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A police clearance certificate in Dubai, also called a good conduct certificate, is the police's official statement of your criminal record status in the UAE. This guide covers which issuer fits your residence history, Dubai Police fees and timing, applying from abroad, and MOFA attestation.
The attestation side has changed. MOFA (formerly MOFAIC) now lists police clearance certificates among the documents it processes exclusively through its digital attestation route.
Older guides still describe a paper stamp-and-courier routine with contradictory fees. Every Dubai Police number below comes from the Dubai Police service page.
Two authorities issue a UAE police clearance certificate. Which one you need depends on where your residence history is.
| Dubai Police certificate | MOI certificate | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Dubai Police | Federal Ministry of Interior (MOI) |
| Who it serves | Current and former Dubai residents; Dubai Police also accepts visitors and applicants abroad who have entered the UAE | Current and former UAE residents, through the federal MOI channels |
| How you apply | Dubai Police website and app, Dubai Now, Smart Police Station, police stations, call centre 901 | MOI website, MOI UAE app or MOI service centre |
| Processing | 5 working days | Check the MOI portal |
| Validity | 3 months from issuance | Check the MOI portal |
A certificate from your home country is a different document, issued by your own country's police and attested there first. Ask whoever requested it exactly which version they want.
If you have ever held a Dubai residence visa, you can apply online and avoid the AED 100 service-centre surcharge. Dubai Police accepts a valid or expired Emirates ID number, so you can still apply after you've left the UAE or let your ID lapse.
If you're in the UAE without an Emirates ID, you have to give fingerprints in person at Al Qusais, Ports, Al Rashidiya or Jebel Ali police station.
You don't need a letter explaining why you want the certificate. Dubai Police lists no purpose-letter requirement.
You can apply from abroad, but only if you have entered the UAE before. Dubai Police asks for three documents:
If your ten-print fingerprints aren't on file, you also need a ten-print fingerprint copy certified by the UAE Embassy. In practice that means getting a fingerprint card in the country where you live and having it attested by the UAE Embassy there before you apply.
The UAE embassy can't issue the certificate itself. MOFA's mission pages send applicants to the Dubai Police or MOI websites.
These are the Dubai Police fees as listed on its official service page.
| Applicant | Dubai Police fee |
|---|---|
| UAE citizen | AED 100 |
| Resident | AED 200 |
| Applying from outside the UAE | AED 300 (or USD 88) |
| Knowledge and Innovation fees | AED 20 |
| Applying in person at a service centre | Additional AED 100 |
On Dubai Police's fee list, a resident applying online pays AED 200 plus AED 20 in Knowledge and Innovation fees. At a service centre, the same application costs AED 100 more. Fees are non-refundable, so check your details before you pay.
Processing takes 5 working days. MOI fees aren't listed here because the published figures conflict, so check the current fee on the MOI app or portal before you pay.
If your residence history is outside Dubai, use the federal Ministry of Interior certificate, which the UAE government portal lists for current and former UAE residents. You apply on the MOI website, the MOI UAE app or at an MOI service centre.
Residents apply with a valid Emirates ID, and the certificate is available in Arabic or English.
The same MOI route applies. If you no longer live in the UAE, the government portal says to get a fingerprint card in your country of residence, have it attested by the UAE Embassy there, and then apply online with the attested card, two recent passport photos, a passport copy and a copy of your last UAE visa.
Sources disagree on MOI's validity period and fees, so confirm both on the MOI portal when you apply. For use abroad, MOFA runs a digital attestation service for the MOI certificate: you request it and pay through the MOI app or website, and one process covers MOI, MOFA and the UAE embassy in the destination country.
If the certificate is going to an authority outside the UAE, you will usually need it attested. MOFA lists police clearance certificates (certificates of good conduct) among the documents processed exclusively through its digital attestation pathway, which works from the QR code, reference number or barcode on the document.
For UAE-issued digital documents, MOFA lists completion within 2 hours during official working hours, with UAE PASS required. That window covers only UAE-issued digital documents submitted in working hours, not paper or foreign documents.
MOFA doesn't publish the fee on its attestation page, so check the current amount on MOFA's attestation service before you pay.
After MOFA, the destination country's embassy may want its own legalisation step. Ask the receiving authority before you book anything. Our MOFA attestation guide walks through the full chain.
The online Dubai route is straightforward if you live here with an Emirates ID. It gets harder when you're abroad and need an embassy-certified fingerprint card, when you're unsure which issuer applies, or when MOFA and a foreign embassy must both happen before a deadline.
That's the work Sarmat's team in Deira does, backed by 12+ years in UAE government services and 5,000+ clients served. Our police clearance and document services cover applications from abroad, fingerprinting coordination and post-issue attestation, with government fees passed through and a quote before any work starts.
Prefer to sort the forms in person? Our typing center in Dubai takes walk-ins.
If you handle PCCs for a company, this is everyday PRO work. You can learn it on the job over two years and make expensive mistakes, or take the KHDA-certified Certified PRO Officer Program: three days, with a mentor who has processed 500+ visas.
Send us three things on WhatsApp: where you lived in the UAE, whether you have an Emirates ID (valid or expired), and where the certificate is going. We'll tell you which route fits. Message Sarmat on WhatsApp, or use our contact page if you'd rather call or email.
Dubai Police lists AED 100 for UAE citizens, AED 200 for residents and AED 300 (or USD 88) for applicants outside the UAE, plus AED 20 in Knowledge and Innovation fees. Applying in person at a service centre costs AED 100 more. Fees are non-refundable.
Dubai Police lists 5 working days.
Yes, if you have entered the UAE before. You need a personal photo, a passport copy and a copy of your previous residence visa. If your fingerprints aren't on file, add a ten-print fingerprint copy certified by the UAE Embassy.
Yes. Dubai Police accepts a valid or expired Emirates ID number. If you're in the UAE without one, you give fingerprints in person at Al Qusais, Ports, Al Rashidiya or Jebel Ali police station.
A Dubai Police certificate is valid for 3 months from issuance. For an MOI certificate, check the validity on the MOI portal, because published figures conflict.
No. Dubai Police lists no purpose-letter requirement.
If you'll use it abroad, usually yes. MOFA processes police clearance certificates only through digital attestation: within 2 hours in official working hours for UAE-issued digital documents, with UAE PASS. The destination embassy may add its own step.
With a Dubai residence history, apply through Dubai Police. If you lived in another emirate, use the federal MOI certificate on the MOI website or MOI UAE app. Dubai Police also accepts visitors and applicants abroad who have entered the UAE before.
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