Last updated: 13 October 2026
MOFA attestation is the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ official stamp confirming that a document is genuine, so UAE authorities will accept it. MOFA stands for Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its full name is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, which is why you will also see it written as MOFAIC attestation. Both names describe the same stamp from the same ministry.
Three things about the stamp are rarely explained: it is charged per stamp, not per document, some UAE documents can get it within two hours, and there is no such thing as a “MOFA apostille”. Each is covered below.
What the MOFA stamp means
The stamp is the UAE government’s confirmation that the document in front of it is authentic. It does not translate, rewrite or approve what the document says. A degree with a MOFA stamp is still the same degree; the stamp tells an employer, a ministry or a court in the UAE that it can rely on it.
Where MOFA sits depends on where the document came from:
- Issued abroad: MOFA is the last of four stages. The document is first legalised in the country that issued it, then attested by the UAE embassy there, and only then stamped by MOFA in the UAE.
- Issued in the UAE: MOFA is usually a single step, with no foreign chain before it.
More on telling the two apart: MOFA attestation for UAE-issued vs foreign documents.
MOFA stamp fees: per stamp, not per document
The MOFA government fee is AED 150 per stamp for personal and educational documents, and from AED 2,000 per stamp for commercial documents.
The key detail is the word stamp. A single document can need two stamps, so a quote built on “one document, one fee” can come up short. Ask how many stamps your document needs before you budget.
If you send a personal document yourself, the total for the MOFA stage is AED 186: the AED 150 government fee plus AED 36 for the courier. Our charge for the same stage is AED 220–240, all-in, with the government fee and courier already included. Many people know they can do it themselves; what stops them is sending their only original by courier on their own. Full breakdown: MOFA attestation fees in the UAE.
MOFA attestation online: the two-hour route
For UAE-issued digital documents that carry a digital verification feature, MOFA offers a digital attestation route. The ministry’s own service page says it is completed within two hours during official working hours. This is the closest thing to same-day MOFA attestation.
Paper documents go through the courier-based route, which the ministry quotes at one to three business days, depending on the courier.
Documents issued abroad cannot use the digital route, because they need the foreign stages first.
How to check a MOFA stamp is genuine
You can check any MOFA attestation yourself, free, in about a minute:
- Go to the ministry’s verification portal at verify.mofa.gov.ae.
- Choose Document Status.
- Enter the reference number shown on the attestation.
- Enter the date of the attestation, not the date your certificate was originally issued. A degree awarded in 2019 and attested in 2026 needs the 2026 date.
If the attestation does not appear in the ministry’s records, it has not been attested, however convincing the stamp looks. Step-by-step guide: how to check if your MOFA attestation is genuine.
Is there a “MOFA apostille”?
No. People often search for “MOFA apostille verification”, but the UAE is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, so it does not issue apostilles. A UAE document going abroad gets MOFA attestation and then legalisation by the destination country’s embassy in the UAE. A foreign document coming to the UAE may carry an apostille from its home country, but the apostille alone is not enough here; it still needs UAE embassy attestation and the MOFA stamp.
Using a UAE document abroad? See embassy attestation in the UAE for documents used abroad.
MOFA stands for Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the UAE its full name is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, shortened to MOFAIC.
Yes. Both names refer to the same stamp from the same ministry.
AED 150 per stamp for personal and educational documents and from AED 2,000 per stamp for commercial documents. Some documents need two stamps.
For eligible UAE-issued digital documents, yes: the digital route is completed within two hours during official working hours. Paper documents by courier take one to three business days. Documents issued abroad take longer because the foreign stages come first.
On verify.mofa.gov.ae, under Document Status, using the reference number and the date of the attestation.
The stamp confirms the document was genuine when it was attested. Some UAE authorities ask for recently issued documents, so check with the authority that will receive it.
