MOFA Attestation | Ministry of Foreign Affairs Attestation

MOFA attestation: Ministry of Foreign Affairs attestation in the UAE

MOFA attestation is the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs stamp that makes a document valid for use in the UAE or abroad. It is applied for online with UAE PASS, not at a counter, and we can handle the whole application for you.

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Fees and steps checked on 28 October 2026

MOFA attestation, or Ministry of Foreign Affairs attestation, is the stamp of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs that makes a document legally valid in the UAE, or makes a UAE document valid abroad. You need it for a degree used for a work visa, a marriage or birth certificate used for a family visa, and company documents used for a licence or a bank. The route is simple: the document is first attested where it was issued, then MOFA attests it, and today the whole MOFA step is done online.

Price: MOFA attestation of a UAE document from AED 250 plus VAT for a personal document and from AED 2,600 plus VAT for a commercial one, usually in 2 to 3 working days, all official fees included. Full chains for documents from abroad start from AED 985 plus VAT (UK) and AED 1,025 plus VAT (USA). See attestation fees.

Looking ahead: see MOFA attestation rules 2027.

What MOFA attestation is, and what changed

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs checks that the stamps already on your document are genuine and adds its own attestation. Until May 2023 the ministry was called MOFAIC, which is why many people still search for MOFAIC attestation. It is the same service under its current name.

Three things are different from what most older guides describe:

No counters. MOFA says its Customer Happiness Centres are closed. You apply on the MOFA website or app with UAE PASS, or through an approved service provider. See MOFA attestation centres.
Digital attestation. Eligible UAE-issued digital documents can be attested digitally in about 2 hours during working hours.
One step for documents from abroad. For many countries, including the UK and the USA, the UAE embassy and MOFA now attest the document together, digitally. There is no separate MOFA visit after the document arrives in the UAE.

Who needs MOFA attestation

Employees with a degree from abroad: skilled roles need a MOFA-attested educational certificate for the work permit. See degree certificate attestation.
Families applying for residence visas: Dubai's GDRFA asks for an attested birth certificate and a certified marriage contract. See marriage certificate attestation.
Golden visa applicants on the skilled professional route, who need an attested bachelor's degree.
Companies using foreign board resolutions, powers of attorney or incorporation certificates in the UAE.
Anyone leaving the UAE who needs a UAE certificate accepted in another country. See UAE documents for use abroad.

The three MOFA attestation routes

MOFA's attestation service has three routes, and the right one depends on where your document was issued.

Route	Which documents	Who stamps it	Usual time
Digital attestation	Eligible UAE-issued digital PDFs with a QR code or reference number	MOFA	within 2 hours in working hours
Courier attestation	Other UAE-issued paper documents	MOFA, collected by an approved courier	1 to 3 business days
UAE missions abroad	Documents issued outside the UAE	UAE embassy and MOFA, often digitally together	usually 2 to 3 working days for that stage

Commercial invoices and certificates of origin do not use these routes. They go through MOFA's eDAS 2.0 system.

MOFA attestation process, step by step

For a document issued abroad, such as a UK degree:

Home-country certification. A notary or solicitor certifies the document where the country requires it, and the education authority verifies degrees where needed.
Home-country foreign ministry. The foreign ministry legalises the document or issues an apostille.
UAE embassy and MOFA. The application is made on the MOFA portal, an approved provider collects the original, and the document comes back attested by the UAE embassy and MOFA. Some countries still use the older paper route, with a separate MOFA step in the UAE.

For a UAE-issued document:

Issuing authority attestation. The authority that issued it attests it first, for example a UAE university, a court, or Dubai Chambers for company documents.
Online application. Sign in to the MOFA website or app with UAE PASS, choose the issuing authority and document type, and pay.
Collection or digital upload. A courier collects the paper original, or the digital PDF is attested online.
Return. The attested document is delivered back to you.

If you want to do it yourself, our guide to MOFA attestation online walks through each screen.

MOFA attestation fees

Every official fee and the courier are included in the total price you get before any work starts. Rejected or undelivered applications are refunded within 14 working days. MOFA's own published charges, with the source and the date we checked them, are on MOFA attestation fees. For marriage and birth certificates, see MOFA marriage certificate attestation and MOFA birth certificate attestation.

How long MOFA attestation takes

UAE digital document: within 2 hours during official working hours.
UAE paper document by courier: 1 to 3 business days, depending on the courier.
Courier outside the UAE: up to 7 business days.
Embassy plus MOFA digital route for documents from abroad: usually 2 to 3 working days for that stage, after the home-country stamps are done.

The home-country steps take most of the time. A UK document typically takes 12 to 14 working days end to end, a US document about 7 weeks. See how long attestation takes.

MOFA attestation requirements

MOFA accepts a document only when it is:

the original, or a digital original with a QR code;
in Arabic or English, or with a legal translation;
already attested by the issuing authority;
not laminated.

The full list per document type is on MOFA attestation requirements.

Common problems and how to avoid them

Apostille only. The UAE is not in the Apostille Convention, so a document with only an apostille is not ready. It still needs the UAE embassy step.
Missing earlier stamp. MOFA rejects a UAE document that the issuing authority has not attested first.
Laminated certificates. Laminated documents are not accepted.
Wrong destination country on a digital application. It cannot be changed after submission.

How we handle MOFA attestation for you

We are a private document service in Dubai, not MOFA or a government office. MOFA allows anyone to apply on someone else's behalf, so we prepare the application, arrange collection, track it and send you the attested document. You can check the result yourself through MOFA attestation verification. We work with residents in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the northern emirates.

Official sources

Your price and steps

Where was it issued? Type of document

Issued in the UAE, personal document: 2 steps

Document checked for the right issuing stamp in the UAE
MOFA attestation, online and digital

From AED 250 plus VAT, all official fees included

Usual time: 2 to 3 working days

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Questions people ask

What is MOFA attestation?

It is the attestation of a document by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It confirms the stamps already on the document so that UAE authorities, employers and schools accept it, or so that a UAE document can be used abroad.

How much does MOFA attestation cost?

Our total price for a UAE document starts from AED 250 plus VAT for a personal document and AED 2,600 plus VAT for a commercial one, all official fees included.

How long does MOFA attestation take?

For a UAE-issued document, the digital route takes about 2 hours in working hours and the courier route takes 1 to 3 business days. For a document from abroad on the embassy digital route, the embassy and MOFA stage usually takes 2 to 3 working days.

Can I walk into a MOFA office for attestation?

No. MOFA says its Customer Happiness Centres are closed. Applications are made on the MOFA website or app with UAE PASS, or through an approved service provider.

Can someone else apply for MOFA attestation on my behalf?

Yes. MOFA allows anyone to submit an attestation application on someone else's behalf, which is how a document service like ours handles it for you.

Do I need MOFA attestation if my document has an apostille?

Yes. The UAE is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille alone is not accepted. The document also needs the UAE embassy step and the MOFA step.

Is MOFA attestation the same as MOFAIC attestation?

Yes. The ministry was called MOFAIC until it was renamed MOFA on 22 May 2023. The service is the same.

Does a MOFA attestation expire?

The attestation stays on the document, but the office that receives it may ask for a recently issued certificate, for example a recent birth or police certificate. Check their rules before you start.