Wathim

UAE Pass

UAE's national digital identity single sign-on. One face-scan unlocks ICP, GDRFA, MOHRE, DLD, RTA, and 15,000+ services.

Launched

2018

Operator

TDRA, Smart Dubai, ICP

Cost

Free

Languages

Arabic, English

Overview

UAE Pass (uaepass.ae) is the national digital identity launched jointly by the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), Smart Dubai, and the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP). It binds your Emirates ID to a face-scan and a 6-digit PIN on your phone, then becomes the single sign-on key for almost every digital government service in the UAE: ICP Smart Services, GDRFA Dubai, MOHRE, DubaiNow, TAMM Abu Dhabi, Dubai Land Department (Ejari), RTA, Dubai Police, the Ministry of Health, DEWA, ADDC, and a long tail of private banks, insurers, courier companies and free-zone authorities. The published catalog now covers more than 15,000 services and is still growing month on month.

There are three account tiers: Visitor (mobile + email, very limited), Verified (Emirates ID linked, face-scan completed; this is the level you need for almost all government use), and Verified Plus (added at a kiosk for highly regulated services such as Dubai Land Department transfers). Most residents never need anything past Verified. Once Verified, the app stores a signed digital wallet that includes the Emirates ID, driving licence, vehicle registration (Mulkiya), and any documents you choose to add, and these are accepted as legal proof at traffic stops, hotel check-ins and many government counters without you having to carry physical copies.

Two operational facts matter day to day. First, UAE Pass replaces the older user-and-password logins on most portals; many services now refuse password login entirely and force you down the UAE Pass route. Second, signing PDFs through UAE Pass produces an electronically signed file with legal weight equal to a wet-ink signature under UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021, which is what makes lease addenda, employment-contract changes, no-objection certificates and many bank forms now go through entirely on the phone. Confirm any specific service's UAE Pass requirement on its own portal page before you assume it works.

In practice UAE Pass is the daily login layer for almost every UAE federal and emirate-level digital service in 2026 - ICP, GDRFA Dubai, MOHRE, Dubai Now, TAMM, Dubai Land Department, RTA, DEWA, and a long tail of banks and insurers. The Verified tier (Emirates ID linked, face-scan completed) is what unlocks the full stack; Visitor tier is very limited and most residents never need anything past Verified. The Wallet feature (digital Emirates ID, driving licence, mulkiya, vaccination record) is increasingly accepted at counters in place of physical documents. For the residence/identity stack see our UAE country guide.

What changed and matters operationally in 2026: UAE Pass now signs PDFs with legal weight equivalent to wet-ink signatures under Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021, which is what enabled the wholesale shift of tenancy contract addenda, NOCs, employment contract amendments, and many bank forms onto the phone; the published catalogue now covers 15,000+ services; the Verified Plus upgrade (kiosk-based) unlocks Dubai Land Department property transfers, high-value bank transactions, and certain regulated legal services. The single most common failure mode remains a SIM that lapses during a long trip abroad - keep the registered UAE SIM active or move to eSIM on the same number before any extended trip.

Services offered

Single Sign-On

One login to ICP, GDRFA, MOHRE, DLD, TAMM, DubaiNow, RTA, DEWA, ADDC, Dubai Police, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, and most banks. The session is biometric and lasts the duration of your active app session. One login to ICP, GDRFA, MOHRE, DLD, TAMM, Dubai Now, RTA, DEWA, ADDC, Dubai Police, MOH, banks. Session is biometric.

Digital Wallet

Stores Emirates ID, UAE driving licence, vehicle registration (Mulkiya), insurance certificates, vaccination records, and academic certificates. Accepted at traffic stops, hotel check-ins, and most government counters in place of the physical document. Emirates ID, UAE driving licence, mulkiya, insurance, vaccination, academic certificates - accepted at traffic stops and most government counters.

Electronic Document Signing

PDFs signed through the UAE Pass signature flow carry the legal weight of a wet-ink signature under UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021. Used for tenancy contract addenda, NOCs, employment contract changes, and many bank forms. PDFs signed via UAE Pass carry legal weight equivalent to wet-ink under Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021.

Document Sharing

Send a verified copy of any document in your wallet to a third party (school, bank, employer) via a one-time link that confirms authenticity to the recipient without you having to email a scan. One-time verifiable links to share Emirates ID or other wallet items with banks, schools, employers.

Verified Plus Upgrade

Walk into any UAE Pass kiosk (most ICP and Dubai Smart Government centres) to upgrade to Verified Plus, which unlocks DLD property transfers, high-value bank transactions, and a small set of regulated legal services. Kiosk upgrade for DLD transfers, high-value bank transactions, regulated legal services.

How to access UAE Pass

  1. 1

    Download the UAE Pass app

    Install UAE PASS from the App Store or Google Play. The publisher is the UAE Government. Make sure you are downloading the official app and not one of the look-alikes that occasionally appear.

  2. 2

    Register with Emirates ID and UAE mobile

    Open the app, choose Register, enter your Emirates ID number and a UAE mobile number registered in your own name. The SIM must be in your name; SIMs in a company's or relative's name will fail the bind later. Set a 6-digit PIN and choose a recovery email.

  3. 3

    Complete face verification

    The app uses biometric face matching against the photo ICP holds on your Emirates ID file. Stand in good light, remove glasses, keep a neutral expression. The whole step takes about 30 seconds. If the match fails twice, you will be asked to visit a kiosk.

