A contract that will be relied on in onshore UAE or Saudi courts will be read in Arabic, and Gulf commercial agency and distribution agreements must be registered with the ministry before they give the agent its statutory protection or, in the UAE, before the agency is valid at all. In the EU the agent can demand a signed written statement of terms. Planning the Arabic version and the registration at signing avoids disputes about translation and validity later.
Arabic in the Gulf
Documents presented to onshore UAE courts must be in Arabic, and documents in other languages must be translated by a legal translator approved by the Ministry of Justice. The UAE publishes English versions of federal laws only as translations, and the Arabic text prevails in a conflict. Some arbitration centres also default to Arabic: the Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation and Arbitration Centre uses Arabic unless the parties expressly choose English.
For a bilingual contract, the practical choice is whether to sign an agreed Arabic version and which version prevails. Leaving the translation to a court-appointed translator after a dispute arises means the parties do not control the wording the court reads. Germany has a similar rule for registry filings: a foreign company's branch registration must be filed in German with certified translations of foreign-language documents.1234
Registering commercial agencies
In the UAE, commercial agency activity may be carried on only by persons entered in the Ministry's Commercial Agencies Register, an unregistered agency is not valid, and the agent must be appointed under a written, notarised contract. The Ministry must decide registration applications within ten working days. Disputes about a registered agency go first to the Commercial Agencies Committee, which has 120 days to decide.
Saudi Arabia's Law of Commercial Agencies confines registration to Saudis and requires a register kept by the ministry; a September 2026 law-firm review states that applications should generally be made within three months of the agreement taking effect. In the EU, by contrast, there is no registration, but each party to an agency contract can require a signed written statement of its terms.5678910
| Market | Requirement | Consequence or timing | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| UAE (onshore courts) | Court documents in Arabic; MOJ-approved legal translator | Translation by an approved legal translator required | u.ae |
| UAE (commercial agency) | Written, notarised contract; entry in the Commercial Agencies Register | Unregistered agency not valid; decision within 10 working days | Federal Law No. 3 of 2022 |
| Saudi Arabia (commercial agency) | Registration confined to Saudis; ministry register | Apply generally within 3 months (secondary source) | MISA; Clyde & Co |
| EU (Germany, France) | Signed written statement of agency terms on request | Right cannot be waived | Directive 86/653/EEC Art 13 |
| Germany (registry filings) | German language; certified translations; apostille or legalisation | Needed for branch registration | IHK guidance |
Decisions to make
- Will the contract ever be relied on in an onshore Gulf court?12If so, an Arabic text will be needed; agreeing it at signing controls the wording.
- Is the arrangement a commercial agency or distribution that must be registered?59In the UAE an unregistered agency is not valid; in Saudi Arabia registration is time-limited.
- Which forum will hear agency disputes?7UAE registered agency disputes must go to the Commercial Agencies Committee before court, unless the parties agreed arbitration.
- Does the chosen arbitration centre default to Arabic?3Some Gulf centres do unless English is expressly chosen.
Documents usually needed
- Agreed Arabic version of the contract, with a clause on which language prevails
- Notarised agency contract and ministry registration certificate (UAE)
- Commercial Agencies Register filing and receipt (Saudi Arabia)
- Certified translations and apostilles or legalisation for registry filings
- Signed written statement of agency terms for EU agents
Common mistakes
- Relying on an English-only contract in an onshore UAE court
- Treating Gulf agency registration as optional paperwork
- Missing the Saudi registration window after the agreement takes effect
- Choosing a Gulf arbitration centre without stating English as the language
- Translating corporate documents without certification required by the registry
Questions businesses ask
Must our UAE contract be in Arabic?
Documents relied on in onshore UAE courts must be in Arabic or translated by an approved legal translator. Whether a contract must be signed in Arabic in other contexts was not confirmed.1
What happens if we do not register a UAE agency?
Under Federal Law No. 3 of 2022, a commercial agency not entered in the register is not valid.5
What this guide does not yet confirm
These points need checking with a qualified local professional before you rely on them.
- Saudi requirements on the language of contracts and court documents were not confirmed on an official source.
- The French Loi Toubon (law 94-665) on use of French in commercial documents could not yet be checked.
