Dubai School Admission Documents: KHDA Translation Rules

For a Dubai private-school application, do not translate the whole family file by default. Start with the child’s grade, previous school location and the admitting school’s written checklist. Those three facts decide whether you need a transfer certificate, legal translation, foreign attestation, or no translation step at all.

The KHDA language rule

KHDA’s current parent guide gives a direct answer for admission above Grade 1: certificates proving previous schooling must be presented in Arabic or English. If the original is in another language, it should be translated and the translation authenticated by a legal translator.

That rule is more useful than guessing from the school’s curriculum. A French-curriculum school may issue a French certificate; a British-curriculum school abroad may already issue in English. Check the document in front of you and the admitting school’s request.

Which route applies to your child?

Situation	Likely admission document route	Translation decision
First school enrolment, before Grade 2/Year 3	The school checks the age and its own admission evidence.	Translate only documents the school identifies. Do not assume a transfer certificate is required.
Grade 2/Year 3 or higher, arriving from outside the UAE	A transfer certificate, or qualifying year-end evidence where permitted, is used to prove the last completed grade. Foreign certificates also follow KHDA’s applicable attestation rules.	If the certificate is not Arabic or English, obtain legal translation. Confirm the foreign attestation route first.
Moving from another UAE emirate	The previous school’s transfer certificate is required; the competent education authority may need to attest it.	English or Arabic needs no translation for language. Translate a third-language certificate.
Moving between Dubai private schools	The sending school initiates the transfer in the KHDA portal and the certificate is issued electronically.	This is normally a school-system transfer, not a fresh translation order for the parent.
Applying for Grade 12 certificate equivalency	This is a separate Ministry of Education process, not ordinary school registration.	Foreign certificates outside Arabic or English must be legally translated and duly attested for equivalency.

KHDA’s 2022 enrolment resolution also requires student identity details to match the identity card. Before translation, compare the full name, nationality and other recorded details with the student’s Emirates ID or passport. A faithful translation cannot silently “fix” a source-document mismatch.

Transfer certificate, leaving certificate or report card?

These documents are not interchangeable by default.

• A transfer certificate confirms eligibility to move to another school and is used in the registration route.
• A school leaving or withdrawal certificate records that the student left; it may be used when the child is leaving without an immediate transfer.
• A year-end certificate or final report may serve as previous-schooling evidence in the cases KHDA permits, but preliminary grades are not a substitute for final results.

Ask the admitting school which document it will upload. Translating report cards does not remove the need for a transfer certificate when the registration rule requires one.

Translation and attestation are separate

Translation makes the content readable in Arabic or English. Attestation verifies the origin or signatures through the relevant authority path. One does not replace the other.

KHDA requires certificates issued outside the UAE to be attested by the competent education and UAE foreign authorities applicable to the issuing country. That does not create one universal sequence for every country. Before paying for stamps or courier work, ask the admitting school to identify the exact route for the country and document.

If the final attestation stamps or endorsements must be reflected in the translation, send the translator the completed document, including every page and reverse side. Do not order from a cropped first page while the certificate is still moving through attestation.

A reliable document-review brief

Send these details together:

• admitting school and Dubai campus;
• intended grade or year group;
• previous school’s country and education authority;
• the school’s written document request;
• complete, clear scans of every page and stamp;
• source language and requested Arabic or English output;
• the student’s passport spelling; and
• any attestation already completed or still pending.

The review should return a written scope: which pages will be translated, which provider credential applies, whether stamps are included, expected delivery and price. It should not promise school admission or prescribe an attestation chain the school has not confirmed.

Official sources reviewed

• KHDA: Common questions for parents
• Dubai Administrative Resolution No. 50 of 2022 on private-school enrolment
• KHDA: Applying for a school leaving certificate
• UAE Government: Equalising high-school certificates

Sources checked 9 August 2026. The admitting school and relevant education authority decide the current admission route.