  4. 4

    Verify at a kiosk if needed

    If the face-match cannot complete (common for older Emirates ID photos), visit any UAE Pass kiosk at an ICP, Smart Dubai or TAMM centre with your physical Emirates ID. The agent re-captures a fresh photo and pushes the verified status to your account in about 5 minutes.

  5. 5

    Add your wallet documents

    Once Verified, open Wallet inside the app and link your driving licence, Mulkiya, vaccination record and academic certificates. The app pulls them automatically from ICP, RTA and the Ministry of Health once consent is granted. Sharing a wallet item generates a QR code that any verifier can scan.

Troubleshooting

The errors residents hit most often on UAE Pass, and the fix that works.

After two failed attempts visit any UAE Pass kiosk at ICP, Smart Dubai, or TAMM centre with physical Emirates ID. Agent re-captures fresh photo and pushes verified status within 5 minutes. Common causes: very old EID photo, weight change, beard/hijab change, poor lighting.

Registered SIM may have lapsed for non-use (typical after long trip). Reactivate at Etisalat or du shop, or move to eSIM on the same number, then retry login.

Choose Restore, enter Emirates ID and UAE mobile, complete face-match. Same SIM must be active. If also changed SIM, kiosk visit needed to rebind.

Verified Plus requires a physical kiosk visit. Locate kiosks at any ICP, Smart Dubai, or TAMM centre - cannot be done remotely.

ICP sync to UAE Pass takes up to 24 hours after EID renewal. Wait, then refresh the wallet. If still missing after 48 hours, log out and log back in to force a fresh pull.

PDF must be under 10MB, text-readable (not scanned image PDF), no password protection. Convert scanned image to OCR-text PDF before retrying.

The one-time link expires after 24 hours. Generate a fresh share link and confirm the bank scans within the window. Many banks now accept the UAE Pass deep link directly which is more reliable.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Registration, face verification, kiosk activation, document signing, and wallet sharing are all free. There are no UAE Pass platform fees for any transaction. The government or private service you are logging in to may charge its own fee, but UAE Pass itself never does.

No for full Verified status. UAE Pass requires an Emirates ID, which only residents and citizens hold. Tourists can sometimes create a Visitor tier account using their passport for very limited services (such as e-visa application), but the full single sign-on stack is residents only. Confirm on uaepass.ae if your specific use case fits Visitor tier.

Install the app on the new phone, choose Restore, enter your Emirates ID and UAE mobile, and complete the face-match again. The same SIM must be active in the new phone. If you also changed your SIM, you will need to visit a kiosk with both the new SIM and your physical Emirates ID to rebind. Plan ahead before travelling because you will need access to your registered UAE number to receive the verification SMS.

Yes for login, but the SMS OTP and biometric flow both work over an internet connection. The hard requirement is that your registered UAE SIM is still active and either roaming or replaced by an active eSIM on the same number. Many residents who travelled and let their UAE SIM lapse find themselves locked out and have to wait until they return to reactivate at a kiosk.

Yes. PDFs signed through the UAE Pass signature flow carry legal weight equivalent to a wet-ink signature under UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021. This is the legal basis for the wholesale move of property addenda, NOCs, employment contract amendments and many bank forms onto the app. Some highly regulated transactions (DLD property transfer, certain court filings) still require Verified Plus, so confirm on the relevant portal.

Functionally no, because UAE Pass is now the standard login for all three. The underlying file at each authority still exists in your name, but you reach it through UAE Pass. Many residents have not opened a direct ICP or GDRFA account in years.

Open the wallet, select Emirates ID, choose Share. The app generates a one-time QR code or link. The recipient scans or opens it and sees a verified copy with a UAE Pass authenticity stamp. This is preferred by most UAE banks now because it removes the photocopy step and the verification problem.

After two failed attempts the app asks you to visit a kiosk. Bring your physical Emirates ID. The kiosk agent captures a fresh photo and pushes a verified status back to your account. Common reasons for repeated failure are very old Emirates ID photos, significant weight change, beard or hijab change, and poor lighting. Kiosk activation takes about 5 minutes.

Open the UAE Pass app, tap 'Sign Documents', upload the PDF (under 10MB, standard text-readable PDF), confirm the signature placement on each page, face-scan to authenticate, and the signed PDF downloads with an embedded UAE Pass cryptographic signature and QR-verifiable seal. Under Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021 the signature is legally equivalent to wet-ink for most civil and commercial documents - tenancy contract addenda, NOCs, employment contract amendments, bank account opening, insurance policy acceptance, school enrolment forms. Highly regulated transactions (DLD property transfer, certain court filings, some MOHRE labour court submissions) require Verified Plus tier, which is a one-time kiosk upgrade. Verifiers check the signature by opening the QR code which returns the signing user's verified identity and the signing timestamp.

Visitor: mobile + email registered, no Emirates ID linked. Very limited; can access basic public information and start e-visa applications. Useful for tourists pre-arrival but residents should never stay at this tier. Verified: Emirates ID linked, face-scan completed (either through the app's biometric match against the ICP photo or via a kiosk for older photo cases). Unlocks the full 15,000+ service catalogue for daily use - ICP, GDRFA, MOHRE, TAMM, Dubai Now, RTA, DEWA, banking integrations. PDF signing works. Most residents stop here and never need more. Verified Plus: requires a physical kiosk visit at any ICP, Smart Dubai, or TAMM centre with the original Emirates ID. Adds DLD property transfers, certain high-value bank transactions, regulated legal services. The kiosk session takes about 5 minutes; the upgrade is permanent.

Stuck on a UAE Pass transaction?

If the portal will not cooperate, our desk can take the filing from here. Free guidance call to start, fixed desk fee to engage.