Publication Notice Services in Dubai

It is a court-authorised way of notifying a party to a case by publishing the notice — in a newspaper and on the court's channels — used when the ordinary and electronic methods of service could not reach that party. It falls under the UAE Civil Procedure Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022, and it is a fallback rather than a first step.

The court decides — specifically the Case Management Office, the competent judge, or the chief justice may permit service by publication. It is a judicial decision. No private party and no service provider can grant that permission or decide that a case qualifies; they can only help execute a notice the court has already authorised.

No — a missing address does not by itself unlock publication. The law expects the ordinary and electronic methods of service to be tried first, and publication is authorised by the court only when those methods cannot be effected. It is the impossibility of ordinary service, established on the record, that opens the door — not the mere absence of an address.

They are two linked parts of the same process. The court notice by publication is the court's authorisation to notify a party this way; it is the legal basis. The newspaper legal notice is the execution — the actual placement of the notice in a newspaper. The authorisation comes from the court; the placement carries it out, and the published notice is kept on the file as proof.

Arabic by default, in a widely circulated Arabic daily. The reformed law additionally allows publication in a foreign-language newspaper where the party to be served is a foreigner, so a foreign defendant is more likely to receive notice. It is not the case that two newspapers or two languages are universally required — the foreign-language newspaper applies to the foreign-party situation.

No — the e-noticeboard posting has no legal effect of its own. Under Dubai Resolution No. 9 of 2024, Article 4, posting on the Dubai Courts electronic noticeboard carries no legal effect, and Article 3 limits it to cases already served by posting or newspaper publication as the Law prescribes. The legally operative service is the court-ordered publication; the online noticeboard is a supplementary mirror of it.

A party outside the UAE who cannot be reached by the permitted means is notified through a different channel: the notification is sent through the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for transmission to the relevant diplomatic mission (Articles 10–11 of Federal Decree-Law 42/2022). Service abroad by this route is treated as effected 21 working days after the mission receives the notification (Article 11(2)). This diplomatic route is distinct from newspaper publication.

Not in a single fixed way. Civil and commercial disputes fall under the same service regime of Federal Decree-Law 42/2022, but the precise requirements and steps depend on the case, its stage and the court's direction. There is no universal one-size procedure, so it is best to confirm the specifics for your matter rather than assume a fixed template. The case-types page looks at how publication arises across civil, commercial and real-estate cases.

MANJAZ helps prepare and organise the documents, coordinate the notice wording and its translation, arrange the newspaper placement where the court has required one, and follow the steps up — according to the requirements of the case and the competent authority. It does not decide eligibility, does not authorise or issue the judicial notice, does not appear before the court, and does not guarantee any outcome.

There is no single fixed price. The total is made up of separate components: the court application or registration fee, the certified-translation fee where a translation is required, and the newspaper publication fee for each paper the court asks for. The court and newspaper rates are set by the authority and the publisher, not by MANJAZ, and can change. Our cost guide breaks the components down and explains who typically bears them.

Yes. Under Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022, when the defendant's official language is not Arabic, the claimant attaches a certified translation of the served notice — as a rule into English, or into a language the parties agreed on. The court itself still works in Arabic. Labour claims brought by an employee and personal-status proceedings sit outside this duty. Our foreign-defendant guide sets out the language, newspaper route and timing.

Yes. Under Article 324 of the Commercial Companies Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021), the liquidator notifies creditors by registered letter and publishes the invitation in two daily local newspapers, at least one of them in Arabic, giving creditors a period of not less than 30 days from the date of the notice to submit their claims. Our liquidation-notice guide walks through the full sequence up to licence cancellation.

Yes, in the statutory route. Under the Commercial Transactions Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 50 of 2022), after protesting the lost or damaged cheque with the drawee bank, its number, amount and drawer are published in an Arabic daily at the protester's expense, and acts on the cheque after publication are void. A police report is generally needed first. Our lost-cheque guide lists the steps and the common mistakes.

Once service is treated as validly completed, the court may proceed and, in the party's absence, issue judgment. For a defendant reached abroad through diplomatic channels the notice is generally deemed effective a set period after the mission receives it (a 21-working-day rule applies to that route). The exact deeming point depends on the method of service, and the court, not MANJAZ, decides when it is satisfied.