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Document clearing in Dubai means paying an office or a mandoob for government document services, taking your paperwork through the authorities for you: type the application, submit it, pay the fees, chase it and bring the result back. Published price lists of Dubai PRO and clearing firms show about AED 150 to AED 500 per simple task, with government fees always on top.
The word "mandoob" is Arabic for representative. Companies use it for the person who runs their government errands. It is the same job a PRO does, under an older and more local name.
What clearing offices actually do
| Job | Authority | What the office does |
|---|---|---|
| Residence visas, renewals, cancellations | GDRFA | Types the application, submits at an Amer center or online, follows up |
| Work permits, labour contracts | MOHRE | Prepares contracts, submits through Tasheel or online |
| Trade licence renewal | DET | Files the renewal, collects the licence |
| Attestation | MOFA, embassies | Takes documents through each stamp in order |
| Ejari | Dubai Land Department | Registers or renews the tenancy |
| Company records | Dubai Chamber, Dubai Customs | Certificates of origin, customs code |
Not every office does every job. Some only do typing and visas, others focus on attestation or company work.
How many there are, and where
Our directory data holds 812 private document clearing offices in Dubai, pulled from HiDubai (the business directory of Dubai Economy and Tourism) and Yellow Pages UAE, checked . The areas with the most listings:
| Area | Clearing offices listed |
|---|---|
| Al Qusais 2 | 74 |
| Naif | 49 |
| Hor Al Anz East | 43 |
| Business Bay | 38 |
| Port Saeed | 34 |
| Al Murar | 33 |
| Al Fahidi (Al Souq Al Kabeer) | 32 |
| Al Rigga | 30 |
| Al Karama | 28 |
Most are single shops. A few run small chains, such as Darwish Shakeel Documents Clearing and First Solution Documents Clearing, with 3 listings each. Two list 24-hour opening on all seven days: Shooting Star Documents Clearing Services in Al Warqa'a 3 and Carelend Gulf Documents Clearing Services in Al Barsha 1.
These are private businesses. They are not the licensed Amer centers or Tasheel centers on the GDRFA and MOHRE lists, although they often submit work there. Directory listings do not show when they were last updated, so some offices may have closed or moved.
What clearing costs
These ranges come from published price lists of Dubai PRO and document clearing firms, checked . They are service fees only.
| Service | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Simple task (renewal, submission, collection) | AED 150 to AED 500 per task |
| Full transaction, some firms | From AED 1,500 |
| Attestation clearing, personal documents | AED 100 to AED 300 |
| Attestation clearing, commercial documents | AED 200 to AED 500 |
| Typing a form at a typing center, for comparison | AED 40 to AED 200 |
The spread is wide because "one task" means different things. A visa renewal can be one form or the whole chain of medical test, Emirates ID, contract and stamping. Ask the office what its price covers in steps, not in names.
Government fees come on top. GDRFA, for example, adds AED 10 Knowledge and AED 10 Innovation fees to most of its transactions, and charges AED 100 more on some services filed through Amer.
The representative card: who can run a company's papers
For company transactions with GDRFA, the person submitting can hold a Representative's Card for that company. GDRFA's conditions:
- a letter from the company's authorised authority
- a criminal record (good conduct) certificate
- the representative holds residence with the company he works for
- 48 hours to issue
GDRFA lists only collection commissions for this card: AED 20, AED 50 or AED 15 depending on the payment channel, plus AED 100 through Amer (GDRFA representative card service, checked ). MOHRE has its own PRO card for people who run labour transactions.
In other words, a company's own mandoob must hold residence with that company to carry its card.
Picking an office
- Ask for the trade licence. A clearing office is a licensed business like any other.
- Get the quote itemised. Service fee, VAT, government fees.
- Receipts both ways. One for every original you hand over, and the government receipt for every payment made for you.
- Track it yourself. For a Dubai visa, use the GDRFA status inquiry with the application number. More options on our visa status check page.
- Keep authority narrow. If a POA is needed, limit it to the transaction.
When you do not need a clearing office
Many personal transactions run on the GDRFA and ICP apps, and Amer centers type and submit visa work at the counter. For one job, a typing center may be all you need. A clearing office earns its fee on multi-step jobs, attestation chains, and company paperwork when nobody on staff has time to queue.
What the clearing team takes off your desk
Tell us what needs clearing and with which authority, and send the documents that transaction lists, usually the licence, the establishment card, passports and Emirates IDs. The partner team types and submits each application with GDRFA, MOHRE, DET or MOFA, books medical tests and Emirates ID biometrics where a visa needs them, and collects the results. Clearing work goes wrong when a file is lodged under the wrong establishment or a receipt goes missing, so every step comes back to you with its government receipt. Your staff stop queuing at Amer and Tasheel. The quote is one total, with the government fees and the service charge broken out. Companies with regular work can look at PRO packages.
