Anyone can move text between languages. A translation submitted to a court, a notary public or a government department sits inside a regulated framework, and that framework gives you specific things to look for. This page sets out what the decree-law requires, what it does not, and where each check stops.
- Lawful practice needs registration in the Roll and a licence — both, not either
- Your translation must carry the translator's name and registration number
- A registration number on a page proves a claim, not a live registration
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"Legal translator" is a status, not a description
The profession is governed by Federal Decree-Law No. 22 of 2022 on Regulating the Translation Profession — issued 26 September 2022, published in Official Gazette No. 736, and in force since 2 January 2023.
Article 40 repeals the earlier instrument outright: "Federal Law No. (6) of 2012 on Regulating the Translation Profession is repealed, as is any provision that contradicts or conflicts with the provisions of this Decree-Law." A provider still citing the 2012 law is working from a superseded text — a small detail that tells you something about how current their information is.
One nuance worth keeping straight: Article 40(2) kept the pre-existing executive regulations and resolutions in force, so far as they did not conflict, until the new Executive Regulation was issued. The repeal replaced the statute; it did not erase every subordinate rule overnight. The decree-law defines a translator as "the natural person who practises the translation profession and is registered in the Roll" (Art. 1). The operative words are <em>registered in the Roll</em> — the Roll being "the Roll for the registration of translators and translation houses" held at the Ministry. It is not a description a provider can adopt for itself.
Two requirements, not one
Article 2(1) is explicit that lawful practice rests on two things together.
"The translation profession may not be practised in the State except after registration in the Roll, and obtaining a licence to that effect from the competent licensing authority." Registration is one requirement; the licence is another, and it comes from a different body.
Checking one is not checking. A valid trade licence does not establish registration in the Roll, and registration does not stand in for a licence. When a provider answers a question about registration by showing you a trade licence, it has answered a different question.
What the law says about acceptance
Article 3 provides that — "without prejudice to Clause (2) of Article (2)" — no authority carrying out notarisation or attestation work, and no court, may accept a translated instrument, document or deed unless that translation was done by a translator or translation house registered in the Roll.
Read the opening qualifier carefully, because the rule is not absolute. Article 2(2) permits "the judicial authority to use a translator or translation house not registered in the Roll where the need arises, provided the translator swears the legal oath" — and the competent judicial authority is defined as "the courts or the public prosecution" (Art. 1). That is a narrow, conditional exception for a judicial body. It is not a general opening, and it is not something a commercial provider can invoke for itself.
The practical consequence is simple: as a general rule, a translation produced outside the Roll may be refused at the counter — after you have paid for it and waited.
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What must appear on the document itself
This is the strongest check available to you, and it needs nothing more than the document in your hand.
Article 13(6) obliges the translator to attach "his name, his registration number and the name of the translation house through which he works, to all printed materials, correspondence, certificates and reports that he signs." Three elements, on everything signed.
So a translation that reaches you with no translator named and no registration number does not meet that obligation. That is a concrete, checkable standard, and it costs you nothing to apply.
Be clear about where this check stops. The presence of a number shows the document <em>carries</em> a registration number. On its own it does not establish that the registration is currently in force. Anyone telling you that reading the page is the same as verifying the registration is overstating it.
The two documents that should be on the wall
If you are at the translation house in person, Article 14(1) obliges its manager to place "the registration certificate and the translation house licence in a prominent location" on the premises. Note that it is both documents — which matches the two-part requirement in Article 2(1).
These are things you should be able to see without asking. An office that will not produce them when asked is worth pausing over — though on its own that is a signal, not a conclusion.
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Where the official search service sits
The Ministry of Justice publishes an official page titled "Search for Translators", with an Arabic counterpart, and that page embeds a search interface hosted on a Ministry subdomain. That is the official channel, and it is where to start.
Set your expectation honestly, though. We do not promise that every search will return a result for every user at every moment; government services are updated and change. If the interface does not give you an answer, confirmation is available through the Ministry's own service channels or by contacting the Ministry directly.
Signals worth pausing over
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The questions that keep coming up
No. Article 2(1) requires registration in the Roll <em>and</em> a licence from the competent licensing authority. They are separate requirements from different bodies, and one does not evidence the other.
The translator's name, the registration number, and the name of the translation house. Article 13(6) requires all three on everything the translator signs.
Not on its own. A printed number shows the document carries a registration number; it does not by itself establish that the registration is currently in force. Use the Ministry's search service, and its service channels, where you need confirmation.
Article 2(2) allows the judicial authority — the courts or the public prosecution — to use a translator or translation house not registered in the Roll where the need arises, provided the translator swears the legal oath. It is a narrow exception exercised by a judicial body, not a route a commercial provider can rely on.
Official references
This page is general information about translation services, not legal advice. Requirements are set by the authority receiving your document and can change — always confirm with the receiving authority or ask us to check for your specific case.
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