In the UAE, legal translation is a regulated profession. Federal Decree-Law No. 22 of 2022 provides that translation for authentication/certification work and documents accepted by courts must be carried out by a translator or translation house registered in the Ministry of Justice list, subject to the law’s judicial exception. The receiving authority still decides whether a translation is required and into which language. For example, Dubai Courts expressly requires a duly certified legal Arabic translation for non-Arabic documents in several court and notary services. We can prepare the translation route and, where needed, coordinate it with MOFA attestation or court-document translation.
The law regulates who may practise the translation profession and, in Article 3, restricts authorities performing authentication/certification work and courts from accepting a translated document unless it was translated by a translator or translation house registered in the Ministry’s list, subject to the judicial exception in Article 2(2). This does not create one blanket rule that every non-Arabic document submitted to every UAE authority must always be translated into Arabic; the receiving service’s published requirements remain decisive.
Documents That Commonly Require Certified Legal Translation
Court Documents
Judgments, pleadings, orders, legal notices and supporting exhibits may require certified legal translation when filed with a UAE court. Dubai Courts publishes, for several services, that documents not in Arabic must be accompanied by a legal translation duly certified by the UAE Ministry of Justice.
Real Estate & Property
Title deeds, sale or purchase agreements, tenancy papers, mortgage documents and corporate records may need translation for a particular DLD transaction. DLD requirements vary by service; for example, some company submissions expressly require the Memorandum of Association and annexes to be legally translated into Arabic. Check the exact transaction instead of assuming Arabic translation is mandatory for every DLD filing.
Educational Certificates
Degrees, diplomas, transcripts and professional certificates may require certified translation when the receiving university, licensing body or verification provider does not accept the original language. The required language and certification route depend on that authority’s current rules.
Personal & Civil Documents
Birth, marriage, divorce, death and identity documents may require certified translation for immigration, court, notary, embassy or other official use. The destination authority determines the language and whether prior attestation or legalization is also required.
Corporate & Commercial
Trade licences, Memoranda of Association, shareholder documents, contracts, board resolutions and powers of attorney often need legal translation when used before an authority that requires another language. For foreign-issued corporate documents, translation and attestation are separate steps and should be sequenced according to the receiving authority.
Medical & Healthcare
Medical reports, hospital records, fitness certificates and specialist opinions may need certified translation for insurance, immigration, employment or legal proceedings. Requirements depend on the insurer, authority, court or other recipient.
Our Language Pairs
| Language Pair | Typical Service Estimate | Common Use Cases |
|---|---|---|
| Arabic ↔ English | Often same day after file review | Legal, court, government and corporate documents — subject to receiving-authority requirements |
| Arabic ↔ Russian | Commonly 1–2 business days after review | POA, affidavits, corporate documents, property contracts |
| Arabic ↔ Chinese (Mandarin) | Commonly 1–2 business days after review | Business contracts, investment documents, property transactions |
| Arabic ↔ French / German / Spanish | Commonly 1–3 business days after review | EU visa documents, corporate, educational and personal documents |
| Arabic ↔ Hindi / Urdu / Tagalog | Commonly 1–3 business days after review | Personal documents, visa applications, educational certificates |
Frequently Asked Questions
For a translated document that must be accepted by a UAE court, machine translation is not a substitute for the legal translation required under Federal Decree-Law No. 22 of 2022. Article 3 ties court acceptance of translated documents to a translator or translation house registered in the Ministry of Justice list, subject to the law’s judicial exception.
Legal translation is the translation service performed within the UAE’s regulated translation framework. Notarization or attestation is a separate official act relating to a document or signature. A translated document may be required for a notary transaction, but that does not mean every legal translation must itself be notarized. The receiving authority’s requirements determine the steps.
Often yes for short, standard documents after we review the file, language pair and formatting. Longer, technical, handwritten or multi-document files can require more time. Send the document first so the turnaround can be confirmed before work starts.
No single rule applies to every UAE authority and every transaction. The receiving service determines the required language. Dubai Courts expressly requires certified legal Arabic translation for non-Arabic documents in several services, while DLD translation requirements vary by transaction and document type. If the document also comes from abroad, attestation/legalization may be a separate requirement.
Same-Day Service
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