Certificates
Experience certificate attestation for UAE job moves
An experience letter from a former employer is a private letter. Before an office in another country relies on it, someone usually has to certify the signature on it, and you may also need certified copies or a signed declaration. We have in-house, in person notary public services, online notary public services and home visit notary services. We notarise copies, attest the employer’s signature and witness declarations, and then help with experience certificate attestation for UAE use or for a job abroad.
Experience certificate attestation for UAE use is asked for when a licensing body or employer wants proof of your previous work that it can rely on. A letter from an employer abroad needs a first official signature, such as a notary public or a chamber of commerce, before the home foreign ministry and the UAE mission will stamp it. MOFA then completes it here. The same idea works in reverse when you leave the UAE with an experience or salary certificate.
The first step is the one that confuses people. A ministry cannot confirm a private company’s letter directly, so something must turn the letter into a document an official can check.
Side by side
Notary services for experience letters
| Notary service | When you need it |
|---|---|
| Employer signature attestation | Your employer’s manager signs the experience or salary letter before a notary public, so the signature is attested. See signature attestation. |
| Notarised true copy of the letter | Several employers or regulators want a copy and you keep the original. See certified true copies. |
| Notarised copy of salary slips or a salary certificate | A regulator or bank wants proof to back up the letter |
| Declaration | Your former employer has closed and the receiving office accepts a signed statement of your work history. See affidavits before a notary. |
| Authority letter | A relative at home will take the letter through the offices there for you |
A notarised copy is useful for everyday requests. It does not replace the attested original when an office asks for attestation.
In person, online or at your office
The person signing for the employer can come in person to our in-house notary public services. Our online notary public services work by video, through the UAE remote notarisation channels such as the Ministry of Justice e-Notary system and UAE PASS. We tell you if your document can be done online. See online notary.
For a busy manager, our home visit notary services come to your home or office in the UAE.
What a good experience letter shows
Before any stamp, check the letter itself. Offices often reject letters that are missing:
- the company’s letterhead, address and trade licence or registration number;
- your name spelled letter for letter as on the passport, ideally with the passport number;
- your job title, and start and end dates (day, month, year);
- a short description of duties, if a regulator will assess it;
- who signed it (name and title), their signature, and the company seal.
Step by step
Coming to the UAE: foreign experience letters
01
First official signature.
Depending on the country, a chamber of commerce certifies the company’s signature, or a notary public certifies the letter.
02
Home foreign ministry.
03
UAE mission
in that country.
04
MOFA
in the UAE.
This is mostly needed for regulated jobs, such as health, engineering and teaching. See degree attestation for the qualification side, and medical certificate attestation for health licensing.
Step by step
Leaving the UAE: experience and salary certificates going abroad
A foreign employer, immigration office or bank may ask for your UAE experience or salary certificate attested. The usual route:
01
The employer issues the letter
on letterhead, signed and stamped.
02
The signature is certified, for example by a chamber of commerce or before a notary public, as the receiving office asks.
03
MOFA attests it.
04
The destination country’s embassy or consulate in the UAE
legalises it, if that country asks.
The whole route can be done in the UAE, as long as the former employer signs the letter before you leave. After you have gone, it is much harder. See UAE documents for abroad.
Employment contracts
A signed UAE employment contract needed abroad, for example for a visa or a bank loan at home, may be attested through MOFA and the destination embassy. A foreign employment contract for UAE use follows the foreign document chain. We can notarise a true copy for your own records.
Police clearance often travels with it
Employers and immigration offices often ask for a police clearance at the same time. Doing both in one batch saves a trip. See MOFA attestation for a police clearance.
Step by step
How we help
01
We check your letter against the list above before anything is stamped.
02
We handle the signature attestation of the employer’s signature and notarise copies and declarations, in person, online or at your office.
03
For a UAE letter, we handle MOFA and the embassy step.
04
For a foreign letter, we set out the home country steps and handle the MOFA step here.
05
We book a translation where needed. See legal translation.
Prices
Prices
| Service | Our service price | Government fee, paid on top at cost |
|---|---|---|
| Witnessing of signature (signature attestation) | From AED 900 | AED 200 per party (federal item 8) |
| Salary slip or salary certificate copy, notary certified | From AED 400 | Confirmed at booking |
| Certified true copy | From AED 400 | Confirmed at booking |
| Declaration | From AED 600 | AED 300 if made as an affidavit (federal item 12), or AED 200 per party (federal item 8) |
| MOFA attestation, personal document | From AED 150 | MOFA AED 150 |
| MOFA attestation, commercial document | From AED 300 | MOFA AED 2,000 |
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can my employer’s signature be attested by a notary?
Yes. The person signing for the employer signs the letter before our notary public, in person, online or at the office. Ask the receiving office whether it also wants a chamber of commerce step.
Do I need experience certificate attestation for a UAE work permit?
Not usually for an ordinary permit. It is mostly asked for by professional regulators and some employers. Ask for the list in writing.
My former company has closed. What can I do?
Ask the receiving office what it will accept instead: payslips, a social insurance record, or a declaration before a notary public. We draft and notarise the declaration, and it can then be attested.
Can a salary certificate from Dubai be attested for a visa abroad?
Yes. The signature is certified first, then MOFA attests it, then the destination country’s embassy in the UAE if it asks.
Does the letter need to be in Arabic?
No. MOFA attests Arabic and English documents. Letters in other languages need a certified translation.
Send us your letter
Send a photo of the experience or salary letter and tell us who asked for it.
- Phone and WhatsApp: +971 52 947 5935
- Email: info@dubainotaryservices.com
- Office open Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. WhatsApp and online requests answered 24/7.
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Service hub
Certificate attestation in Dubai is the chain of stamps that makes a degree, marriage certificate, birth certificate or similar paper acceptable to an office.
Guides
Sources for this page
- UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, FAQ (attestation chain, fees and document classes): https://www.mofa.gov.ae/en/faqs
- UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attestation service (language requirement): https://www.mofa.gov.ae/en/services/attestation
- Cabinet Resolution No. 19 of 2024 on notary fees: https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/2491