Documents Required to Buy Property in Dubai: 2026 Checklist

What documents do you need to buy property in Dubai? The checklist

For a standard resale bought by an individual, these are all the documents, who provides them and when they are needed:

What each of those payments comes to is in the cost of buying property in Dubai.

Do you need an Emirates ID, or is a passport enough?

A passport is enough if you do not live in the UAE. The Dubai Land Department asks residents for their Emirates ID and non-residents for a valid passport, and it only checks the Emirates ID rather than keeping a copy. You do not need a residence visa or a UAE bank account to buy.

“"Emirates ID of both the seller and buyer (for identity verification only; no copies are taken) Or a valid passport for non-resident foreigners"”

Dubai Land Department, Property sale registration

Legally, the passport must be valid on transfer day. In practice, banks ask for at least six months' validity for a mortgage, so renew a passport that is close to expiry before you start.

Which documents do you need by buyer type?

The documents you need depend on who is buying and how:

Which documents are needed at each stage?

Each stage of a resale purchase needs a different set of papers:

1. Before the offerBudget and financePassport or Emirates ID; mortgage pre-approval letter if borrowing
2. Offer agreedForm FBuyer's and seller's IDs, title deed details, 10% deposit cheque
3. Weeks 1 to 3Developer NOCSeller applies on the Dubai REST app; service charges must be paid up
4. Weeks 2 to 6MortgageValuation, final offer letter, three mortgage contracts signed by buyer and bank
5. Transfer dayTrustee officeOriginal IDs, NOC, manager's cheques, DLD fees, power of attorney if used
6. After transferHandoverTitle deed (emailed), DEWA account, Ejari if letting

What must the seller provide?

The seller provides the documents that prove the property can be sold. Before transfer day, the seller must have:

• The title deed, or its number, so the agent and the DLD can confirm ownership.
• A valid passport or Emirates ID.
• The developer's e-NOC, issued through the Dubai REST app once all service charges are paid. The DLD's sale registration service lists "a no-objection e-certificate (e-NOC) from the developer in the freehold areas".
• A liability letter from their bank if the property is mortgaged, showing the amount to clear on the day.
• A legal power of attorney if someone is signing for them.
• Tenancy details if the property is let, because the tenant's contract continues after the sale.

You do not collect the NOC yourself. The seller or their agent applies, although Form F can say that the buyer pays for it.

What documents does a company need to buy property?

A company buying property in Dubai needs more documents, and the list depends on where it is registered. The Dubai Land Department's initial sale service lists these for company buyers:

A company that is not yet registered with the DLD must complete a company registration first. Allow extra weeks for translations and attestations.

What documents do you need for a mortgage in Dubai?

For a Dubai mortgage, banks ask for proof of identity, income and savings, and the non-resident list is longer. There is no official list; this is what banks typically ask, according to Property Finder and Bayut:

The deposit must come from your own money under Central Bank of the UAE rules, so expect the bank to ask where it came from. For loan limits, see the minimum down payment in Dubai.

At transfer, the DLD registers the mortgage with a letter from the bank, three copies of the mortgage contract certified by the bank and signed by both sides, your ID and the developer's e-NOC.

What documents do you need to buy off-plan?

For an off-plan purchase, you need your ID and the developer's paperwork, and the developer handles the DLD registration. The DLD asks for "a copy of a valid UAE ID" from resident buyers and "a copy of a valid passport for non-residents", plus the signed sale and purchase agreement (SPA).

The developer registers the SPA on Oqood, the DLD's interim register, and you receive a provisional registration e-certificate, often called the Oqood certificate. Keep it with the SPA and your payment receipts. When the building is finished, the Oqood registration is replaced by a title deed; see DLD fees for what you pay at each stage.

How do you use a power of attorney to buy from abroad?

You can buy property in Dubai without attending by giving someone a power of attorney (POA) to sign and pay for you. A POA signed outside the UAE is accepted only if it passes a chain of checks, and the DLD tightened the rules in July 2025 (Circular No. 29/R/2025, as summarised by UAE law firms):

• Notarised by a notary in the country where you sign it.
• Legalised by that country's foreign ministry and the UAE embassy or consulate there.
• Attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE.
• Translated into Arabic by a UAE-licensed legal translator, if it is not in Arabic.
• Recent: issued within the two years before it is presented.
• Specific: it must name the transaction (for example the purchase of a stated unit) in the approved wording; a general "full authority" POA is refused.
• Original: the paper original must be shown; scans are not accepted.

A POA signed in the UAE is simpler: it is made in front of a UAE notary public, including by video with the online notary services, and needs no legalisation.

Is the UAE part of the Apostille Convention?

No. The UAE is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention: it does not appear among the 130 contracting parties on the Hague Conference's status table, updated 30 June 2026. That means an apostille alone is not enough for a UAE property deal. A UK apostille is the first stage, and the document must then be attested by the UAE Embassy and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Some websites say the UAE joined in 2025; the official status table does not show that.

What if my documents are not in Arabic or English?

Passports are accepted as they are: the DLD's service pages ask only for a valid passport or Emirates ID. Documents with legal effect, such as a power of attorney signed abroad and a company's Memorandum of Association, need a full legal translation into Arabic by a UAE-licensed translator, and foreign company documents must be ratified by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For any other document in a third language, such as a bank statement in French, ask the agent or bank whether a certified English or Arabic translation is needed.

What proof of funds and source-of-funds checks should you expect?

Expect to show where the money comes from. Dubai agents, banks and trustee offices carry out anti-money-laundering (AML) checks on every buyer. The UAE Ministry of Economy requires licensed brokers to keep buyers' "Emirates ID or passport copy" and transaction records for at least five years, and to report freehold sales paid in cash, in one or several payments, of AED 55,000 or more. Payments in virtual assets are reported too.

In practice, have ready:

• bank statements showing the money in your own account;
• the source of those funds, such as a salary, a property sale completion statement, an inheritance or investment sale;
• for a transfer from abroad, the remittance confirmation.

A buyer who cannot explain the funds can expect the bank or agent to stop the deal.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• July 2025: new DLD rules for powers of attorney (Circular No. 29/R/2025): a foreign-issued POA must be dated within two years, use transaction-specific wording and be presented in the original.
• 2026: the DLD's service pages list the developer NOC as an e-certificate requested through the Dubai REST app, and the title deed is issued electronically.
• Late April 2026: a sole owner of a ready property of any value can apply for the 2-year property visa; the application needs the title deed, so keep the e-certificate safe. See the Dubai property visa with no minimum value.
• No change to the core documents: ID, Form F, NOC and payment cheques.

Documents for UK buyers

UK buyers need a valid British passport, not a UAE visa, and most documents can be prepared in the UK:

• Power of attorney: sign it in front of a UK notary public, then have it legalised by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The FCDO charges £45 per document by post, usually taking up to 25 working days, or £35 for an e-Apostille, taking up to 2 working days, if a UK notary signs it electronically. Then it goes to the UAE Embassy in London for attestation and to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Proof of funds: UK bank statements, and, if the money comes from selling a UK home, the solicitor's completion statement.
• Mortgage from a UAE bank: a UK credit report from Experian, Equifax or TransUnion, recent payslips or SA302 tax calculations if self-employed, and a UK address proof.
• Documents in English need no translation for the bank, but a POA must be translated into Arabic in the UAE.

At AED 4.88 to the pound, the 4% DLD fee on an AED 1 million home is about £8,200. Budget time as well as money: a UK-signed POA can take several weeks to complete all the stages.