Notarising and legalising commercial documents for the UAE can be a confusing process for some; unfortunately, it has become more complicated due to changes in the requirements from the UAE.
If you’re looking to get documents notarised for UAE (the United Arab Emirates), you should be aware of the changes in what the UAE will accept.
In the past, it was possible to bundle documents together, allowing us to notarise multiple documents in a bundle. This would save legislation fees at the embassy.
However, the UAE will no longer accept a bundle of documents for legislation. This means that each commercial document must be notarised individually.
The cost for legalising each document for the United Arab Emirates is now £426 – £467 (to which is to be added fees for Consular agents, apostilles and the notary).
The process of notarising a document for the UAE can be a daunting process, but our notaries are on hand every step of the way to assist you – we’ve even broken down the process for your convenience.
The first step in the process is for the Notary to authenticate the signature on the document in question. The Notary would ideally witness the signing of the document.
In the case of signing documents on behalf of a company, the Notary needs to see evidence which shows the individual has the authority to sign documents on behalf of a company.
After notarisation, the document should then be attested (sometimes referred to as legalisation or an apostille). Attestation means that the document is legally recognised internationally.
In the UK, attestation would be conducted by the Foreign Commonwealth Office. The office will attest the document by completing checks to ensure the Notary for the document is registered and that the information provided is correct.
Once the Foreign Commonwealth Office have completed their checks, the document will gain the required apostille.
The UAE is not a member of the Hague Convention, which means that any document required for use in the UAE must have 2 further certifications.
The first certification should be carried out by the UAE Embassy or Consulate in the United Kingdom. This process is simply for the Embassy or Consulate to ensure the document has been attested by the correct ministry. In the UK this should have been completed by the Foreign Commonwealth Office.
The document is then stamped by the UAE Consulate to certify the date and state that the document was certified.
The final step of the process requires the document to be certified by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This process is to double-check the previous steps have been completed successfully.
So, if you’re document has been notarised with apostille and certified by the UAE Embassy, it will be certified once again by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This will give the document legal status in the UAE.
If you need a notary to certify a document, you can contact our Notary department who has years of experience notarising documents for use in the United Arab Emirates, as well as nearly every country on the globe.
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