Steps to Signing a Power of Attorney in the UAE

A power of attorney is a legal document where one person (known as ‘principal’) authorizes the other person (known as ‘agent’) to carry out certain legal transactions in the UAE. It is very necessary that the power of attorney should be signed in front of public to make it legal for third parties and Government.

A power of attorney is prepared and signed by following two steps:

Step 1 – Preparation of draft:

First prepare the draft of the power of attorney in English and Arabic or in Arabic format only. Ensure special care 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 notarizing the power of attorney.

After the power of attorney has been prepared, print the power of attorney in three (3) originals for signing before the notary public.

Step 2 – Signing

After first step you will visit any notary public in the UAE to sign your power of attorney. This process is known as the notarisation of the power of attorney. You should be present at the notary public in person in order to sign the power of attorney.

Once the PoA 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 the power of attorney typically takes between 20 minutes to 1 hour (or more) depending upon the hour of the day.