Learn how to notarise documents in the UAE.
Dubai: Notarising legal documents such as a will, power of attorney, and affidavit will go a long way in saving you from contractual disputes and frauds.
You can easily get your documents notarised in the UAE through the public and private notaries, and you can even do the whole process online.
Read on to learn all you need to know about notarising a document in the UAE.
Why does document notarisation matter?
Notarizing refers to the act of verifying both the authenticity of the document and the person signing the same on behalf of the legally empowered notary.
Deters fraud and lends further credence
Notarisation is carried out to avoid fraud and to legalise and give validity to the document.
A notarised document, is presumed by the law itself to be a perfect representative of the truth of its contents. Such a document is not easily assailed, unless of course, there is a credible claim of forgery. Unlike ordinary documents, where a party can just simply deny he signed or issued it, a notarised document benefits from a higher level of legal credibility.
Another reason for having documents notarised is that, in situations where you have an important legal document that has been damaged and was notarised, a notary public is able to provide a duplicate copy with the appropriate stamps to legalise it.
When is a Notorised Document Required?
Notarisation is often done where any of the two variables needs authentication: either the document or the person signing needs verification.
Here are a few scenarios where you may need a notarised document:
Power of Attorney:
In the cases where a person would provide an attorney to represent him before the court of law, he needs to give the court a notarised power of attorney that a person can represent a client in the court.
Ownership contract:
If any of the family members in Dubai intend to regulate his common ownership within the family, then he needs to have necessary notarisation of the family ownership contract.
Eviction notice:
For example, in the case of eviction by a landlord, he has to issue a notarised legal notice; if it is not so, then it is held as invalid and cannot be legally practicable.
Notarising needs would vary according to where the deal was being carried out and what type of document it was. The public is suggested to always make sure they involve a legal expert.
This is for better compliance with local legislation and also to meet the requirements of your specific situation, the consultation of a notary public or professional attorney is a must while deciding on whether or not to have a document notarized.
Which Documents can be Notarised?
The following documents can be notarised in order for them to be legally valid:
- Power of Attorney
• Memorandum of Association
• Commercial contracts, declarations
• Judicial notices
• Resolutions
• Meetings’ minutes
• General Assembly Meetings’ minutes
• Minutes of Liquidating a Company
• Non-Muslim wills
• Affidavits
• Proof of signatures
How to Notarise a Document in the UAE?
Document notarisation can be done through private and public notaries in the UAE.
If one wishes to notarise their documents at a private notary, they need to make an appointment and provide soft copies of the documents that they want notarised; this will facilitate the process.
Make sure to translate the documents into Arabic
With the public notary, you have to submit all documents legally translated into Arabic.
Documents Required for Notarisation
Following documents are needed to be presented:
- Valid Emirates ID
• Valid original passport
• Proof of address—lease contract
You can also provide proof of address by providing a recent utility bill within the last three months or a bank statement dated within the last three months to confirm your residential address.
Cost of notarising documents in UAE
The cost of notarising is different according to the nature of the document.
For example, the attestation fee of wills is Dh2,000, whereas the attestation fee for a debt acknowledgement letter is five percent of the amount involved in the letter. Hence, it depends on the nature of the document to be notarised.
Where to get documents notarised in the UAE?
Depending on the emirate, all your documents will be notarised by a different authority.
You can notarise a document either through a private notary—that would be a law firm authorised to notarise documents—or through a public notary, such as the court or institutions like the Ministry of Justice, Abu Dhabi Department of Justice or ADJD, Ras Al Khaimah Courts or Dubai Courts.
Abu Dhabi – Abu Dhabi Judicial Department
Online: ADJD website and app
Get UAE Pass app to use the public notary service online through ADJD. This creates an online account with ADJD, registers your mobile number, email address, etc. along with an Emirates ID number.
Website: adjd.gov.ae
Mobile application: ADJD App
In-person: The respective government and private notaries have been assigned.
You may reach out to a private or government notary approved by ADJD if you want to send in your documents in person and consult a legal expert. In order to access the complete list of all the notaries that have been accredited in Abu Dhabi, one needs to access the following website: https://www.adjd.gov.ae/EN/Pages/PublicprivatenotARy.aspx.
For Dubai: Dubai Courts
Online: Website of the Dubai Courts
Log in with your respective UAE Pass to create your account with Dubai Courts. To a newly created user name and password, link the UAE Pass account to the account of Dubai Courts.
Website: dc.gov.ae
In-person: public and private notaries
Dubai Courts Service Centre—Wafi Mall
To notarize your documents, you may even visit the notary public service centre located in Wafi Mall in Umm Hurair. Following are the timings:
• Monday to Thursday: 8am to 7.30pm
• Friday: 8am to 12pm
Authorised private notaries
For notarization of documents, visit a private notary that is authorised by Dubai Courts.
All the private notaries in Dubai can be found on this website: https://www.dc.gov.ae/PublicServices/PrivateNotaryOffices.aspx?lang=en.
Ras Al Khaimah Courts
Online:
Website: rak.ae, which is the official online website for all government-related services in the emirate.
In person:
Public Notary Department at the Ras Al Khaimah courts
Emirates: Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, and Fujairah
Online: You can visit online for other emirates through the ‘E-Notary’ system on the Ministry of Justice’s website, moj.gov.ae.
You may also approach a private notary for it.