UAE attestation & company formation

Get your documents accepted in the UAE — first time.

Attestation is a chain, and most of what goes wrong is sequencing: the right stamps in the wrong order, a certificate that expires mid-process, a translation paid for twice. This site maps the chain end to end — by document and by issuing country — and publishes the real total cost instead of the headline one.

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Every fee sourced to the authority that charges it Total cost shown — embassy, translation and courier included Reviewed 23 August 2026

Which of these are you here for?

Certificate attestation in the UAE →

Attesting documents for use in the UAE — the full legalisation chain by document type and issuing country, with real costs and realistic timelines.

What attestation costs in the UAE · Degree certificate attestation for the UAE · Attestation for documents issued in India · MoFAIC attestation in the UAE

Business setup in the UAE →

Setting up a company in the UAE — mainland, free zone and offshore compared, the documents you actually need legalised, and honest total costs.

What UAE business setup actually costs · Documents required for UAE business setup · Mainland company formation in Dubai · Free zone company setup in the UAE

The one fact most pages get wrong

The UAE does not accept an apostille.

The UAE is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention. A document apostilled in your home country still needs attestation by the UAE embassy there, and then by MoFAIC in the UAE. Pages telling you otherwise are the reason people arrive at a typing centre with a document that cannot be used.

Read the full comparison, with sources →

What it actually costs

Most quotes in this category cover one stage of several. These are the UAE-side government fees, published by the ministry that charges them — before anyone's service fee is added.

MoFAIC — personal document
AED 150
MoFAIC — commercial document
AED 2,000
MoFAIC processing
About 3 working days

Per document. Home-country fees, the UAE embassy fee, translation and courier are all additional — which is exactly what teaser pricing leaves out.

Tell us what you have — get the real number

Three questions. You get the route for your exact document, a realistic timeline, and the full cost including the fees most quotes omit.

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Common questions

Does the UAE accept an apostille?
No. The UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille on its own is not accepted. A foreign document needs attestation by the UAE embassy in the country that issued it, then attestation by MoFAIC inside the UAE.
What does attestation cost in total?
The UAE-side government fee is AED 150 per personal or educational document and AED 2,000 per commercial document. On top of that sit home-country fees, the UAE embassy fee in the issuing country, certified translation where required, and courier. The full itemised breakdown is on each document page.
How long does the whole process take?
MoFAIC itself is quick, usually within about three working days. The home-country stage is what sets the real timeline and can run from a few days to several weeks, depending on the country and whether the issuing authority has to verify the document first.
Do I have to use an agent?
No. Every stage is a public service you can apply for yourself, and doing so costs only the government fees. An agent earns their fee when the document sits in another country, the deadline is tight, or a stage needs someone physically present.
What does attestation have to do with company formation?
If a foreign company or an absent founder is involved, incorporation cannot proceed without legalised documents — the memorandum of association, certificate of incorporation, board resolution or a power of attorney. That is the single point where these two subjects are actually the same job.
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