Sworn Legal Translation
- Free sale certificates, powers of attorney, GMP
- Ministry of Justice licensed translator only
- Done after attestation, never before it
Arabic Translation for Product Registration in Dubai
A registration dossier needs three different kinds of Arabic, and only one of them is a translator's job. Certificates need sworn translation after attestation. Labels need standard terminology. Manuals need the right technical vocabulary. The order matters as much as the quality.
Excellent
Attestation comes before translation
Only Ministry of Justice translators are accepted
An apostille is not accepted in the UAE
Seals and stamps are translated too
Labels follow standard terminology, not free choice
Excellent
The Basics
Why Not Use Any Translator?
Because legal translation here is a licensed activity. Documents going to a UAE authority need a translation from a translator licensed by the Ministry of Justice, carrying their stamp, registration number and signature.
The profession is regulated under Federal Decree-Law No. 22 of 2022, which replaced the 2012 law. The Ministry licenses translators and translation houses and maintains the register they appear on.
Credentials from elsewhere do not transfer. A translator sworn before a court in their own country is not accepted here, which catches European exporters who assume their sworn translation travels.
A Common Error
Does the UAE Accept an Apostille?
No. The UAE is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille on a foreign certificate is not accepted here, and the UAE does not issue apostilles on its own documents either.
This surprises exporters from countries where an apostille settles everything. Among the Gulf states only Bahrain and Oman have joined the Convention. Saudi Arabia acceded in 2022. The UAE has not.
What applies instead is full consular legalisation, a chain of steps rather than a single certificate. It takes longer, it involves more parties, and it has to be finished before translation begins.
Two Different Systems
Apostille and Attestation
| Factor | Apostille | UAE attestation |
|---|---|---|
| Accepted here | No | Yes, this is the route |
| Form | A single certificate | A chain of steps |
| Issued by | One origin authority | Several, in sequence |
| Ends with | The apostille stamp | MOFAIC attestation |
| Then translated | Not applicable | By an MOJ translator |
| Works between | Convention members | Any country and the UAE |
The Chain
How Does the Attestation Chain Work?
Six steps for a foreign document. Two for a local one Documents issued inside the UAE skip straight to the translation.
Step 1
Notarise in the Origin Country
The certificate is notarised where it was issued, before anything else happens to it.
Step 2
Authenticate Locally
The competent authority in that country authenticates the notarised document.
Step 3
Legalise at the UAE Mission
The UAE embassy or consulate in that country legalises the document for use here.
Step 4
Attest With MOFAIC
On arrival, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs attests it. This is where the foreign chain ends.
Step 5
Translate Into Arabic
A Ministry of Justice licensed translator produces the Arabic, stamps and signs it.
Step 6
Attest the Translation
Where the receiving authority requires it, the translation itself is attested by the Ministry.
Then file
Submit With the Dossier
The attested original and its Arabic translation go into the registration file together.
Three Jobs
What Kinds of Arabic Does a Dossier Need?
Three, and they are not interchangeable. Using a legal translator for label copy is as wrong as using a copywriter for a free sale certificate.
Regulated Label Copy
- Standard Arabic terminology, not free wording
- Size and placement are governed as well
- Reviewed against the labelling standards
Technical Documentation
- Instructions for use, manuals, safety data sheets
- Domain vocabulary matters more than certification
- Required in Arabic for several product categories
Getting Them Mixed Up
- A legal translator is wasted on pack copy
- A marketing translator fails on a certificate
- Each one is redone if the wrong route was used
Which Documents Need Which Treatment?
The usual contents of a registration dossier, and what each one requires.
| Document | What it needs |
|---|---|
Free sale certificate | Full attestation chain, then sworn translation by a licensed translator |
Power of attorney or agency letter | Attestation then sworn translation. A defective one stops a file outright |
GMP or quality certificate | Attestation where issued abroad, followed by sworn Arabic translation |
Certificate of pharmaceutical product | Attested and translated. Format matters as much as the translation |
Certificate of analysis | Translation where required. Figures must match the dossier exactly |
Halal certificate | Attested and translated where the product category calls for one |
Commercial registration abroad | Attestation chain in full, then sworn translation into Arabic |
Label and packaging artwork | Not a sworn translation. Standard terminology and layout rules apply |
Instructions for use and manuals | Technical Arabic, required for several regulated product categories |
Rejections
Why Do Translations Get Rejected?
