Document Attestation for UAE Company Setup: Steps, MOFA Fees and Timing (2026)
How to attest foreign documents for a UAE company: notary, home foreign ministry, UAE embassy, then MOFA at AED 150 or AED 2,000 per document.
Zola
UAE Business Advisory Team
Table of contents
Share
Document attestation for UAE company setup certifies that the signatures and seals on a document are genuine, so a UAE licensing authority will accept it. A document issued abroad for your setup, such as a parent company's certificate of incorporation, a board resolution or a power of attorney, is notarised where a person signs it, attested by the issuing country's foreign ministry, then by the UAE embassy or consulate in that country, and finally by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). MOFA's own fee is AED 150 for a personal document and AED 2,000 for a commercial one. (Sources: MOFA attestation service; MOFA FAQs; UAE Embassy in Canberra)
As of October 2026, work in this order: confirm your licensing authority's document list, mark which of those documents were issued abroad, start the home-country chain for each one, and finish with MOFA online before you file. This page covers that chain end to end. For everything else in your file, use the full document checklist.
Which Company Setup Documents Usually Need Attestation
Attestation falls mostly on the documents a foreign parent company issues, not on an individual founder's copies. The table below takes the documents IFZA lists for a company shareholder and the rules in DMCC's guideline for an individual setup, and adds the MOFA fee class each one falls into, which decides what MOFA charges for it.
Setup Documents and Their MOFA Fee Class
Document | When it comes up | MOFA fee class |
|---|---|---|
Corporate shareholder's certificate of incorporation or formation | IFZA lists it for a company shareholder; issued abroad, it goes through the full chain | Commercial (MOFA lists a commercial registration and any document of a commercial nature) |
Memorandum and articles of association of the corporate shareholder | IFZA lists them, or their equivalent; the UAE Embassy in Canberra attests the two separately | Commercial (memorandums) |
Board resolution approving the UAE company | IFZA lists it for a company shareholder | Commercial (minutes of a board of directors or partners meeting) |
Corporate shareholder's trade licence | IFZA lists a valid trade licence or its equivalent | Commercial |
Power of attorney signed outside the UAE | DMCC asks for an attested copy when a shareholder, director, manager or secretary grants signing powers to someone else; it is signed before a notary first | Commercial if it has commercial content or is a general power of attorney; personal if it is of a personal nature |
Shareholders' resolution in a DMCC individual setup | Signed electronically through DocuSign, or notarised and attested by the UAE embassy or consulate in the country of origin | Commercial where MOFA attests it (any document of a commercial nature) |
Individual founder's passport copy and proof of address | DMCC asks only for copies at pre-approval, accepts a utility bill or bank letter not older than 6 months as proof of address, and checks signatories by video call against their passports | No attestation step in DMCC's guideline |
Educational certificate, if your authority asks for one | Only where your licensing authority asks for it | Personal; a certificate and its transcript count as two documents |
(Sources: IFZA document requirements; DMCC Company Formation Application Guideline, Version 5, updated 11 January 2024; MOFA FAQs; UAE Embassy in Canberra)
Confirm Your Authority's List Before You Send Anything Abroad
Each free zone authority and mainland economic department sets its own document list, and the rows above are IFZA's and DMCC's own rules, not a rule for every authority. Confirm which documents your authority wants attested, and in what form, before you start the chain, because MOFA charges for every document it attests. If you are still choosing where to set up, compare UAE free zones first, since the zone you pick decides which list applies.
A foreign parent opening a branch of a foreign company in Dubai instead of a subsidiary sends its own documents through the same chain, and MOFA lists a company branch registration as a commercial document. (Source: MOFA FAQs)
The Attestation Chain, Step by Step
Every document issued outside the UAE passes the same offices in the same order: a notary where a person signs it, the issuing country's foreign ministry, the UAE embassy or consulate in that country, and then MOFA. MOFA rejects a document with a missing attestation, so no step in the chain can be skipped. (Source: MOFA FAQs)
Six Steps From Signature to Filing
Notarise the document in the issuing country if a person signs it, such as a power of attorney, or a DMCC shareholders' resolution that is not signed electronically through DocuSign.
Have it attested by the foreign ministry of the issuing country, which the UAE Embassy in Canberra calls the national foreign office.
Have it attested by the UAE embassy or consulate in that same country, applying through MOFA's online channels; a document issued in another country goes to the UAE mission in its own country of issue, not to the one where you live.
If the document is in neither English nor Arabic, have a legally certified translation made before the MOFA step, because MOFA attests an original in English or Arabic or one accompanied by an official translation.
Have it attested in the UAE by MOFA through its website or the UAE MOFA app; selected UAE missions combine this step with step 3 in one digital application.
File the attested document with your free zone authority or economic department, after checking it against their list.
