How to File a Civil Case in the Dubai Courts
A civil case in the Dubai Courts is a claim for money, performance or compensation brought under the federal Civil Procedure Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022) before the Dubai Court of First Instance — for many claims only after an amicable-settlement stage — and decided in Arabic, largely on written submissions and, often, a court-appointed expert's report.
This guide takes an onshore Dubai claimant — owed money, facing a broken contract or harmed by another party — through filing a civil case in Dubai, stage by stage. Many walkthroughs still describe the former procedure law, Federal Law No. 11 of 1992, repealed when Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022 took effect on 2 January 2023; the regulation made under the old law no longer governs either, and the current law was amended from 1 January 2026. Figures appear here only where confirmed against a primary source; defending a claim, and labour, rent, family and DIFC claims, have their own LEXNOVA pages. LEXNOVA is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.
LAST REVIEWED 24 SEPTEMBER 2026
WHO THIS GUIDE IS FOR
Individuals, SME owners and finance managers with an onshore Dubai claim for money, performance or compensation who are deciding whether to file; claimants abroad instructing a Dubai lawyer under a power of attorney; and in-house staff briefing management. Defendants, employees, landlords, tenants and DIFC small-claims parties have their own pages.
Before You File: Make Sure the Dubai Courts Are the Right Place
A jurisdiction or arbitration clause in your contract. Read the dispute-resolution clause first: it may send the case to the DIFC Courts, another emirate's courts or arbitration, and a court must dismiss a case covered by an arbitration agreement if the defendant raises it before arguing the merits (Federal Law No. 6 of 2018 on Arbitration, Art. 8). Our guides on which court has jurisdiction and on DIFC Courts or Dubai Courts cover forum choice.
Labour, rent, family and DIFC claims go elsewhere. Labour claims start at MOHRE, rent disputes go to a rental-disputes body (Civil Procedure Law, Art. 25), family and criminal matters follow their own processes, and a DIFC-connected claim may belong in the DIFC Courts — see our guides to filing a MOHRE labour complaint, a rent dispute and a criminal complaint. Disputes to which federal ministries or entities are parties go exclusively to the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of First Instance (Art. 24(2)).
Is the claim still in time? A harmful-act compensation claim cannot be heard more than three years after the injured party learned of the damage and the person responsible, with a fifteen-year longstop (Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, Art. 258). Claims between merchants are barred five years after the obligation fell due under the Commercial Transactions Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 50 of 2022, Art. 92). Other contract periods were not confirmed; see our guide to the new Civil Transactions Law, and let a lawyer compute your deadline.
Is a payment order or a faster track available? A fixed, documented debt may suit a payment order — see our guide on applying for a payment order. The law also allows circuits deciding claims up to AED 1,000,000 in a single session (Art. 29(2)); a lawyer confirms whether the Dubai Courts use that track for your claim.
Step 1 — The Amicable-Settlement Stage (DCASD)
For qualifying Dubai claims, the Centre for Amicable Settlement of Disputes (DCASD) is a binding pre-litigation gate. It works under Dubai Law No. 18 of 2021 Regulating Conciliation in the Emirate of Dubai, as amended by Dubai Law No. 9 of 2025, and the claims it covers are listed in Resolution No. 4 of 2025 of the President of the Dubai Courts.
Which claims must pass through it. Value and category decide, not whether the claim is commercial. The list: claims not exceeding AED 500,000, other than claims involving financial institutions; claims not exceeding AED 1,000,000 to which UAE Nationals over sixty are parties; disputes involving persons with disabilities or beneficiaries of financial social benefits; subdivision of co-owned property outside an estate; ratifying conciliation agreements; and pre-action expert appointments. Government disputes, interim and urgent matters, and wills and inheritance are excluded. The list can change, so a lawyer confirms whether yours is covered.
What happens at the settlement stage. A conciliator works with the parties. A settlement agreement ends the dispute and becomes an executory instrument once endorsed with the execution formula (Law No. 9 of 2025, Art. 23). The stage ends if a party does not wish to continue, settlement proves impossible, or the time set expires without extension by the judge (Art. 24); that period's length was not confirmed. The Centre charges its own fee.
If settlement fails. A filing that skips the Centre is sent back to it (Art. 28(a)) — a delay, not a lost claim. Once the stage ends without agreement, the claim can be registered in the Dubai Courts; what document the Centre issues then was not confirmed, so ask your lawyer what you will need.
Step 2 — Preparing the Statement of Claim and the Evidence
A case starts with a statement of claim submitted to the court's Case Management Office, electronically or in writing (Civil Procedure Law, Art. 44(1)). It must contain (Art. 44(2)) both parties' names, ID details, addresses, phone and email, the court, the filing date, the subject-matter, the requests and their grounds, and a signature given after identity is verified. A claimant with no UAE domicile must elect one.
