrument is AED 50 per page under the same schedule.

Dubai Courts sets its own separate fee decision for private notary work in the emirate. Drafting, translation and our own service fee are separate from the government fee.

Sample outline

A well drafted special power of attorney generally covers these headings, in this order:

1. Principal’s details and identity document number.
2. Agent’s details and identity document number.
3. The named act, described precisely, including any property, vehicle or reference number involved.
4. The scope and any limits on the agent’s authority.
5. The term, if the principal wants one, or the event that ends the authority.
6. Signatures of both parties and the notary’s certification.