Fees and steps checked on
Indian certificate attestation makes a degree, school certificate, birth certificate, marriage certificate or power of attorney from India valid in the UAE. The chain is: state authentication (HRD for education, Home Department for personal documents), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) attestation, then the UAE Embassy in New Delhi, which now issues its stamp and MOFA attestation together in digital form. You can stay in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah or any other emirate while the file moves.
Price: India has no fixed price because the state step differs from state to state. Send a copy on WhatsApp and you get the total price plus VAT, all official fees included, before any work starts. See attestation fees.
How Indian attestation for the UAE works, step by step
- State authentication. Educational documents are authenticated by the state government, usually called the HRD or education department stamp. Birth and marriage certificates go to the state Home Department (General Administration). MEA calls these state offices Regional Authentication Centres.
- MEA attestation. The Ministry of External Affairs attests the state signature. For the UAE this is MEA attestation, not an MEA apostille, because the UAE is not in the Apostille Convention. MEA does not take files over the counter: they go in through its authorised collection agencies or one of its branch secretariats.
- UAE Embassy New Delhi and MOFA, digital. The application is made on the UAE MOFA website with UAE PASS. An approved provider collects the original in India, the embassy and MOFA attest it together, and the attested document arrives by email, ready for use in the UAE.
- Use it in the UAE. No extra MOFA counter visit is needed. You can check the attestation at verify.mofa.gov.ae.
Which Indian documents need which first step
| Document | First step in India | Then | Detail page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree, diploma, mark sheets | State HRD or education department (university verification first) | MEA, UAE Embassy and MOFA | Indian degree attestation |
| School certificates (10th, 12th) | State education department or board | MEA, UAE Embassy and MOFA | school admission attestation |
| Marriage certificate | State Home Department | MEA, UAE Embassy and MOFA | Indian marriage certificate attestation |
| Birth certificate | State Home Department | MEA, UAE Embassy and MOFA | Indian birth certificate attestation |
| Power of attorney | Signed before a notary in India | MEA, UAE Embassy and MOFA | power of attorney attestation |
The two state stamps and the MEA step are explained in detail in our guide to HRD and MEA attestation.
Official fees on the India route
These fees are already inside our quote. You do not pay them on top.
| Step | Who stamps it | Usual time |
|---|---|---|
| State authentication | State HRD or Home Department | varies by state |
| MEA attestation | Ministry of External Affairs | MEA publishes no fixed time |
| UAE Embassy New Delhi and MOFA | UAE Embassy and MOFA, digital | about 2 to 3 working days |
A power of attorney with commercial content is treated as commercial.
Can you attest Indian documents inside the UAE?
Partly. The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of India in Dubai attest Indian academic certificates, birth and marriage certificates, but only when the state and MEA stamps are already on them.
Since 22 July 2026 these services no longer run at the embassy or consulate counters. They go through 16 Indian Consular Application Centres across the emirates, booked at consularsevainuae.com.
The state and MEA steps still happen in India, so you cannot skip them from Dubai. The Indian Embassy has also said that UAE MOFA accepts its attestation of birth, education and marriage certificates in place of the UAE mission step in India. Acceptance can depend on who receives the document, so we confirm the best route for your case first.
Already in the UAE? What we do for you
Most people asking about attestation by the Indian Embassy or MEA attestation already live here. You hand us the original in Dubai, or send a photo first so we can check it. We arrange the state stamp in the state that issued the document, the MEA step, and the digital UAE Embassy and MOFA attestation. The attested copy is emailed so your visa, job or licence paperwork can start before the original is back.
Typical reasons people need it:
- A skilled work permit that asks for an attested degree. See attestation for an employment visa.
- A family residence visa for a spouse or child. See attestation for a family visa.
- Degree recognition or a golden visa, where the attested degree is the starting point.
Families in the UAE often hold papers from more than one country. If some of yours come from Bangladesh, use the route on Bangladesh certificate attestation for those.
Common problems with Indian documents
- Apostille instead of attestation. An MEA apostille sticker is for Hague member countries. The UAE needs MEA attestation followed by the UAE Embassy step.
- Wrong state. The state stamp must come from the state where the document was issued, not where you lived later.
- Missing university verification. Some states only authenticate a degree after the university confirms it is genuine.
- Laminated certificate. UAE MOFA does not attest laminated documents.
- Photocopy only. MEA does not attest photocopies and the UAE digital route needs the physical original.
More reasons files are refused are on why attestation gets rejected.
