Salary certificate in the UAE: format, uses and attestation

Salary certificate vs experience certificate

A salary certificate is a letter on company letterhead confirming your job and pay, issued by your employer, usually HR, while you're employed. Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, the UAE labour law, doesn't mention it, so there's no legal format.

An experience certificate, often called a service certificate, is a legal right: under Article 13(11), the employer must give it on request when the contract ends, free of charge.

The law covers the private sector. Article 3 excludes government employees, the armed forces, police and security, and domestic workers. Free zones generally apply their own regulations alongside it, and DIFC and ADGM have their own employment frameworks.

Where you need a salary certificate

Each authority sets its own document list. These are the official pages we checked:

Banks and other private organisations may ask for one too, each with its own list. For the full family list, see our family visa documents checklist.

Salary certificate format and how to get one

There's no legal template. These are the items a salary certificate typically shows:

• Letterhead. Company name, address, trade license number and contact details.
• Date and addressee. The issue date and the organisation it's for, or "To whom it may concern".
• Your identity. Full name as in your passport, nationality, passport number and Emirates ID number.
• Your job. Job title, joining date and confirmation that you're still employed.
• Your pay. Basic salary and total monthly salary in AED, with the main allowances.
• Signature and stamp. Signed by an authorised signatory, with name and title, and the company stamp.

Show both basic and total pay. The labour law defines the basic wage as the contract wage without allowances, and the wage as the basic wage plus cash allowances and in-kind benefits. The official pages above don't say which figure their thresholds use.

• 1. Ask HR. Say who the letter is for and what it must show.
• 2. Check the figures. They should match your contract and, for a Golden visa, your bank statements.
• 3. Get it signed and stamped. Check both before you submit it.
• 4. Translate or attest if asked. See the last section.

Need the letter typed in the right format, or in Arabic? Our letter drafting team prepares it for your employer to sign.

Your right to an experience certificate

Article 13(11) of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 says that, at the worker's request when the contract ends, the employer must give a free experience certificate showing:

• The date you joined.
• The date your work ended.
• Your total period of service.
• Your job title or the type of work you did.
• Your last wage.
• The reason the contract ended.

The certificate must not include anything that could harm your reputation or reduce your job opportunities. The article doesn't limit the right to particular reasons for leaving. Employers must also keep a worker's file for at least two years after service ends (Article 13(1)), but it's simplest to ask for the certificate when you leave.

If your employer won't issue it, you can file a labour complaint with MOHRE. MOHRE first tries to settle it and can decide claims of up to AED 50,000 itself, which either side can challenge in court; larger unresolved disputes go to court. Under Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2024, claims can't be heard more than two years after employment ends. We're not a law firm, but our labour complaint team can prepare and file the paperwork with you.

Attestation and translation

Inside the UAE, GDRFA Dubai's family page asks for an attested birth certificate and a certified marriage contract, but it doesn't list attestation for the salary certificate. Attestation matters when a certificate crosses a border.

These certificates come from private companies, so ask the receiving authority which first step it accepts. If your employer is a Dubai Chambers member, it can have its authorised signatory's signature on commercial documents and correspondence verified there, for AED 100 at the time of writing (each copy after the fifth adds AED 10).

MOFA needs the original, unlaminated, in Arabic or English or with a legally certified translation, and shows the total fee before payment. If your certificate is in another language, start with a certified translation.

Our attestation team checks what the destination needs, submits the document and follows it up. If yours already carries an apostille, read apostille vs attestation first.