Process of signing a power of attorney in the UAE

A power of attorney is a legal document where one person (know as ‘principal’) authorizes the other person (known as ‘agent’) to carry out certain legal transactions in the UAE.

It is important that a power of attorney dubai is signed before a notary public in the UAE for it to become legally valid and acceptable to the third parties and government departments.

A power of attorney can be prepared and signed by following the below-mentioned two (2) steps:

Related: Process of signing a power of attorney outside the UAE

Step 1 – Prepare the draft

You need to prepare the draft of the power of attorney in English and Arabic (bilingual format with the Arabic translation carried out by the authorized legal translators) or in Arabic format only. You should use necessary care to ensure that the power of attorney is clearly drafted and includes all the necessary powers that are required to be exercised by the agent on your behalf. If the power of attorney does not use clearly drafted language and with necessary powers, it may be rejected by the third parties and government departments resulting in loss of time and cost involved in preparing and notarising the power of attorney.

Our post on the types of powers of attorney in the UAE provides guidelines on choosing the right power of attorney and should help you understand the different types of powers of attorney are used in the UAE.

Once the power of attorney has been prepared, you will need to print the power of attorney in three (3) originals for signing before the notary public.

Step 2 – Sign it before the notary public

In this step, you will need to visit any notary public in the UAE to sign your power of attorney. This process is often referred to as the notarisation of the power of attorney. You will need to be present at the notary public in person in order to sign/notarise the power of attorney. Your agent does not need to attend the notary public.

Once the power of attorney is signed by you, the notary public will immediately stamp and register one (1) original in the official records of the court to complete the notarisation process and return two (2) originals to you. Once this is done, the power of attorney will become legally valid for use by your agent.

The entire process or signing and notarising the power of attorney may typically take between 20 minutes to 1 hour (or more) depending upon the hour of the day.