A person signing a contract with a pen
Attestation

Commercial document attestation

Commercial document attestation makes company papers, invoices and agreements issued in one country acceptable to authorities, banks and business partners in another. We prepare your documents, map the route through the issuing country, the UAE embassy and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), and handle submission and collection in the UAE.

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Overview

What commercial attestation covers

A UAE licensing authority, bank or court cannot check a foreign company's records directly. Attestation solves that. Each authority in the chain confirms the stamp or signature of the one before it, until MOFA adds the final UAE attestation. Once that is done, UAE bodies can accept the document as genuine.

Commercial attestation is the business version of this process. It covers a parent company's articles of association, certificates of incorporation, board resolutions and powers of attorney, as well as commercial invoices and the agreements companies sign with suppliers, distributors and agents. MOFA charges more for commercial documents than for personal ones, and import invoices now follow a fully electronic route.

The attesting itself is done by the issuing authorities, the relevant embassy and MOFA. Our job is everything around it: checking the paperwork is complete before it travels, setting out which steps your country needs, submitting in the UAE, arranging translation and returning the finished set to you.

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Each page explains who it's for, the documents, the official fees and every step.

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Rules depend on your activity, so we confirm the details for your case before you commit.

Commercial documents compared: route, timing of the rule and MOFA fee
At a glanceCompany documentsCommercial invoicesAgreements
Typical examplesArticles, memorandum, board resolutions, certificate of incorporationSupplier invoices for goods imported into the UAEDistribution, agency, supply and service contracts
Usual reasonBranch or subsidiary setup, bank account openingClearing imported goodsRelying on the contract with UAE bodies or banks
Route if issued abroadHome-country foreign ministry, UAE embassy, then MOFAMOFA electronic attestation, onlineHome-country foreign ministry, UAE embassy, then MOFA
When it appliesWhenever a UAE body asks for the documentMandatory at AED 10,000 or more since 1 February 2023Whenever a UAE body asks for the contract
MOFA feeAED 2,000 per commercial documentSet by MOFA; confirmed before you payAED 2,000 where classed as commercial
Process

How it works

Each step shows who does what, so you always know where things stand.

  • You
  • Global Sky PRO
  • Authority

  1. Step 1: Tell us the document and its purpose

    You

    Send scans of the documents and tell us which UAE body asked for them. The purpose decides which documents are needed and in what form.

  2. Step 2: Check the set and map the route

    Global Sky PRO

    We check names, signatures, seals and page counts against your company records, and set out every step, including any local certification your country needs before its foreign ministry will act.

  3. Step 3: Home-country and embassy attestation

    Authority

    The issuing country's foreign ministry, and then the UAE embassy or consulate there, attest the documents. You or a representative in that country submits them using our checklist.

  4. Step 4: MOFA attestation in the UAE

    Authority

    We submit through MOFA's online channels. MOFA completes the UAE attestation, or the electronic attestation for qualifying import invoices.

  5. Step 5: Translation and handover

    Global Sky PRO

    Where the receiving body needs Arabic, we arrange legal translation by a translator registered with the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), then check the full set and return it to you.

Before your documents leave the issuing country

Most delays in commercial attestation start at the first step, when a document is sent abroad in a form the next authority will not accept. Fixing it later usually means going back to the beginning, so a few checks at the start save a lot of back and forth.

  • The company name matches the trade register and the UAE application exactly, including punctuation and legal suffix.
  • Every page is present, signed or initialled where required, and carries the issuer's seal.
  • Copies are certified in the way the foreign ministry expects, not handed over as plain photocopies.
  • Documents are not laminated, which MOFA does not accept.
  • Resolutions and powers of attorney name the person who will act for the company in the UAE, with passport details that match.
  • Certificates showing current status, such as good standing, are recent enough for the body that asked for them.

Why an apostille is not enough

The UAE is not party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille on its own does not make a foreign document acceptable here. Whatever certificate your home authority issues, the UAE embassy and MOFA steps still apply. We plan the route on that basis from the start, so nothing has to be sent back.

Companies that are not in the UAE yet

Many of the documents on this page belong to companies with no UAE presence so far. That is not a barrier. MOFA allows an attestation request to be submitted on the document owner's behalf, so once the home-country and embassy steps are done, the originals can be couriered to us and we take it from there.

