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Letters and powers of attorney

Authorization Letter Sample UAE: Letters for Everyday Family Tasks

This authorization letter sample UAE residents can adapt names one person to do one task for you: collect a certificate, pick up a new passport, meet your child's school, or look after your children while you are away. It is a short signed letter, not a power of attorney. Offices decide for themselves whether they accept it, so the first step is always to ask them.

Below is a base letter, four versions for the tasks families ask about most, and what to do when the office wants the letter notarised.

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Letters and powers of attorney

Authorization letter

At a glance

  • Who signs: you, the person giving the permission. The person you authorise does not sign it, but brings it with their own ID.
  • What it names: both people with passport and Emirates ID numbers, the one task, the office, and the dates the permission covers.
  • Notary: many offices take a plain signed letter with copies of both IDs. Some want your signature witnessed by a notary. Ask first.
  • Government fee if notarised: the federal schedule charges AED 200 per party to authenticate signatures where the document has no stated value (Cabinet Resolution No. 19 of 2024, item 8).
  • Not enough for: anything the office says needs a power of attorney. Selling, buying, signing contracts and running accounts usually fall into that group.

What is an authorization letter?

It is a letter in which you give another person permission to act for you in a small, clearly described matter. The office reading it wants to know three things: that you really wrote it, that the person in front of them is the one you named, and that the task they ask for is the one in the letter. Every line of a good letter answers one of those questions.

A power of attorney is a formal instrument. In the UAE it is an agency under the Civil Transactions Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, Articles 866 to 903), signed before a notary, and it can give wide or narrow powers. An authorization letter carries no such status. It works because the office chooses to rely on it.

Girl showing her mother a sheet of paper at home

Side by side

Letter or power of attorney: how to tell

Question to ask the officeIf the answer is yes
Will you release this item to someone holding my signed letter and ID copies?The letter below is enough.
Do you need the letter signed before a notary?Use the letter, and have your signature witnessed.
Do you need a power of attorney, or an official form of your own?A letter will not do. See our special power of attorney form, or use their form.

Plan on a power of attorney, not a letter, for a property sale or purchase, a car sale or transfer, a court case, or operating a bank account. Our vehicle power of attorney template covers cars.

Sample wording

Authorization letter sample (base letter)

Type your own details over each square bracket and remove any line you do not need. Keep the letter to one task.

AUTHORIZATION LETTER

Date: [date]

To: [name of the office or company], [emirate], United Arab Emirates

I, [your full name as in passport], [nationality], passport number [number], Emirates ID number [number], authorise [full name of the person you authorise], [nationality], passport number [number], Emirates ID number [number], to [describe the one task, for example collect my degree certificate, reference (number)] on my behalf.

This authorization is valid from [date] to [date]. It covers only the task above and does not allow [name] to sign any contract or pay any sum in my name.

Copies of my passport and Emirates ID, and of [name]'s passport and Emirates ID, are attached.

For any question, please call me on [mobile number] or write to [email address].

Signature: ______________

Name: [your full name]

[Notary's certificate and seal, if required]

Four versions to adapt

Replace the task line in the base letter with one of these.

Collecting a document

"to collect on my behalf my [passport / certificate / card], reference [number], issued in my name by [office], and to sign the collection receipt." Ask the office whether it releases passports to a third person at all.

School matters

"to collect my [son / daughter], [child's full name], [grade], from [school name] on the dates above, and to attend meetings with the school about [him / her] in my absence." Schools often keep their own pick-up form too. Fill in both.

A relative caring for your child while you travel

"to look after my [son / daughter], [child's full name], date of birth [date], passport number [number], while I am outside the UAE from [date] to [date], including taking [him / her] to school and to a doctor or hospital for treatment." Add a phone number where you can be reached abroad. This letter gives day to day permission only. It does not make the relative the child's legal guardian.

A building or community office

"to deal with [building management / the community office] about [move-in permit / access cards / parking permit] for [flat number, building name], and to collect any card or permit issued for it."

If your child is travelling with the relative, a care letter is not the right paper. Use our child travel consent letter instead.

Step by step

How to notarize an authorization letter in Dubai

When the office asks for a notarised letter, the notary does not check the task. The notary witnesses your signature.

1

Tell us the task and the office

We type the letter from the sample and send you a draft to check.

2

Do not sign yet

The notary must see you sign.

3

Arabic translation

Before a Dubai notary acts on an English letter, a certified translator prepares the Arabic text that goes with it (Dubai Law No. 4 of 2013, Article 27). We book the translator in advance.

4

Sign before the notary, either at the notary's premises or where you are, through a mobile notary visit. The notary checks your original passport or Emirates ID and that you sign freely (Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2022, Article 7), then seals the letter.

5

Hand it over

Give the sealed letter and the ID copies to the person you authorised.

More on the notary's side of this step is on our witnessing of signatures page.

When you are abroad and the task is here

Living overseas while a relative handles a matter in the UAE is a common case. Have your signature witnessed by a notary where you live. The UAE office may then want that seal legalised step by step: first by the local authorities, next by the UAE embassy or consulate for that country, and last by MOFAIC here. An apostille alone is not accepted, because the UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention. Ask the office before you send it, because some accept a scan for a simple collection.

Mistakes to avoid

Mistakes that get a letter refused

  • Two or more tasks in one letter An office reading "and any other matter" will often ask for a power of attorney instead.
  • No end date Put the dates, even if the task takes one afternoon.
  • Names that do not match the IDs Copy both names exactly from the passports.
  • Missing ID copies Attach both people's passport and Emirates ID copies.
  • A letter written by the person collecting It must come from you and carry your signature.

Prices

Price

ServiceOur service priceGovernment fee, paid on top at cost
Witnessing of signature (a notarised authorization letter)From AED 900AED 200 per party (federal item 8). Dubai private notary route: AED 100 per party registration plus AED 100 per signature
Drafting or typing only (add-on)From AED 200None
Special power of attorney, when a letter is not acceptedFrom AED 1,500AED 100 per party (federal item 9). Through a private notary on the federal schedule AED 130 per party
Courier pickup and delivery (add-on)From AED 80None

All service prices are starting prices and are negotiable. Government fees are paid on top, at cost, exactly as the authority charges them. We confirm your final price before you pay.

See the full fees page

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Can I just handwrite the letter?

Yes, if the office accepts it. A typed letter is easier to read and to translate, so offices refuse it less often.

What is a notarized letter of authorization?

It is the same letter with your signature witnessed by a notary, who adds a certificate and seal under it. It proves who signed. It does not turn the letter into a power of attorney.

Can the person I authorise pass the task to someone else?

Do not plan on it. The letter names one person, and the office expects that person at the counter. If you want a backup, name both people in the letter.

Can I cancel the letter before the end date?

Yes. Tell the office in writing that you withdraw it and ask the person to return the original.

Is a notarized guardianship letter the same as this care letter?

The care letter above is what many people mean when they search for one. It lets a relative handle daily matters for your child while you are away. It does not give legal guardianship.

More in letters and powers of attorney

Authority for a relative to do one task for you.

More in document templates

Contact

Get your letter prepared

  • Phone and WhatsApp: +971 52 947 5935
  • Email: support@privatenotarydubai.com
  • Address: Jebel Ali, Main Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
  • Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm (Dubai time)

Our other family letters, NOCs and forms are in the free document templates library.

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