Document checklist. The statement of claim with precise requests and the claim value; the contract; invoices, statements or delivery records; your demand and any reply; identity documents or proof of who acts for a company; any power of attorney; any registered expert's report (Art. 48(1)); and certified translations. Confirm the Dubai Courts' current list, which could not be checked for this guide.
Arabic translation of contracts and correspondence. Arabic is the language of the courts (Art. 5(1)); foreign-language documents need certified translations (Art. 48(4)) — on the Government's portal, by Ministry of Justice-approved legal translators — and a certified English translation accompanies the notice where the defendant's official language is not Arabic (Art. 8). English is authorised only in some specialised circuits or cases (Art. 5(2)).
Filing from outside the UAE. A claimant abroad can act through a Dubai lawyer under a power of attorney attested by a notary public; one signed abroad also needs the full legalisation chain, and an Apostille alone is not accepted in its place — see our guide on attesting a power of attorney signed abroad.
Step 3 — Registering the Case and Paying the Court Fee
The Case Management Office registers the claim once the fee is collected (Art. 47(1)). The claim dates from submission only if the fee is paid within three working days from the day after the payment notice; otherwise the registration is void from the start. The name of the Dubai Courts' current e-filing channel was not confirmed for this guide.
How the court fee is worked out. Under Dubai Law No. 21 of 2015 Concerning Judicial Fees of the Dubai Courts, the first-instance fee is 6% of the claim value, with a minimum of AED 500, as at 24 September 2026, subject to change and to a maximum that depends on the claim's value (Art. 14(a)). Check the current schedule with the Dubai Courts before filing. Part is refunded if the claim is settled or abandoned at the first session.
Other costs to budget for (expert, translation, appeal). Plan for certified translation, expert costs, the Centre's fee and separate fees for an appeal, a cassation challenge or a stay application. LEXNOVA publishes none of these figures, and lawyers' fees are agreed directly with the lawyer.
Step 4 — Serving the Defendant
Notices are served by the process server at a party's request or on an order of the court or the Case Management Office (Art. 6); your part is accurate contact details for the defendant.
Electronic and in-person methods. The law lists recorded calls, SMS, email, fax and other technology first (Art. 9(1)), then service in person, at home, on an agent, at an elected domicile or at work; a company is served at its head office on its legal representative or a partner (Art. 10). Electronic service takes effect on the date sent (Art. 11(3)).
Defendants who cannot be found, or who are abroad. If those fail, the office orders service by website listing or newspaper publication (Art. 9(3)). A defendant abroad who cannot be reached electronically is served through the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs, effective twenty-one working days after the foreign state's diplomatic mission in the UAE is served (Arts. 10, 11(2)).
What the defendant does next. A defence is due within ten working days of notification (Art. 48(2)), and a counterclaim or set-off request can come until pleadings close (Arts. 101–102); our page for people served with a court claim covers that side.
Step 5 — Case Management Before the Hearing
The Case Management Office, supervised by the court's president or one or more judges, prepares the case before trial: registration, notification, and the exchange of memoranda, documents and expert reports (Art. 45).
Its supervising judge may appoint an expert, hear witnesses, question the parties, impose procedural sanctions and propose conciliation (Art. 45(4)). A settlement the judge records has the force of a writ of execution. A summary request is decided within three working days (Art. 45(7)), and a claim meeting the payment-order conditions can be sent to the payment-order judge (Art. 45(9)).
What the claimant must do. Once notified, follow session dates yourself: later decisions take effect without further notice (Art. 57). A case struck out for non-attendance is treated as void if no one asks to proceed within thirty days (Art. 53). Separately, the federal mediation law (Federal Decree-Law No. 40 of 2023, Art. 14) lets a competent court refer a dispute to mediation at any stage.
Step 6 — Court-Appointed Experts
Why the court appoints an expert. Onshore courts often rely on court-appointed experts for technical and accounting questions. The supervising judge can appoint one (Art. 45(4)), and reports are exchanged at the case-management stage (Art. 45(3)). In a document-heavy dispute the report can carry great weight.
Paying for the expert. The federal experts law, Federal Decree-Law No. 21 of 2022, leaves local judicial authorities such as Dubai's to regulate experts under local legislation, and the Dubai Courts' rules on who advances expert costs were not confirmed. Budget for them and ask your lawyer.
Responding to the expert's report. Give the expert organised documents and put your comments in writing through your lawyer. An expert can be recused, but the procedure for objecting to a report was not confirmed. The Centre can also appoint an expert before proceedings begin, which helps where facts need recording early.