(Sources: MOFA FAQs; MOFA attestation service; UAE Embassy in Canberra; DMCC Company Formation Application Guideline)
If There Is No UAE Mission in Your Country
Each UAE embassy or consulate may have its own procedures, so read the attestation page of the mission in the issuing country before you apply. Where there is no UAE mission in the country you are in, MOFA asks applicants to contact it through the Contact Us page on its website. (Source: MOFA FAQs)
DMCC's guideline makes one exception of its own: for the shareholders' resolution in its individual setup, it accepts attestation by any Arab embassy if no UAE embassy or consulate is available. (Source: DMCC Company Formation Application Guideline)
Applying Online: UAE Pass, Couriers and Digital Attestation
MOFA provides its services, attestation included, only electronically, through its website and the UAE MOFA app. You sign in with UAE Pass, and MOFA assigns the attestation route itself from the issuing authority and the document type. (Sources: MOFA FAQs; MOFA attestation service)
Set Up UAE Pass Before Anything Else
UAE Pass is the sign-in for the attestation service, so create your account first. The UAE Embassy in Canberra tells applicants to provide basic information such as a name, an email address and a mobile number to create a basic UAE Pass account. (Source: UAE Embassy in Canberra)
Digital Attestation Through a UAE Mission Abroad
Several UAE embassies, Canberra among them, offer digital attestation for documents issued outside the UAE, in which one online application covers both the embassy and MOFA. The issuing country's foreign office must have attested the document first, and a courier collects the original after you submit. (Source: UAE Embassy in Canberra)
Not every mission offers this online. MOFA runs attestation of documents issued abroad through selected UAE missions, online where the mission offers the service and in person where it does not, so check your mission's page before you send anything. (Source: MOFA attestation service)
Courier Delivery Inside the UAE
For a document already in the UAE, the original reaches MOFA by courier. MOFA's FAQ lists a normal courier service of 3 working days and an express service of 1 working day. (Source: MOFA FAQs)
Who Can Submit, and What Cannot Be Changed
Anyone can attest documents on your behalf, so you can hand the paperwork to a PRO or another representative rather than applying yourself. (Source: MOFA FAQs)
Check the issuing authority and the document type before you pay. A MOFA application cannot be modified or corrected once it is submitted, and a rejected application cannot be amended or reopened, so you start a new one after fixing the problem. (Source: MOFA attestation service)
What Attestation Costs
MOFA charges AED 150 per personal document and AED 2,000 per commercial document, and a commercial contract or agreement may count as more than one document depending on its content. Most of a corporate shareholder's setup documents fall in the commercial class. (Source: MOFA FAQs)
MOFA's Fee by Document Class
MOFA class | Examples from MOFA's list | MOFA fee per document |
|---|---|---|
Personal (individual affairs) | Educational certificates and transcripts (counted as two documents), birth and marriage certificates, bank statements, a power of attorney of personal nature | AED 150 |
Commercial | Contracts or agreements, commercial registration, appointment of a manager or director, board or partners' meeting minutes, trade licence, partnership or shareholder certificate, memorandums, company branch registration, a power of attorney of commercial nature, a general power of attorney | AED 2,000 |
(Source: MOFA FAQs)
At the UAE Embassy in Canberra, a memorandum and articles of association are attested separately, and a power of attorney with commercial content is treated as a commercial document. (Source: UAE Embassy in Canberra) Because MOFA charges per document, count the commercial documents in your file before you start.
Courier Charges Inside the UAE
MOFA's FAQ lists AED 40 for its normal courier service and AED 150, excluding VAT, for express. It also lists provider prices from AED 31.50 to AED 40 for regular delivery and from AED 95 to AED 150 for express delivery. (Source: MOFA FAQs)
Fees Charged Outside MOFA
MOFA's fee is only one part of the cost. The home-country notary, the issuing country's foreign ministry and any legal translator each set their own fees, which vary by country and provider and are not published in one official place, so get a quote from each office before you budget.
What the UAE Embassy or Consulate Step Costs
Where a UAE mission offers digital attestation, as the UAE Embassy in Canberra does, one online application covers both the embassy and MOFA. (Source: UAE Embassy in Canberra) MOFA's charge depends on the number of documents, the completion option, the attestations included and whether each document is personal or commercial, so check what the amount shown covers before you pay. (Source: MOFA attestation service) Where your mission handles attestation in person rather than online, ask that mission what it charges.