Rarely for the quality of the Arabic. Almost always for who produced it, when it was produced, or something on the page that was left alone.
The most expensive mistake is sequence. If a document is translated and then attested, the attestation stamps are not in the Arabic version, and both pieces of work have to be repeated in the right order.
The second is the translator. Only a Ministry of Justice licensee will do, and the certification page has to carry the stamp, the signature and the registration number. A missing element there is enough on its own.
The third is easy to miss. Everything on the page gets translated, including seals, stamps and anything handwritten. Leaving them in the original language is a recognised reason for return.
- Translated before the document was attested
- Produced by a translator without the license
- Stamp, signature or license number missing
- Seals and stamps left untranslated
- Handwritten notes ignored on the page
- A name spelled differently from the passport
Names have to agree
A name written one way on a passport and another in the Arabic is a listed reason for rejection. Agree the spelling once and use it across the file.
By Category
Which Registrations Need Translated Documents?
Most of them. What changes is which certificates the authority asks for, and whether the product also needs Arabic on the pack or in a manual.
Not sure what your file needs?
Send us the document list and tell us which registration it is for. We will mark up what needs attesting, what needs sworn translation, and what needs neither.
How It Works
What Do You Send for Arabic Translation ?
Scans first, so we can tell you what each document actually needs before anything is couriered or paid for. Several documents in a typical file need less than people assume.
What You Send
- Clear scans of every certificate in the file
- The registration the documents are going into
- Where each document was issued
- Any attestation already completed on them
- Passport or trade license name spellings
What You Receive
- A list of what needs attesting and in what order
- Arabic translation by a licensed translator
- Certification page with stamp and license number
- Attestation of the translation where required
- A consistent name spelling across the file
- Guidance on label and manual Arabic separately
Riz & Mona Consultancy coordinates translation through translators licensed by the Ministry of Justice rather than holding that license ourselves, and we say so plainly because the license is what makes the translation acceptable. We manage the sequence, the attestation and the filing around it.
Cost
What Does Document Translation Cost?
Two separate costs that people expect to be one. Attestation is charged by the authorities involved. Translation is charged by the document or the page. Neither covers the other.
Translation Only
Per document
Documents already attested, or issued inside the UAE, where only the Arabic is needed.
Attestation and Translation
On quote
Foreign certificates needing the full chain before a licensed translator can start work.
Full Dossier
On quote
A complete registration file assessed together, with each document routed to the right treatment.
What moves the number
Where the document was issued
A UAE-issued document skips four steps of the chain. A foreign one does not, and that gap is most of the cost.
How many documents
Both attestation and translation are priced per document, so a long file costs more than a complex one.
Length and density
Translation is often charged by the page, and certificates carrying tables or long annexes take longer.
Whether the order was right
A document translated before attestation is usually redone from the start. That is the expensive mistake.
A note on timing
Attestation timelines depend on the issuing country, its authorities and the UAE mission there, so we do not publish a single figure. One published estimate puts a full chain at several weeks, which matches what we see, but it varies widely by origin. Riz & Mona Consultancy quotes the work once we have seen the document list and where each was issued.
Afterwards
How Long Does a Translation Stay Valid?
As long as the document behind it does. A translation follows its original, so when the certificate expires or is reissued, the Arabic goes with it.
- The attested set files with the registration
- Names stay consistent across future filings
- The same documents serve repeat submissions
- Riz & Mona Consultancy holds the originals on file
- Renewals reuse what is still current
Who Does What
Who Is Involved in the Chain?
Four parties, in a fixed order. Skipping one or taking them out of sequence is what sends a file back.
01
Where it starts
Authorities in the Issuing Country
Notarise and authenticate the document before the UAE mission there will legalise it.
02
Where the chain ends
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Attests foreign documents on arrival, the final step before translation can begin.
03
Licenses the translator
Ministry of Justice
Regulates the translation profession, maintains the register, and attests translations where required.
04
Receives the file
The Registering Authority
Municipality, ministry or federal body, and the one that decides whether the file is accepted.
Get Started
Get Your Documents Ready to File
Send scans of the certificates and tell us which registration they are for. We will tell you what needs attesting, what needs sworn translation, and what needs neither.
Free document assessment•Attestation sequenced first•Licensed translation set up•Personalized cost quote
Riz & Mona Consultancy coordinates Ministry of Justice licensed translation and manages the attestation around it.