When You Need MOJ-Certified Translation in the UAE

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The service pages behind this guide — each sets out what the authority actually accepts.

Legal translation hubMOJ-certified translation for every UAE authority.View →What authorities requireAcceptance rules before you submit.View →Certificate translationThe documents most often asked for.View →

Last updated: 11 August 2026

You need MOJ-certified translation whenever a document written in a language other than Arabic has to be read, relied on or filed by a UAE court, ministry, notary, embassy or licensing authority. If the receiving party is a UAE government body, assume certification is required until they tell you otherwise.

Rule of thumb: private use — no certification needed. Official use — certification required. The dividing line is not the document type; it is who receives it.

The situations that always require it

1. Anything filed at a court

Arabic is the official language of UAE courts under Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022. Claims, evidence bundles, contracts relied on as proof, foreign judgments and affidavits all need certified Arabic. See court document translation.

2. Rental disputes at the RDC

Tenancy contracts, notices, payment records and correspondence submitted to the Rental Disputes Center must be in Arabic. A contract signed only in English is still enforceable, but it cannot be filed as-is.

3. Company formation and licensing

Memoranda of association, shareholder resolutions, board decisions and parent-company documents for DED, DMCC, JAFZA and other authorities. See corporate and commercial translation.

4. Residency, family and personal status

Birth, marriage, divorce, death and police clearance certificates issued abroad. See certificate translation.

5. Notarisation

A UAE notary will normally require an Arabic version before attesting a foreign-language power of attorney, declaration or agreement.

6. Professional and academic licensing

Degree certificates and transcripts for DHA, KHDA, MOHRE and professional bodies. Each authority has its own acceptance rules — tell your translator which one is receiving the file.

When you probably do not need it

Internal company documents circulated only inside your own business.
Marketing material, websites and correspondence with private counterparties.
Documents going to a foreign authority that has its own certification rules — check theirs first.

The order of operations most people get wrong

For a document issued outside the UAE the usual sequence is: notarisation in the issuing country → authentication by that country’s foreign ministry → UAE embassy attestation → MOFA attestation in the UAE → certified Arabic translation.

Why the order matters: attestation stamps added after translation are not covered by the translation. The document then goes back for a second translation, at your cost.

What to tell your translator

Tell them	Why it changes the work
The receiving authority	Terminology and formatting differ between courts, DHA and free zones
Your passport name spelling	The translation must match the passport, not the phonetic spelling
Your deadline	Determines whether same-day handling is needed
Whether it is already attested	Decides whether translation happens now or after attestation

Not sure whether your document needs certification?

Send us a photo and tell us which authority will receive it. We will tell you what is required — and if you do not need certification, we will say so.

Ask about your document Call +971 54 526 6500

Sources

The situations that trigger the requirement

The question is rarely “is my document important enough?” It is “who is going to read it?” If the reader is a UAE court, a ministry, a licensing authority, immigration or an embassy, the answer is almost always that a certified Arabic translation is required. If the reader is an internal team, a landlord or an overseas university, it usually is not.

Situation	Certified Arabic translation	Notes
Filing or defending a case in a UAE court	Required	Arabic is the language of litigation. Every foreign-language exhibit forms part of the file.
Rental dispute at the Rental Disputes Centre	Required	Contract, notices and evidence must be readable by the Centre in Arabic.
Residency, family visa or status change	Usually required	Foreign civil status certificates are translated for the immigration file.
Company incorporation or licence amendment	Usually required	Foreign-language corporate documents submitted to DED or a free-zone authority.
Notarising a power of attorney	Required	The notary public works from the Arabic text.
Degree equivalency or university admission	Commonly required	Requirements differ between institutions — confirm before ordering.
Internal company use or an overseas recipient	Usually not	An uncertified translation may be sufficient. Ask the recipient.

Certified is not the same as attested, notarised or legalised

These four words are used loosely and mean different things, and confusing them is the most common reason a file makes two trips instead of one.

Certified translation — produced and stamped by a translator accredited with the UAE Ministry of Justice. It vouches for the language, nothing else.
Attestation / legalisation — official confirmation that the original document is genuine, carried out in the country of issue and then by UAE authorities. It vouches for the document, not the translation.
Notarisation — a notary public formally witnessing or authenticating an instrument such as a power of attorney.
Apostille — a single certificate replacing the longer legalisation chain between states party to the relevant convention.

You may need more than one of these for the same document, and the order matters. Ask the receiving authority which it wants first — in most cases a foreign-issued document is authenticated first so that the certified translation covers the authentication stamps as well.

How to decide in under a minute

Name the authority that will receive the document.
Ask that authority two questions: does it need Arabic, and does it need the original authenticated.
If Arabic is needed, the translation must carry an MOJ-accredited translator’s stamp — fluency alone will not be accepted.
If authentication is also needed, complete it first unless the authority tells you otherwise.

Not sure which category your document falls into? See what we need from you, or send the document with the name of the receiving authority and we will tell you what the file needs before you pay for anything.

Common questions

When You Need MOJ-Certified Translation — Frequently Asked Questions

How to tell whether your document needs certification, attestation, both or neither.

How do I know if my document needs certified translation?

Identify who will receive it. UAE courts, ministries, licensing authorities, immigration, notary publics and embassies work in Arabic and require certification by a translator accredited with the UAE Ministry of Justice. Internal, commercial or overseas recipients often do not.

Is a translation from a fluent bilingual colleague acceptable?

Not for official submission. Authorities do not assess fluency; they look for the stamp of an accredited translator who takes responsibility for the accuracy of the text. An accurate but uncertified translation is commonly refused at the counter.

What is the difference between certified translation and attestation?

Certification concerns the language: an accredited translator stamps the Arabic version. Attestation concerns the document: official bodies confirm the original is genuine. They are separate processes and you may need both.

Which comes first, attestation or translation?

For a document issued outside the UAE, authentication normally comes first, so the certified translation can cover the attestation stamps too. Some departments accept the reverse order, so confirm with the receiving authority before you start.

Does an apostille remove the need for translation?

No. An apostille authenticates the original document and says nothing about language. A certified Arabic translation is still required, and the apostille itself is normally translated with the document.

My document is already in English. Do I still need Arabic?

For a UAE court, ministry or government department, yes in most cases. English is widely used commercially in the UAE, but official submissions are made in Arabic.