Trade, Company & Commercial License Attestation in Dubai

About Trade License Attestation

Trade license attestation is what turns your UAE business license into a document another government, bank, partner or tender board will accept. The same service covers what people search for as commercial license attestation and company license attestation — three names for one document. A UAE-issued license is attested by MOFA and, where the destination asks for it, legalised by that country's embassy or consulate in the UAE. A foreign trade license being used inside the UAE needs the full attestation chain, running the other way. AttestPort collects the license from your office anywhere in Dubai and returns the attested document to you.

Trade license, commercial license, company license — the same document

Searchers use three different names for one thing. A UAE business license is issued as a trade license, and the same document is commonly called a commercial license or a company license depending on who is asking for it. Receiving authorities abroad use the terms interchangeably too, so if a bank, ministry or tender board has asked you for an attested commercial license, the document they want is your trade license.

That matters because it changes nothing about the process. Whichever term appears on your paperwork, the document is treated as a commercial document rather than a personal one, and it follows the commercial attestation route.

Why a UAE trade license is never apostilled

This is the single most common mistake businesses make. An apostille is a one-step certificate created by the Hague Apostille Convention, and it only works between two countries that are both party to it. The UAE is not a party to that convention. No UAE authority issues an apostille on a UAE trade license, and an apostille obtained anywhere else does not substitute for the UAE steps.

What replaces it is consular legalisation. Your license is attested by MOFA, and then — where the destination country requires it — legalised by that country's embassy or consulate here in the UAE. If you have been told to simply apostille your trade license for use abroad, that advice does not apply to a UAE-issued document.

Using a UAE trade license abroad

The outbound route has two certain steps and one conditional one. MOFA attests the license in the UAE. The destination country's embassy or consulate in the UAE then legalises it, where that country requires legalisation — some do, some accept the MOFA attestation alone, and the receiving authority is the one that decides.

Where the receiving authority or the destination consulate asks for prior chamber certification, the license is certified by the relevant chamber of commerce before it reaches MOFA. That is not universal, which is why we confirm what your specific destination expects at the outset instead of assuming a step you may not need.

If the destination works in another language, a legal translation is usually needed as well, and it is worth settling that before the consular stage rather than after. If you would rather just tell us the destination and let us map the route, ask for an instant quote.

Mainland and free-zone licenses

Both are UAE trade licenses and both can be attested. The difference is who issued the document: a mainland license comes from the emirate's own licensing authority, while a free-zone license is issued by the free zone itself — JAFZA, DMCC, DAFZA and DIFC among them.

Where the free-zone authority's own certification is requested before MOFA, that step is arranged as part of the job. Not every free zone and not every destination asks for it, so we check the requirement against your specific license and destination rather than adding a step by default.

Companies rarely need the license on its own. Articles of association, board resolutions and certificates of incorporation usually travel with it, and running them together is quicker than attesting them one at a time.

When businesses need trade license attestation

It is almost always triggered by someone else asking for it. The common triggers are opening a corporate bank account in another country, registering a branch or subsidiary abroad, entering a joint venture or partnership with a foreign company, bidding for an overseas government tender, appointing a distributor or commercial agent, and producing company records for a foreign court or contract.

The practical point is that the requirement comes from the receiving party, not from the UAE. Ask them for it in writing — whether MOFA attestation alone is enough, whether their embassy or consulate in the UAE must also legalise it, and whether they want a translation. That single question decides the whole route, and it is the cheapest thing you can do before starting.

A foreign trade license used inside the UAE

The chain runs the other way when a company registered outside the UAE needs its license accepted here — for a branch registration, a local partnership or a tender inside the UAE. The license is first authenticated by the competent authority in the country that issued it, then legalised by the UAE embassy or consulate in that country, and finally attested by MOFA in the UAE.

Because the first two steps happen overseas, the pace is set by authorities nobody here controls. What we can do is prepare the file correctly, tell you what each stage needs before you get there, and handle the UAE end without you visiting an office.

Documents Required

How Trade License Attestation Works

Trade License Attestation — Areas We Serve in Dubai

Free doorstep document pickup and delivery for trade license attestation across all of Dubai:

Why Choose AttestPort for Trade License Attestation?

Related Services

Related Guides & Articles