Fees and steps checked on
A UK DBS certificate is attested for the UAE by having the paper certificate certified by a UK solicitor or notary where needed, apostilled by the FCDO, and attested by the UAE Embassy in London together with MOFA. Teachers and childcare staff are the people most often asked for it, because their UAE school wants the same check they used at home. Before you start, ask the school or employer one question: DBS or ACRO? GOV.UK points people going abroad to an ACRO certificate, and some UAE offices want that instead.
Price: from AED 985 plus VAT (standard, 22 to 24 working days), AED 1,200 (express, 18 working days) or AED 1,600 (premium, 12 to 14 working days). FCDO, embassy, MOFA and courier fees are included; a solicitor's fee is added only if your certificate needs one. See attestation fees.
Which check you hold
| Check | Who issues it | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Basic DBS | Disclosure and Barring Service, England and Wales | Paper certificate posted to you |
| Standard or enhanced DBS | DBS, requested by an employer | Paper certificate posted to you |
| Level 1 disclosure | Disclosure Scotland | Digital only, paper copy on request for verification |
| Basic, standard or enhanced check | AccessNI, Northern Ireland | Digital certificate in your nidirect account |
The basic DBS check on GOV.UK costs £20, usually takes up to 3 days, and needs a GOV.UK One Login and five years of address history.
The FCDO step
GOV.UK lists DBS certificates, Scottish and Northern Irish disclosures and ACRO certificates among the documents that cannot get an e-Apostille, so a paper apostille is the route. It does not say whether the FCDO takes a DBS certificate directly or wants a solicitor's certification first. We check this for your certificate before it is posted, so it does not come back.
For a Scottish Level 1, the official route is clear: ask Disclosure Scotland to verify the disclosure. It is free, and you get a stamped and signed paper copy that the Legalisation Office can legalise. AccessNI certificates are digital, so ask us before you order one for UAE use.
Step by step
- Get the paper certificate. Keep it flat and unmarked.
- Solicitor or notary certification, if the FCDO needs it for your certificate.
- FCDO paper apostille.
- UAE Embassy London and MOFA, through the MOFA portal, with VFS collecting the certificate. The attestation is digital.
- Hand it to the school or employer with the rest of your file.
Teachers moving to UAE schools
A teacher's file usually holds the degree, the teaching qualification, experience letters and a good conduct check. Attest them in one batch so they come back together. See UK QTS attestation and teacher certificate attestation.
What goes wrong
- A DBS when the school wanted ACRO. Ask first. The ACRO route is on ACRO police certificate attestation.
- A screenshot of the update service. The DBS update service shows status online, but it is not a document that can be apostilled.
- A digital Scottish disclosure sent as a PDF. Ask for verification first, or it cannot be legalised.
- An old check. Many schools want a recent one. Apply close to your start date.
DBS apostille and attestation: what the UAE needs
People search for "DBS apostille" or "DBS apostille UK" because the FCDO apostille is the step they can see on GOV.UK. For the UAE it is the middle step, not the last. The chain for a DBS certificate is: paper certificate, solicitor or notary certification where the FCDO needs it, FCDO paper apostille, then the UAE Embassy London and MOFA attestation. The UAE is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, so a DBS certificate with an apostille alone is refused by a UAE school or employer. We run the whole chain from a PDF while you stay in the UAE. The difference between the two stamps is on attestation vs apostille.
What to send us
- A clear PDF or photo of the whole certificate. Tell us if it is a basic, standard or enhanced DBS, Disclosure Scotland or AccessNI.
- The photo page of your passport.
- A name-change document if the name on the certificate differs from your passport.
- The UAE school or employer that asked for it, and the date they need it.
The paper certificate is what goes through the UK steps, so it leaves your hands until the courier brings it back. The attested copy is emailed to you first. Do not laminate the certificate: MOFA does not accept laminated documents.
Time and cost in one place
From AED 985 plus VAT on standard, 22 to 24 working days. Express is AED 1,200 and 18 working days, premium AED 1,600 and 12 to 14 working days. The time runs from the day we have the paper certificate, so order a basic DBS early. GOV.UK says a basic check usually takes up to 3 days, plus the post.
Check the finished attestation
Enter the reference number and issue date from the last page at verify.mofa.gov.ae and open Document Status. See MOFA attestation verification for the steps.
