FR
Documents from France
France certificate attestation in Dubai and notary services for French residents
France certificate attestation for Dubai is what you need when a French diploma, birth extract or marriage record must be accepted by a UAE office. French residents here also need the reverse: a procuration (power of attorney) so a relative or a notaire in France can act for them, a sworn statement for a French office, or certified copies of a passport or a UAE document for a file in France. Those papers are signed before a notary public in the UAE.
1
Home country
The issuing body or a notary
2
Home country
The foreign ministry
3
Home country
The UAE embassy or consulate there
4
In the UAE
MOFA in the UAE
We have in-house, in person notary public services, online notary public services and home visit notary services. We notarise your procuration, your sworn statement and your true copies, and we prepare the translation when the French side and the UAE side need different languages.
At a glance
- Papers for France are notarised here. If the French side asks for the UAE chain, MOFA attests the notarised paper and then the French embassy or consulate in the UAE.
- Papers from France for UAE use: legalisation in France, the UAE embassy in Paris, then MOFA. Source: MOFA FAQ.
- The UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so a French apostille is the wrong certificate for Dubai. Source: HCCH status table.
- A document only in French needs a translation that MOFA accepts. Source: MOFA attestation service.
- MOFA charges AED 150 per personal document and AED 2,000 per commercial document.
Side by side
Papers French residents sign with us
| Paper | Typical use in France | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Procuration (power of attorney) | A property sale or purchase, a bank, an inheritance, a family matter | The French side often sends its own draft. We notarise your signature on it. See power of attorney notarisation. |
| Attestation sur l’honneur or sworn statement | A statement of facts for a French office or the French embassy | See affidavits before a notary. |
| Certified true copy | Passport, residence visa, Emirates ID or UAE degree | See certified true copies. |
| Signature attestation | A letter or form where the French side wants proof of who signed | See witnessing of signature. |
| Parental consent | A child travelling with one parent or with another adult | See child travel consent. |
Step by step
A French draft signed in the UAE
French offices often send a ready made document in French. You can sign it here. Before the appointment:
01
Send us the draft
so we can check the names, dates and blanks against your passport.
02
Tell us what the French side wants after the signature.
Some want the notary seal only. Others want MOFA and the French embassy or consulate in the UAE on top.
03
Decide on translation.
If the notary needs the text in English or Arabic, we prepare a legal translation to sit with the French original.
04
Sign before the notary public, who checks your identity, watches you sign and applies the seal.
You can do this in person, by video through our online notary public services using the UAE remote notarisation channels such as the Ministry of Justice e-Notary system and UAE PASS, or at home with our home visit notary service. We tell you if your document can be done online.
France certificate attestation Dubai: public or private document
For a French document going to a UAE office, the first question is who signed it.
Public documents.
Birth and marriage extracts from the mairie, diplomas from a public university, court judgments. These are legalised by the French foreign ministry, then stamped by the UAE embassy in Paris, then attested by MOFA.
Private documents.
Employer letters, sworn statements, company minutes and contracts. The signature is certified first, at the mairie for a private person or by a notaire. After that, legalisation, the UAE embassy and MOFA follow in the same order.
Civil status extracts
French town halls issue full copies (copie intégrale) and extracts of birth and marriage records, and many can issue a multilingual extract. Whether a UAE visa office accepts a multilingual extract without a full translation is not published, so ask that office first. For a child’s visa, use a copy that shows both parents. See birth certificate attestation and marriage certificate attestation for a family visa.
Diplomas and company papers
Some UAE employers want the relevé de notes (transcript) as well as the diploma, so ask before you start. See degree attestation. Kbis extracts, statuts and board decisions for a UAE subsidiary or bank account are usually certified by a notaire or the commercial court registry, legalised in France, stamped by the UAE embassy and attested at MOFA as commercial documents. See company documents.
Translation from French
- A sworn translator in France (traducteur assermenté) translates into English or Arabic, and the translation can travel with the original. Ask the receiving office whether it accepts this.
- A legal translator in the UAE translates into Arabic after MOFA, if the receiving office agrees.
Prices
Prices
| Service | Our service price | Government fee, paid on top at cost |
|---|---|---|
| Procuration (power of attorney) | From AED 1,500 | AED 100 per party (federal item 9); Dubai private notary route AED 100 per party registration plus AED 100 per signature |
| Sworn statement or declaration | From AED 600 | AED 300 per affidavit (federal item 12) |
| Witnessing of signature | From AED 900 | AED 200 per party (federal item 8) |
| Legal translation | From AED 50 per page | AED 50 per page where notarised with the instrument |
| MOFA stage, personal document | From AED 150 | MOFA AED 150 |
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can I sign a French procuration in Dubai?
Yes. You sign it before our notary public, in person, online or at home. Ask the French side whether it also wants MOFA and the French embassy or consulate in the UAE.
I have a French apostille. Is it valid in Dubai?
No. The UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention. You need legalisation in France and the UAE embassy stamp, then MOFA.
Does a French birth extract need translating?
For MOFA, yes, unless it is in English or Arabic. A multilingual extract may reduce the work, but ask the receiving office first.
Can the UAE embassy step be done in Dubai?
No. It is done by the UAE embassy in France.
Get a written quote
Ask about your French paperwork
Send a photo or the draft and tell us where it will be used. We reply with the steps and a price.
- Phone: +971 52 947 5935
- 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. Other countries: embassy attestation.
Sources for this page
- UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, FAQ (attestation chain and fees): https://www.mofa.gov.ae/en/faqs
- UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attestation service (language requirement): https://www.mofa.gov.ae/en/services/attestation
- HCCH status table, which does not list the UAE as a party: https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=41
- Cabinet Resolution No. 19 of 2024 on notary fees: https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/2491
- Dubai Media Office, private notary fees: https://mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2025/december/29-12/dubai-courts-is-preparing-to-implement-the-decision-regulating-the-fees-of-the-private-notary-public