We keep you updated by WhatsApp or email at each stage, and our team speaks English, Hindi, Urdu, Malayalam and Bengali.

FAQs

Commercial documents: your questions

Short answers here. Your situation may differ, so ask us before you decide.

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Which commercial documents need attestation?

Any company document issued abroad that a UAE authority, bank or court will rely on usually needs attestation. Common examples are a parent company's articles of association, certificate of incorporation, board resolutions and powers of attorney, plus contracts and commercial invoices. The body that asked for the document decides what it needs, so we start by reading their request with you and listing each document and its route.

How much does MOFA charge for commercial documents?

MOFA charges AED 2,000 for each commercial document it attests, compared with AED 150 for a personal document. Commercial invoices are charged on a different basis, which we confirm before you pay. Home-country, embassy, translation and courier charges are separate, set by each body and paid at cost. We list them apart from our own service fee, which we quote in writing before work starts.

Do invoices need e-attestation?

Yes, for commercial invoices covering goods brought into the UAE where the invoice is worth AED 10,000 or more. MOFA electronic attestation has applied to these invoices since 1 February 2023, and it is done online rather than at a counter. For lower values the rule does not make it mandatory, but your buyer or clearing agent may still ask, so we check what they expect.

Can you attest documents for a company that is not in the UAE yet?

Yes. The home-country and UAE embassy steps happen in the issuing country, and MOFA lets someone else submit an attestation request on the document owner's behalf. Once your documents reach us, we handle the UAE side, arrange translation if needed and send the finished set back to you or hand it over for your company setup. You can follow every step with us on WhatsApp.

Do attested commercial documents need translating into Arabic?

Often, yes. MOFA accepts documents in English or Arabic, or with an official translation, but many UAE licensing bodies and courts work in Arabic and ask for a legal translation. We arrange translation by a Ministry of Justice-registered translator once the attestation stamps are in place, so the stamps are translated too, unless the receiving body asks for a different order.

Do UAE-issued company documents need attestation before use abroad?

Usually, yes. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) requires a UAE-issued document to be attested first by the government body that issued it, unless it is a digital government document or was attested electronically, before MOFA attests it online or through its app. The country where you will use it may add its own steps. We check which body issued each document, such as your license authority, and plan the route from there.

Source: MOFA: document attestation FAQs

Does a MOFA attestation on company documents expire?

No. MOFA states that there is no expiry date to an attested document. The bank, licensing authority or business partner receiving it can still set its own rules, and some ask for documents issued recently, such as a certificate of good standing, because they need to see the company's current position. We check how recent each document must be before it enters the chain, so you don't attest something that will be refused as out of date.

Source: MOFA: document attestation FAQs

How do companies submit documents to MOFA for attestation?

Companies log in through a company account on the MOFA website, while individuals sign in with UAE PASS. Once the request is filed, the original documents are sent to MOFA by courier. At the time of writing, MOFA lists a normal courier option of 3 working days for up to 25 documents per transaction, an express option of 1 working day for up to 10, and prepaid packages for companies. We prepare the request and track it through to collection.

Source: MOFA: document attestation FAQs

Why does MOFA reject commercial documents?

The most common reasons are a missing earlier attestation, a laminated document and a language MOFA does not accept. MOFA's requirements are an original in English or Arabic, or with an official translation, that has already been attested by the appropriate bodies and is not laminated. For a foreign document, that means the issuing country's foreign ministry and the UAE embassy come first. We check every page and stamp before submission, because a rejected document usually has to go back a step.

Source: MOFA: document attestation FAQs

What happens to the MOFA fee if a commercial document is rejected?

MOFA refunds the attestation fee for a rejected application automatically to your account, but delivery fees are not refundable. If you need to cancel a request before the documents reach MOFA, you select it from the application cancellation list on the MOFA website to claim the refund. Because courier charges are lost either way, we check documents before they are sent, and we tell you straight away if MOFA rejects anything and what needs fixing.

Source: MOFA: document attestation FAQs

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Attestation is performed by the issuing authorities, the relevant embassy and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We handle preparation, submission and collection. Last reviewed 31 October 2026 by the Global Sky PRO team.

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