Step 7 — Hearings, Urgent Requests and Judgment
Proceedings are in Arabic and rely on written memoranda and expert reports more than on live evidence; a single judge hears first-instance claims of any value (Art. 29(1)(a)). Rules on video hearings were not confirmed.
Precautionary attachment and other urgent requests. You can ask the court to attach the defendant's assets as a precaution before judgment, without first hearing them. Further steps are then required within a fixed period, and the order can be challenged; those conditions were not confirmed, so a lawyer checks them first. A summary-justice judge also rules temporarily on urgent matters (Art. 27). See the interim-measures section of LEXNOVA's Disputes & Litigation page.
The judgment. The court rules on the requests in your statement of claim, so frame them precisely. A notified defendant who stays away does not stop the case: judgment is given in their absence (Art. 55). Read it with your lawyer at once, because the appeal period generally runs from its date.
Step 8 — Appeal and Cassation
When a first-instance judgment is final. Where the value of the case does not exceed AED 50,000 (Art. 29(1)(b)). That is a finality threshold, not a limit on which court hears the claim.
The Court of Appeal. The UAE Government's portal gives the general window as 30 days from the judgment, or 10 days in urgent matters; exceptions exist, so a lawyer confirms your deadline. Since 1 January 2026, an appeal is lodged with the appeal court's Case Management Office and must identify the judgment, its date, the grounds and the requests, or it can be declared inadmissible (Art. 164, as replaced by Federal Decree-Law No. 22 of 2025).
The Court of Cassation. Dubai has its own. Since 1 January 2026, Court of Appeal judgments and decisions can be challenged by cassation where the claim exceeds AED 500,000 (Art. 175), except judgments on execution procedures. The cassation time limit is a short, fixed period not confirmed for this guide; ignore figures quoted elsewhere.
Whether an appeal halts enforcement depends on the court and the judgment; Dubai's fee law provides for a stay application at cassation. Ask about enforcement and any stay the day judgment is issued.
After Judgment: Execution Is a Separate File
A judgment does not pay itself: execution is a separate file whose tools must be actively pursued — see our guides on enforcing the judgment and on enforcing across emirates and courts. A settlement recorded by the supervising judge, or a Centre settlement bearing the execution formula, is enforceable the same way.
What Actually Drives How Long It Takes
No official source consulted publishes a typical duration, and LEXNOVA gives none. Time goes on the settlement stage, service abroad or on a defendant who cannot be found, translation, the expert's timetable, counterclaims and each level of appeal.
What a claimant can do: file a complete, translated bundle; give the defendant's email and phone; pay inside the three-working-day window; respond promptly; follow session dates unprompted; and keep settlement under review.
If Your Case Belongs in Abu Dhabi, the DIFC or ADGM
Abu Dhabi. The same federal procedure law applies, as it does in the courts of every emirate, but under the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, with its own Court of Cassation. Its own service guide describes a Small Claims Court for lower-value claims. Do not assume Abu Dhabi has a pre-filing settlement stage like Dubai's; that was not confirmed.
DIFC. The DIFC Courts sit in English under the Rules of the DIFC Courts. Their Small Claims Tribunal hears claims not exceeding AED 500,000, or up to AED 1,000,000 where all parties elect in writing — see our guide to the DIFC Small Claims Tribunal.
ADGM. The ADGM Courts apply English common law through the ADGM Application of English Law Regulations 2015; their Small Claims Division hears claims not exceeding US$100,000, excluding interest and costs. Our guide on which court has jurisdiction explains how a dispute is allocated between the four systems.
Do You Need a Lawyer at Each Stage?
Who may appear. You may appear in person, or through a lawyer, a relative or in-law up to the fourth degree, or — for a company — an employee with a notarised proxy from its legal representative, subject to conditions (Civil Procedure Law, Art. 52). Under Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2022, legal consultants may not run court proceedings, and emirates with their own judiciary may regulate the profession locally; a lawyer who represents you must be licensed to appear before the Dubai Courts.
Stage by stage. At settlement, a lawyer can value the claim and draft an enforceable settlement. At filing, the requests are fixed and threshold objections anticipated — often where a litigation lawyer adds most. At the expert stage, technical evidence must be presented well. At appeal, deadlines are short, so speak to a lawyer before judgment. You can explore potentially suitable litigation lawyers, debt recovery lawyers and lawyers in Dubai through LEXNOVA Legal Connect.
How LEXNOVA Helps
LEXNOVA is a lawyer-matching service, not a law firm: it does not file cases, appear in court, give legal advice or promise outcomes. It helps you describe your claim — against whom, for how much, the dispute clause, the stage reached and whether it exceeds AED 50,000 — so that you can explore potentially suitable litigation lawyers through LEXNOVA Legal Connect. Every match is reviewed by a person, and advice and fees are between you and the lawyer.
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