Certificates
Birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates, and academic records.
Professional English translation in Dubai and the UAE
Spoken everywhere here, accepted officially nowhere
That is the gap this service fills. English is the language most widely spoken in Dubai and the one most business is conducted in, but Arabic is the official language, and organisations across the UAE require English documents — birth certificates, marriage certificates, academic records, contracts — to be translated into Arabic before they can be accepted on an official platform.
AGATO provides certified English to Arabic translation recognised throughout Dubai and the UAE. Where the document is bound for a court or a ministry, we issue a Ministry of Justice certified translation; for universities, employers and embassies, a company certified translation is normally what is asked for.
Arabic is the most requested target language for English documents in the UAE, but it is not the only one. We also translate English content into more than 120 other languages for clients with broader international needs.
Language pairs we cover
Our most requested English pairs are:
- English to Arabic
- Arabic to English
- English to French
- English to Chinese
- English to Russian
- English to Hindi and Urdu
Other pairs are available too — see all 120+ languages we translate.
About the language
The language the world does business in
English is used as an official language in 57 countries, and the number keeps growing. In Dubai the official language is Arabic, yet English is the language most widely spoken: people from different linguistic and ethnic backgrounds use it as the common ground on which business, healthcare and daily life are conducted.
For translation that produces an unusual pattern. Most documents arriving at our office are in English and need to become Arabic; most documents leaving the UAE are Arabic and need to become English. We handle far more of both than of any other pair.
It also means precision matters in a way it does not always in general translation. An English contract translated into Arabic for a UAE court is read as the operative document, so the terminology has to be the terminology the court uses.
Documents
What we translate to and from English
Personal, legal, corporate and technical — handled by translators who know the subject as well as the language.
Legal documents
Contracts, powers of attorney, court judgments and filings, certified for UAE courts and ministries.
Business documents
Trade licences, proposals, tenders, reports, manuals and corporate filings.
Medical records
Reports, prescriptions, discharge summaries and healthcare licensing documents.
Websites
Localised for the market rather than translated word for word, on any CMS.
Software and apps
Interfaces, strings and help content, tested in language before release.
Video and audio
Subtitles, captions, transcription and voice over.
Personal documents
Driving licences, passports, ID documents and application letters.
Industries
Sectors we serve in English
A translator is matched to the subject, not only the language pair.
Need an interpreter rather than a translator? See interpretation services for on-site, remote and telephone interpreting in English.
How it works
From your document to a certified translation
Five steps, with the price and the delivery time confirmed before we start.
Send your document
Upload a scan or photo, email it, or send it on WhatsApp.
Get a quote
We confirm the certification needed, the fixed price and the delivery time.
Translation
A native English translator with the right subject background does the work.
Review
A second linguist checks names, dates, numbers and terminology.
Delivery
A certified PDF by email, with a stamped hard copy on request.
Why AGATO
Certified, and accepted where it counts
FAQ
English translation questions, answered
Why does my English document need translating if everyone here speaks English?
Because official acceptance and everyday use are different things. Arabic is the official language of the UAE, so courts, ministries, government departments and many licensing bodies require documents in Arabic regardless of how widely English is spoken. The translation is a formal requirement, not a comprehension one.
Can you translate English into languages other than Arabic?
Yes, into more than 120. Arabic is the most requested by a wide margin here, but we regularly translate English source material into French, Chinese, Russian, Hindi, Urdu, Tagalog, German and Spanish for clients with international operations.
Do you provide certified English translation in Dubai?
Yes. Where the document is going to a UAE court, ministry or government department, we provide a Ministry of Justice certified translation, stamped and signed by a licensed translator. For universities, employers, banks and embassies, a certified translation on our company letterhead is normally what is required. Tell us the destination and we will issue the right one.
How long does an English translation take?
Short documents such as a certificate are typically ready in about four hours when we receive them during office hours, Monday to Saturday, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. Longer documents and rarer subject areas are usually returned within 24 to 48 hours. We confirm the timeline with your quote.
How much does English translation cost?
Price depends on the length of the document, the language pair, the subject and whether you need certification, notarisation or a hard copy. Send us a scan and you will get a fixed price rather than an estimate that moves later.
Are your English translators native speakers?
Yes. English work is done by native speakers of the target language who also have a background in the subject — legal, medical, technical or commercial — because terminology is where a fluent but non-specialist translation comes apart.
Do you need the original document?
A clear scan or photograph is enough for the translation itself. If the authority receiving it requires a stamped hard copy, we produce one for collection at our office on Sheikh Zayed Road or for courier.
Will names be spelled the way they are in my passport?
They will if you send us the passport spelling. Transliterating a name into or out of Arabic has more than one valid answer, and a translation that disagrees with the passport is the most common reason a document is sent back. Send both together and we match them exactly.
Can you provide an English interpreter as well?
Yes. We provide English interpreters for meetings, hearings, medical appointments and conferences, on site across the UAE or remotely. See interpretation services for the modes available.
Is my document kept confidential?
Yes. Access is restricted, handling is secure, and your document is used only for your translation. An NDA is available on request, and it is signed as a matter of course for corporate and legal work.
Related
Other languages and services
Arabic translationEnglish and Arabic in both directions.
French translationCertified French for legal and business use.
Chinese translationSimplified and Traditional, by native linguists.
Russian translationCertified Russian for business and legal documents.
Hindi translationCertified Hindi for personal and legal documents.
All 120+ languagesEvery language we translate, in one place.