Certified Translation in Dubai
A professional and certified legal translation company based in Dubai and serving all Emirates. We provide certified legal translation for personal, legal, and corporate documents, prepared to the requirements of the receiving authority.
MOJ-Licensed Certified Legal Translation in Dubai, UAE
What Makes a Translation Certified in Dubai
Certification is not a quality label and not a design choice. It is a statement of responsibility attached to a specific licensed person. In the UAE, that license is issued by the Ministry of Justice, and every stamped page at Arkan is signed by the named translator who prepared it, Khaled Mohamed — not by an anonymous pool.
When a translation is certified for official use in the UAE, the finished document normally shows:
- the translated text, laid out so it can be read against the original;
- the translator’s stamp, carrying the Ministry of Justice license number;
- the translator’s signature;
- the source document attached or clearly identified, so the two travel together.
A translation issued on company letterhead, or certified by an agency rather than by a licensed translator, is a different thing. It may be accurate and perfectly useful for a private purpose. It is simply not what a UAE court or notary means when it asks for a certified translation.
Our core certified work is Arabic ↔ English, which is the pair the license covers. Certified legal translation is Arabic ↔ English, handled in-house by the licensed translator. For other languages, send the document first and we confirm availability.
The license number is printed on every stamped page, so the receiving office can identify the translator responsible for the wording.
Certification, Notarisation, Attestation and Legalisation Are Not the Same Thing
These four words get used interchangeably in Dubai, and the confusion is expensive. They are separate steps, performed by different offices, and they confirm different things.
| Step | What it confirms | Who performs it |
|---|---|---|
| Certified translation | That the translation matches the source document | A translator licensed by the UAE Ministry of Justice |
| Notarisation | That a signature, or the act of signing, is genuine | A UAE Notary Public |
| Attestation | That the document itself is genuine | The issuing authority and the relevant government departments |
| Legalisation | That stamps already on a document are recognised for cross-border use | Embassies, consulates and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
Certification does not make a document genuine. It confirms that the translation says what the original says. If the original itself has to be proven genuine, that is attestation — a separate chain of stamps, on the source document, not on our work.
The order matters. If the receiving authority needs to see the attestation stamps in the Arabic translation, the document has to be attested first and translated afterwards. Translate too early and the work is paid for twice. We check the order before quoting, and the sequence itself is set out on attestation services.
Who Is Asked for a Certified Translation in Dubai
You are usually asked for one when a document in one language has to be relied on by an office that works in another.
- Court and legal proceedings. Proceedings before the UAE courts are conducted in Arabic, so a document in another language going into a court file normally needs a certified Arabic translation.
- Notary appointments. A power of attorney or company deed executed before a Notary Public normally has to be available in Arabic.
- Government and immigration files. Residency, family and licensing applications commonly require Arabic versions of foreign certificates.
- Embassy and overseas use. A UAE document going abroad is often required in the language of the receiving country.
- Companies, banks, insurers, schools and universities. Private bodies with their own rules. Ask them first, then tell us what they said.
Documents That Commonly Need Certification in Dubai
Certification attaches to the use, not to the document type.
The same certificate can need a stamped translation for one office and a plain one for another. These are the documents we are asked to certify most often.
Personal and family documents — marriage certificates, birth certificates, divorce papers, and family records for residency, school and embassy files.
Legal and notarial documents — powers of attorney, contracts and agreements, declarations, legal notices, judgments and court filings.
Identity, conduct and mobility documents — passports and identity cards, police clearance certificates, and driving licences.
Academic and employment documents — college and university certificates, school certificates, academic transcripts and employment records.
Company documents — trade licenses, memoranda of association, board resolutions, audited accounts and corporate records.
If your document is not on that list, send it anyway. The question we need to answer is where it is going, not what it is called.
How We Prepare a Certified Translation in Dubai
- You send the document and tell us where it will be submitted. A photo is enough to start, provided the text, stamps and seals are legible. If a page carries a stamp on the reverse, send the reverse.
- We read it before quoting. Whether the copy is clear enough to certify, the spelling of every name against the passport or Emirates ID, dates and reference numbers, completeness, whether stamps already on the document need to appear in the translation — and therefore whether attestation should come first.
- We confirm the price and the delivery date before starting. Timing depends on length, language pair and the working day. We confirm what is realistic for your document rather than quoting a standard turnaround.
- The translation is prepared and checked, then stamped and signed by the licensed translator who did the work.
- Delivery. Tell us how you need to receive the finished translation, and we confirm the delivery arrangement with your quote.
Send the document and tell us where it will be used. We check the order before you pay.
Send your document on WhatsApp — +971 50 709 1633Authority-Specific Preparation in Dubai and the UAE
The destination changes the work. A translation that is right for one office can be returned by another for a reason that has nothing to do with the wording. So we ask, before starting: which office will receive it; whether they want it attached to the original, to a certified copy, or on its own; whether they have asked for a particular language or a bilingual layout; whether they need a wet-stamped hard copy or a scan; and whether there is a deadline to work back from.
If you have written instructions from the receiving office — an email, a checklist, a rejection notice — send those too. Where the requirements are unclear, we say so rather than guessing, and we tell you what to ask them.
Why Certified Translations Get Rejected in Dubai
Rejections are rarely caused by dramatic mistranslation. They are usually caused by something ordinary.
- A name spelled differently from the passport. Tell us which spelling the receiving authority already holds.
- Translation done before attestation. Stamps added afterwards do not appear in the certified translation, so the translation is done again.
- A stamp that was never scanned. A seal on the reverse of a page is not in the file we received, so it is not in the translation.
- A source copy that cannot be read. We ask for a better copy instead of guessing.
- An incomplete document. A contract without its annexes, a certificate without its second page.
- The wrong deliverable or the wrong language. A scan where a wet-stamped copy was needed, or Arabic where the body wanted English.
These are the things we look for when we read the document before quoting. That is the reason we ask for it before giving a price.
If a correction is needed because of our mistake, we correct it promptly and at no extra charge. If the source document changes, new information is supplied, or the receiving authority asks for a different format, we explain the required update and confirm any cost before proceeding.
Where to Go Next
- Legal translation — how legal subject matter is handled: terminology, defined terms, court and corporate documents.
- Attestation services — the order of stamps, and whether your document should be attested before it is translated.
- About Arkan and our license — the office, the licensed translator, and the credentials behind the stamp.
- Contact us — address, office hours and direct contact.
