Powers of Attorney in the UAE

The United Arab Emirates has become a major business hub in the world. The country provides state of the art business infrastructure and quality of life that attracts businesses and expatriates from around the world. Given the fast-moving environment, power of attorney has become one of the most commonly used documents. Many businesses, as well as individuals, depend on it to meet their day-to-day needs.

There are four important things about Power of Attorney in UAE:

1. Power of attorney: A power of attorney is a legal document signed by a person to authorize someone else to act on principal’s behalf in front of third parties. Depending on the nature of the power of attorney, the agent can typically be a relative, friend, partner, employee or a lawyer.

2. Difference between Personal and Business power of attorney: A personal power of attorney is given by an individual to someone, whereby the principal grants general or specific powers to the agent. This type of power of attorney is often used by individuals to ensure that work is carried out in situations such as illness or disability or when the principal is abroad or cannot be present to sign necessary legal documents.

A business power of attorney is given by a company to someone to carry out general or specific transactions on behalf of the company.

3. Types of powers of attorney

(a) For Individuals 

There are two (2) types of powers of attorney used by individuals in the UAE:

General power of attorney: A general power of attorney in the UAE authorizes an agent to act on behalf of the principal in a variety of situations. The powers granted in this type of power of attorney are very broad.

Special power of attorney: A special power of attorney in the UAE authorizes an agent to act on the principal’s behalf in specific situations only.

 (b) For Companies 

There are two (2) types of powers of attorney used by companies in the UAE:

General Manager power of attorney:  This type of power of attorney is granted by the owner(s) of the company to the general manager of the company to authorize the general manager to manage the day-to-day affairs of the company.

Special power of attorney: A special power of attorney is granted by a company to an employee or a third party in situations where the company requires the individual to carry out specific transactions such as signing contracts or sale of assets.

4. The process of signing: Power of attorney is prepared in a bilingual format (English and Arabic). Arabic translation is mandatory as the official language of the United Arab Emirates is Arabic. It is also possible to have the power of attorney prepared in Arabic only but this is only recommended for Arabic speaking individuals only. Three originals of the power of attorney are signed/notarized at the Notary Public’s office. The Notary Public registers the power of attorney and returns two (2) originals to the principal.