Corporate POA vs. Individual POA in the UAE — Key Differences | E-Notary Dubai

What makes a corporate POA different from an individual one in UAE law — and which documents are required for each.

20 March 2025· Updated Jan 2026

The Fundamental Difference

An Individual POA is issued by a natural person (an individual) granting authority to another person. A Corporate POA is issued by a company — and because a company cannot physically sign anything, it acts through its authorized signatories, as defined in its memorandum of association or a board resolution.

→Memorandum of Association (MOA) showing the authorized signatories
→Board Resolution authorizing the specific person to sign the POA on behalf of the company (if not already covered in MOA)

What Extra Documents Are Needed for a Corporate POA?

Yes, but banks and government authorities tend to scrutinize corporate General POAs more carefully. It is always better to issue a specific Corporate POA for each transaction type — a Banking POA for financial operations, a Real Estate POA for property matters, and so on.

→Passport and Emirates ID of the person signing on behalf of the company

Who Can Sign a POA on Behalf of a Company?

Free zone-registered companies have their MOAs and operating agreements governed by the respective free zone authority. A POA issued by a free zone company must show the free zone registration details and be consistent with the free zone operating license. Some authorities (especially UAE banks and DLD) may require additional notarization from Dubai Courts even for free zone companies.

→Company stamp

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. A UAE company can issue a Power of Attorney authorizing an individual or another entity to act on its behalf. For an LLC, this requires a Board Resolution (قرار مجلس الإدارة) approving the POA and specifying the scope of authority. For Free Zone companies (DMCC, DAFZA, Hamriyah, etc.), the process follows the same steps: Board Resolution, then the authorized signatory on the Trade License meets with the Notary via a video call through Dubai Courts or the UAE Ministry of Justice to sign and notarize the POA. Required documents: Trade License, MOA, Emirates IDs of partners, and Emirates ID of the agent.