Fees and steps checked on
An American exporter's invoice and certificate of origin never go to Washington for the UAE: the importer in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah attests them on MOFA's eDAS 2.0 system in the UAE. Contracts are different. A distributor agreement, a letter appointing a UAE agent or a manufacturer's authorisation is signed before a US notary, certified by the Secretary of State and then attested by the UAE Embassy in Washington together with MOFA. Sorting your papers into those two piles first is what saves weeks.
Price: contracts and letters on the Washington route cost from AED 4,000 plus VAT each and take about 6 weeks, with the embassy, MOFA and courier charges inside. For eDAS invoices, send the shipment details and we quote. See attestation fees.
Which route for which document
| Document | Route | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial invoice for goods imported into the UAE | MOFA eDAS 2.0, in the UAE | The UAE importer |
| Certificate of origin | MOFA eDAS 2.0, in the UAE | The UAE importer, with the US chamber's certificate |
| Agency or distribution agreement | US chain, then UAE Embassy and MOFA | Notary, Secretary of State, VFS Global |
| Authorisation or appointment letter | US chain, then UAE Embassy and MOFA | Notary, Secretary of State, VFS Global |
| Price list, product or trademark letter | US chain, then UAE Embassy and MOFA | Notary, Secretary of State, VFS Global |
| Certificate of incorporation or good standing | US chain, then UAE Embassy and MOFA | Secretary of State, VFS Global |
The UAE Consulate General in New York lists commercial invoices and certificates of origin as the documents it does not take, and points to eDAS 2.0.
Invoices and certificates of origin: eDAS
Since commercial invoices moved to eDAS, a US exporter does not post them to Washington. The UAE importer logs in to eDAS with its MOFA company account, enters the invoice, attaches the certificate of origin where the shipment needs one, and pays. The attested invoice is downloaded in the UAE. The rules, the threshold and the late payment fine are on commercial document attestation.
US certificates of origin are certified by local chambers of commerce for the exporter. That certificate then travels with the invoice into eDAS.
Agreements and letters: the US chain
- Signature before a notary, by the company officer signing the document.
- Secretary of State of the notary's state. The UAE Embassy's corporate documents page asks for this before the document reaches VFS Global.
- Federal step, where required for your file. We confirm this when we see the document.
- UAE Embassy and MOFA, applied for on the MOFA portal and issued digitally as a commercial attestation.
- Arabic translation if the UAE authority wants one. Some UAE authorities work only in Arabic. See legal translation in Dubai.
Documents to send
- A scan of each signed document
- The state where the signer will sign, or did sign, before the notary
- What the UAE side needs it for: customs, an agency registration, a tender or a bank
What goes wrong
- Invoices posted to the US embassy route. They are not accepted there. Use eDAS in the UAE.
- A late eDAS payment. A fine per invoice applies after the grace period.
- Signer without authority. UAE partners may ask for a board resolution showing the signer can bind the company. See USA certificate of good standing attestation for the rest of the company set.
- Bundled documents. Each document is attested on its own, with its own fee.
UAE-issued trade documents use the chamber route on chamber of commerce attestation.
