The UAE has two kinds of notary. The public notary sits within the court or Ministry of Justice structure; the private notary is a licensed private practitioner performing the same notarial function outside it. Both are regulated by Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2022 on the Regulation of the Notary Profession, and the differences that matter in practice are about access and about what a particular notary may lawfully do — not about the weight of the resulting document.
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Article contents11 sections
- A Private Notary Performs the Same Notarial Acts
- What we handle
- Some Instruments Are Outside Every Notary’s Competence
- Who May Be Licensed, and Why a Lawyer Is Not Automatically a Notary
- How to Verify That Someone Is a Private Notary
- Where Our Own Work Sits
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Speak With Our Team
- Official Sources Reviewed – 20 August 2026
- Legal Disclaimer
- Related pages
A Private Notary Performs the Same Notarial Acts
Article 4 of the decree-law gives private notaries the same notarial functions as public notaries: notarising documents, verifying signatures, and executing the instruments the law places within notarial competence. A document notarised by a licensed private notary is not a lesser instrument than one notarised at a court or ministry office, and a receiving authority should treat the two the same way.
What differs is delivery. Private notaries operate from licensed offices, which in practice means appointment availability, location and scheduling flexibility that a court counter does not always offer. For a transaction with a deadline, that is often the whole reason for choosing one.
What we handle
Choose the outcome that matches your situation. Each card opens the page that explains the document, the likely route and what the competent authority will look for.
- Power of AttorneySpecial, general and company POAs drafted or reviewed and prepared for the appropriate notarial process.
- Agreements & contractsAgreements, MoUs and settlement documents drafted or reviewed and prepared for the applicable execution or notarial route.
- Corporate documentsBoard and shareholder resolutions, incorporation papers and amendments prepared or reviewed with reference to the company’s authority and the receiving entity’s requirements.
- Property documentsSale, gift, mortgage and management documents prepared or reviewed for the intended property transaction, subject to the relevant authority’s requirements.
- Attestation & legalisationAttestation and legalisation routes assessed, with each step identified for the competent authority or authorised provider.
- Wills & successionSupport with DIFC and UAE will drafting and registration requirements, subject to eligibility and individual circumstances.
- Declarations & undertakingsDeclarations, affidavits and undertakings prepared with reference to the receiving body’s current requirements.
- Legal noticesFormal notices drafted or reviewed, with the applicable service route explained.
- Documents for use abroadRoute guidance for documents moving into or out of the UAE, subject to destination and authority requirements.
Some Instruments Are Outside Every Notary’s Competence
This is the point most often missed, and it applies to public and private notaries alike. Article 16 places certain instruments outside notarial competence altogether — including matters of Muslim personal status, transfers of title to real property, and endowments. Those go to the competent court, the land department or the relevant authority instead.
The practical consequence is that “take it to a notary” is sometimes the wrong instruction. A property transfer is registered by the land department; a will or personal-status matter may need the court. A notary can authenticate a power of attorney used in those processes, but the substantive act is not a notarial one, and booking a notarial appointment for it wastes the appointment.
Who May Be Licensed, and Why a Lawyer Is Not Automatically a Notary
Article 30 sets the conditions for licensing as a private notary. In outline, an applicant must:
- be a UAE national;
- have full legal capacity and be medically fit;
- be of good conduct and reputation, without conviction for a felony or a misdemeanour involving moral turpitude or breach of trust;
- hold a degree in law, or in Sharia and law, from a recognised institution;
- have practised in judicial or legal work for at least three years;
- hold valid professional liability insurance;
- pass the Ministry’s tests and pay the prescribed fees.
Article 31 allows a practising lawyer to perform private-notary duties — but only where the Article 30 conditions are satisfied. That qualification is the whole point of the article, and it is routinely dropped when the position is summarised. Holding a UAE advocacy licence does not, by itself, make a lawyer a private notary; admission as a private notary is a separate status with its own conditions and its own licence.
Article 32 adds a structural requirement: a private notary must perform notarial duties through a firm licensed for that purpose, or through a licensed law firm. So the licence attaches to a person practising within a permitted structure, not to an office sign.