- The commencement date of the UAE Commercial Agencies Law (six months after Gazette publication) was not confirmed.
- Whether the Saudi three-month registration window and penalties are set in the law or the implementing regulations was confirmed only from a secondary source.
Sources and review status
Each statement is numbered to the source it was checked against. We use official sources where we can, and each statement says whether it was checked against an official or a secondary source. Sources last checked on 19 October 2026. None of it has been professionally reviewed yet: it is research checked against official and secondary sources by WONE Global, not legal or tax advice.
Documents presented to UAE courts must be in Arabic, and documents in another language must be translated into Arabic by a legal translator approved by the UAE Ministry of Justice. Onshore UAE courts; DIFC and ADGM courts operate in English and are not covered by this statement.
The UAE Legislation Platform publishes English versions of federal laws as translations and states that the Arabic text prevails in case of conflict. Federal legislation, shown on the record for the 2025 Civil Transactions Law.
The Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation and Arbitration Centre was established in 1993 by the Abu Dhabi Chamber; its default language is Arabic unless the parties expressly choose English, and conciliators' decisions are not binding. Abu Dhabi.
The centre is reported to have been relaunched under a new name; the government portal still uses this name. Confirm current name and rules. Reused from ae-disputes-008.
Commercial register applications for a foreign company's branch must be made in German and notarially certified, with certified German translations of foreign-language documents and an apostille or legalisation for signatures certified abroad. Chamber guidance (status January 2022); also states that a branch has no separate legal personality and no minimum capital, and that a dependent establishment (Betriebsstätte) is not entered in the commercial register.
Secondary source: guidance from a public-law chamber of commerce, dated January 2022, used because the statutory filing-form rules could not be reached within the research window. Confirm current practice with the notary and register court. Reused from de-establish-009.
Under the UAE Commercial Agencies Law, commercial agency activity may be carried on only by persons registered in the Ministry's Commercial Agencies Register, and a commercial agency not registered in that register is not valid. Federal; Federal Law No. 3 of 2022, Article 3. The Ministry must decide on a registration application within ten working days (Article 13).
Article 31 brings the law into force six months after publication in the Official Gazette; the publication date was not shown in the text read, so the exact commencement date is not confirmed here.
A UAE commercial agent must be engaged under a written, notarised contract, and the agency must be registered. Federal Law No. 3 of 2022, Article 4.
Article 31 brings the law into force six months after publication in the Official Gazette; the publication date was not shown in the text read, so the exact commencement date is not confirmed here.
Disputes between the parties to a registered UAE commercial agency go to the Commercial Agencies Committee, and no court action is admitted before referral to it; the Committee must decide within 120 days, and its decision becomes final if not challenged within 60 days of notification. Federal Law No. 3 of 2022, Article 24. If the Committee does not decide in time, either party may go to court within 60 days after the period lapses. Arbitration agreements are preserved (Article 26).
Article 31 brings the law into force six months after publication in the Official Gazette; the publication date was not shown in the text read, so the exact commencement date is not confirmed here.
Saudi Arabia's Law of Commercial Agencies confines the registration of commercial agencies to Saudis and requires agents to be registered in a special register kept by the ministry responsible for commerce. Law issued 1382H (1962), shown as in force; the page also refers to penalties and registration fees.
The document read is a summary record of the law (Bureau of Experts format) without the article text; article numbers could not be confirmed.
Saudi agency and distribution agreements must be recorded in the Commercial Agencies Register kept by the Ministry of Commerce, and registration applications must generally be submitted within three months of the agreement becoming effective. Law of Commercial Agencies (Royal Decree No. 11 of 1382H) and its Implementing Regulations, as described in September 2026.
Secondary (law firm) source dated 9 September 2026; the Bureau of Experts legislation portal could not yet be checked.
Under the EU Commercial Agents Directive each party is entitled, on request, to receive from the other a signed written document setting out the terms of the agency contract, and this right cannot be waived; a Member State may require written evidence for the contract to be valid. Directive 86/653/EEC, Article 13; self-employed commercial agents for the sale or purchase of goods.
Questions on this topic
10 statements on language and registration