How Long Attestation Takes
MOFA lists up to 7 business days for attestation of documents issued outside the UAE through a service provider, and 1 to 3 business days for courier-based attestation inside the UAE, depending on the courier. Its 2-hour digital route covers only eligible UAE-issued digital documents, not documents coming from abroad. (Source: MOFA attestation service)
MOFA's Published Completion Times
Route | What it covers | MOFA completion time |
|---|---|---|
Digital attestation | Supported digital documents issued by approved UAE government entities | Within 2 hours during official working hours |
Service provider, inside the UAE | Originals sent to MOFA by courier | 1 to 3 business days, depending on the courier |
Service provider, outside the UAE | Documents issued outside the UAE | Up to 7 business days |
(Source: MOFA attestation service)
Courier Times at a UAE Mission Abroad
At the UAE Embassy in Canberra, a courier collects the original within 24 hours of a successful submission and delivers it within 24 to 48 hours after the embassy releases it, or 48 to 72 hours in remote areas. Other missions may work differently, so check the page of the mission you will use. (Source: UAE Embassy in Canberra)
Start Attestation Before the Licence Application
The notary and foreign ministry steps in your home country add their own time, and no official source fixes it for every country. IFZA advises starting attestation early because it can take 2 to 3 weeks. (Source: IFZA document requirements) Before you order a fresh corporate certificate from your home registry, ask your licensing authority how recently it must have been issued, because no single official rule covers every authority.
Attestation of foreign corporate documents happens before the UAE licensing steps, so begin it first. The UAE company formation timeline shows where it sits against the licensing clock.
Apostille or Attestation for the UAE
Where your home country's foreign office certifies documents with an apostille, the UAE Embassy in Canberra's guidance shows how that is handled: each document must carry its own apostille, and documents apostilled in a bundle are not accepted. (Source: UAE Embassy in Canberra)
How an Apostille Fits Into the Chain
Treat the apostille as the home-country step only. MOFA's published chain for a document issued abroad still runs through the UAE embassy or consulate in the issuing country and then MOFA, so ask the UAE mission in your country which home-country certificate it accepts before you order one. (Sources: MOFA FAQs; MOFA attestation service)
Signing From Abroad, and Documents Signed Inside the UAE
Not every setup document travels through the chain. Some are signed electronically from abroad, and others are prepared, attested or notarised inside the UAE, where the home-country steps do not apply.
Signing DMCC Formation Documents From Abroad
In DMCC's guideline for an individual setup, DMCC verifies every authorised signatory by video call against their passport, and the articles of association and other system-generated company documents are signed electronically through DocuSign. An individual founder may therefore need little attestation beyond a power of attorney, and only if they grant signing powers to someone else. (Source: DMCC Company Formation Application Guideline)
The Mainland Memorandum of Association
On the mainland, UAE-based law firms, courts and the notary public prepare and attest a company's Memorandum of Association, and the licence is collected with the duly attested version. (Source: UAE Government portal) For who signs it and when in Dubai, see Dubai mainland company setup steps.
Powers of Attorney Signed in the UAE
A power of attorney signed inside the UAE goes to a UAE notary public rather than through the chain above. In 2023 the Ministry of Justice announced the second phase of its digital power of attorney service, covering eight types including company management and licensing, issued as digitally ratified documents without a visit to a notary public office. Confirm the service's current form with the Ministry before you rely on it. (Source: Ministry of Justice)
MOFA's own digital attestation covers supported digital documents issued by UAE government entities, not documents issued abroad for a setup. (Source: MOFA attestation service)
Common Attestation Mistakes
Each of these errors can send a document back, and a rejected MOFA application cannot be amended or reopened, so a mistake caught at MOFA means a new application.
Seven Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Laminating the original. MOFA rejects laminated documents and the UAE Embassy in Canberra cannot attest them, so keep originals unlaminated.
Skipping the home foreign ministry. MOFA rejects a document with a missing attestation, so get the foreign ministry's attestation before the UAE embassy step.
Using a UAE mission in the wrong country. A document goes to the UAE embassy or consulate in the country that issued it, so send it there even if you live somewhere else.
Reaching MOFA without a translation. A document in neither English nor Arabic needs a legally certified translation, so arrange it before the MOFA step.
Apostilling documents as a bundle. The UAE Embassy in Canberra does not accept documents apostilled in a bundle, so ask for one apostille per document.
Submitting a MOFA application with an error. A submitted application cannot be modified or corrected, so check the issuing authority and the document type before you pay.
Filing corporate documents with incomplete attestation. IFZA names corporate documents not attested or notarised correctly as a common cause of delay, so check each one against your authority's list before you file.
(Sources: MOFA FAQs; MOFA attestation service; UAE Embassy in Canberra; IFZA document requirements)
Attestation is the part of a UAE company setup that runs in your home country, so start it first: confirm your authority's list, count the commercial documents and begin at the notary. To see where it sits among the other steps, read how to set up a company in the UAE. To get the exact document list for your free zone or emirate and have the attestation and filing handled, create your Zola account.