How to Verify That Someone Is a Private Notary
Because the status is separate and conditional, it is reasonable — and sensible — to check it before instructing anyone on that basis. Two questions do the work: is the individual licensed as a private notary, and is the office one through which private-notary duties may lawfully be performed. The Ministry of Justice publishes the legislative framework for the profession and is the reference point for the licensing position.
A useful negative test as well: any description that treats “lawyer” and “private notary” as interchangeable, or that implies a firm holds an official or governmental notarial appointment, should prompt the question rather than settle it.
Where Our Own Work Sits
We are a legal practice. Our work on notary-related matters is legal drafting, review and coordination — establishing what the receiving authority requires, writing the document so that it achieves the intended transaction, and managing the attestation and translation steps around it. The notarial act itself is performed by the legally competent notary, whether that is a public notary office or a licensed private notary.
We do not describe ourselves as a private notary and do not hold ourselves out as having any government appointment or notarial authority. That distinction is set out at greater length on our about page, and it is deliberate: the value we add is in the document being right before it reaches a notary, which is where most rejections are actually decided.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a document from a private notary as valid as one from a public notary?
Yes. Article 4 of Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2022 gives private notaries the same notarial functions, and a receiving authority should treat the resulting instrument the same way.
Is every UAE lawyer also a private notary?
No. Article 31 permits a practising lawyer to perform private-notary duties only where the licensing conditions in Article 30 are met. Private-notary admission is a separate status with its own conditions and licence, and an advocacy licence alone does not confer it.
What can a private notary not do?
The same things no notary may do. Article 16 places certain instruments outside notarial competence, including matters of Muslim personal status, transfers of title to real property and endowments. Those belong to the competent court or authority.
Why use a private notary instead of a court office?
Usually access. Private notaries operate from licensed offices with their own appointment availability, which matters where a transaction has a deadline. The document itself carries the same weight either way.
Can a private notary register my property transfer?
No. Title transfer is registered by the land department of the relevant emirate, and it is outside notarial competence. A notarised power of attorney may be used within that process, but notarisation does not register the interest.
Does using a private notary guarantee the document will be accepted?
No, and neither does using a public notary. Acceptance is decided by whoever has to act on the document — a bank, a registrar, a land department or a foreign authority — against its own requirements. That is why the wording matters more than the choice of notary.
How do I check whether someone is licensed?
Ask directly, and check the position against the Ministry of Justice, which publishes the legislative framework for the profession. Be cautious of any description that treats lawyer and private notary as the same thing, or that implies a governmental notarial appointment.
Speak With Our Team
Our firm provides legal drafting, document review and coordination for UAE notary-related and cross-border document matters. The practice is managed by Emirati Senior Lawyer Abdulhamid Al Balooshi, who has practised legal services for more than two decades. Our office is in Dubai and we assist matters across the Emirates.
For corporate clients with recurring document requirements, long-term professional arrangements and corporate rates can be discussed according to volume and scope. Official government, notary, registry, court and third-party fees remain separate.
Website: https://uaenotarypublic.com/ Email: notary@uaenotarypublic.com Office: 14th Floor, Aspin Commercial Tower, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Official Sources Reviewed – 20 August 2026
- UAE Legislation Portal – Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2022 Regulating the Notary Profession.
- UAE Legislation Portal – Cabinet Resolution No. 16 of 2024.
- UAE Legislation Portal – Cabinet Resolution No. 19 of 2024.
- MOHRE employment contract guidance and issuance/renewal service where employment matters are discussed.
- DMCC official company-document templates where DMCC matters are discussed.
- JAFZA official investor/formation and document-attestation guidance where JAFZA matters are discussed.
- RAKEZ official amendment guidance where RAKEZ matters are discussed.
- UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs attestation service for cross-border documents.
- The competent local judicial authority should be checked for current Sharjah, Ajman, RAK, Fujairah and UAQ service conditions and fees.
Legal Disclaimer
This article provides general information and is not legal advice for a specific matter. Requirements vary by facts, document, Emirate, free zone, authority, registry, court, country of issue and receiving institution. Official fees, service channels and documentary requirements may change. No notarisation, registration, attestation, recognition, acceptance, completion time or legal outcome is guaranteed. Verify the competent authority's current requirements before execution or filing. Where applicable, the official Arabic text of UAE legislation prevails for interpretation and application.