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Document attestation
done in the right order

Attestation certifies signatures and seals. It sits inside most visa, Chamber, licensing and bank files. We map the chain, the class and the cost before anything is submitted.

AED 150Per certificate at MOFA

AED 2,000Per commercial document

2 hoursDigital attestation in the UAE

5 stepsInbound attestation chain

Ask a consultant Read the detail

The inbound chain

Every step for a foreign document

A document issued outside the UAE passes through five links before it can be used here. MOFA's AED 150 is only the UAE-side step. It never covers the home-country attestation, so the client pays a separate fee at each stage in their own country. Fees below are authority and government fees.

Step	Who does it	Fee	Stage timing
1. Issue or notarise	Issuing authority or notary in the home country	Their own fee, set locally	Set by that authority
2. Home country MOFA	The foreign affairs department in the country of origin	Their own fee, set locally	Set by that authority
3. UAE Embassy or Consulate	UAE Embassy or Consulate in that country	AED 150 per ordinary document	2 to 3 working days by digital attestation; 5 to 7 working days by standard courier
4. UAE MOFA attestation	UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs	AED 150, or AED 2,000 for a commercial document	Within 2 hours by digital attestation; 1 to 3 business days by approved courier
5. Legal translation	An MoJ-registered translator, if the document is not in Arabic	Translator's fee, commercial	Set by the translator

Apostille and outbound files

Where the chain changes shape

An apostille does not shorten the UAE route, and a document leaving the UAE runs the chain in reverse. Both points are quoted wrongly more often than any other part of attestation.

✓ An apostille does not replace the embassy step — Where a jurisdiction issues apostilles, the UAE Embassy still requires the document for its own legalisation. Budget for step 3 either way.

✓ Apostilles must be individual — Documents apostilled as a bundle are refused. Each document must be apostilled separately.

✓ Home country MOFA comes before the embassy — MOFA states the document must be authenticated by the relevant foreign affairs department in the country of origin before submission to the Embassy. Step 2 is mandatory before step 3.

✓ Outbound runs UAE authority, MOFA, then embassy — A document issued in the UAE goes from the issuing authority, court, notary, Chamber or university to MOFA attestation at AED 150, then to the destination country's embassy in the UAE at that mission's own fee.

✓ MOFA plus a UAE Mission abroad is AED 300 — Where MOFA also attests through the UAE Mission in the destination country, MOFA's combined figure is AED 150 plus AED 150, so AED 300.

✓ No UAE Mission in that country — If there is no UAE Mission in the country concerned, the file is handled by contacting MOFA through the Contact Centre.

Authority and government fees

What each class costs at MOFA

MOFA prices by document class, not document type. Every item in a class costs the same, and the fee is identical whether the document was issued inside or outside the UAE. All figures below are MOFA government fees, not My Eloah fees.

Class or service	Government fee	Turnaround
Certificates, personal, educational and legal	AED 150 per document	Within 2 hours digitally, or 1 to 3 business days by courier
Commercial documents	AED 2,000 per document	Within 2 hours digitally, or 1 to 3 business days by courier
Invoices, issued inside or outside the UAE	AED 150 per document	Within 2 hours digitally
Commercial invoices and certificates of origin via eDAS 2.0	AED 150 per invoice or COO	Service completion in 2 minutes, available 24/7
Courier within the UAE, normal	AED 40, excluding VAT	3 working days
Courier within the UAE, express	AED 150, excluding VAT	1 working day

Which documents need it

The files that come up most

Attestation is rarely requested on its own. It is triggered by a visa, a membership, a licence or a bank file. These are the documents behind those requests, and the class each one falls into.

✓ Degree and work experience certificates — Required for employment and professional licensing. Both sit in the certificates class at AED 150 per document.

✓ Marriage and birth certificates — Required for a family or spouse visa, and for parents' sponsorship alongside a consular dependency certificate. A Golden Visa file needs a certified marriage contract and certified birth certificates. AED 150 each.

✓ Corporate documents of a foreign parent — A board of directors' decision or meeting minutes, a capital-share adjustment and a pledged certificate to open a company branch are each commercial documents at AED 2,000. A restructuring with all three is AED 6,000 in attestation alone.

✓ Memorandum of Association — Dubai Chamber membership needs a notarised and attested MoA. Bank onboarding often asks for the MoA as well as a board resolution and a power of attorney.

✓ Commercial agency and product records — A commercial agency, a copy of a previously attested agency, a price list, a patent registration and recording a new product are all commercial class at AED 2,000 each.

✓ Proof of relationship for a property gift transfer — A DLD gift transfer needs proof of relationship attested in the issuing country and by that country's MOFA, plus proof of kinship from the client's embassy in the UAE.

FAQ

Common Questions.

No. AED 150 is only the UAE-side step at MOFA. For a document issued abroad, the client pays a separate fee at each stage in their own country, and AED 150 again at the UAE Embassy or Consulate there. MOFA is the last link in the chain, not the whole chain.

Laminated documents cannot be attested and are rejected outright. This is the most common failure. Applications that are incorrectly completed are also rejected automatically, and wrong information carries legal liability.

A digitally issued original with a verification feature, meaning a QR code, reference number or barcode, of a supported type clears within 2 hours during official working hours in the UAE. Through embassies abroad it takes 2 to 3 working days. MOFA selects the route automatically from the issuing authority and document type.

No. Where a jurisdiction issues apostilles, the UAE Embassy still requires the document for its own legalisation. Apostilles must also be individual, since documents apostilled as a bundle are refused.

The original must be in Arabic or English, or carry a legally certified translation. The translation must come from a translator registered with the Ministry of Justice. Translation fees are commercial and set by the translator.

Commercial invoices and certificates of origin go through eDAS 2.0 rather than the general attestation route, at AED 150 per invoice or COO, with service completion in 2 minutes. The company's primary account is created with the trade licence, then user accounts are added and logged in through UAE PASS. To have documents physically stamped with the MoFA seal, a copy is uploaded at no additional fee.

Talk to a consultant

Which document needs attesting?

Tell us the document and the country that issued it, and we will set out the chain and the fees.

Tell us your situation and a consultant replies with what actually applies to you, what it costs and what we need from you to start.

Document attestation done in the right order