How to send a legal notice in the UAE

A legal notice puts the other party on formal record. It states the obligation relied on, the breach alleged, what is required to put it right, and the period allowed to do so. In many civil matters it is a practical prerequisite to proceedings.

It also does something less obvious. It creates evidence that the other side was given an opportunity to remedy the breach and did not take it, and that evidence tends to carry weight later.

What a notice has to contain

The obligation relied on, identified by its source.

The breach alleged, and the circumstances in which it arose.

What is required to put the breach right.

The period allowed, and what follows once it expires.

Does it have to be notarised

Not in every case. Notarisation is required for certain instruments and is advisable where the notice may need to be relied on in later proceedings. Notarising by default adds a fee the matter may not need, which is why the question is worth asking before the fee is incurred rather than after.

Does it have to be in Arabic

Arabic is the language of the UAE courts, and a notice served through the courts is prepared in Arabic. A bilingual notice is common, so that the recipient and the court are both properly addressed.

This is a procedural point rather than a courtesy. A notice the court cannot read is not doing the job it was sent to do.

Serving it, and proving that you did

Service goes through the channels the courts recognise, and the proof of service is kept because a later claim will need to rely on it. Where the recipient is outside the UAE, or cannot be found at the address given in the contract, the route differs and takes longer.

Establishing which route is available before costs are committed avoids paying for the wrong one and then paying again.

What it costs

Two figures, and they should be given separately. There is an official fee set by the relevant authority, which varies by instrument and by the number of signatures, and there is the professional fee for drafting and handling the matter. A single combined number hides which part is which.

If the notice is ignored

The period expires and the sender may proceed. What that means in practice depends on the matter. The notice is rarely wasted, because the position it recorded is the position the other side then has to answer.