UAE Experience Certificate: What Employers Must Include

If you’re leaving a UAE private-sector job, you may need proof of your work history for your next application or when returning home. Under Article 13 of the UAE Labour Relations Law, your employer must give you a free experience certificate if you request it when your employment contract expires.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, known as MOHRE, also says there is no minimum employment period for requesting the certificate. A short period of service does not remove this right.

What Your Experience Certificate Must Contain

The certificate should clearly record the main details of your employment. Check that it includes:

• Your employment start date
• Your employment end date
• Your total period of service
• Your job title or the type of work you performed
• Your last wage
• The reason your employment contract ended

The employer must not put anything in the certificate that could harm your reputation or reduce your chances of finding another job.

Compare every detail with your registered MOHRE contract. If the dates, job title, wage or reason for leaving do not match, ask the employer to correct the certificate.

How to Request the Certificate

Send a dated written request to your employer or HR department at or immediately after the contract expires. List the information that must be included rather than making only a general request for an experience letter.

You can write that you’re requesting a free experience certificate showing your start date, end date, total service, job title or work type, last wage and the reason the contract ended.

Keep proof that you made the request. Save the email, letter, message and any acknowledgment from the employer. You should not pay an issuance fee because the law says the certificate must be provided without fees.

MOHRE has an online View My Contract service where workers can see their registered employment contract and access the contract PDF. For Indian workers, including those from Kerala, the contract filed with MOHRE is the binding contract document used for enforcement in the UAE.

If the Company Refuses or Leaves Out Details

If the employer refuses to issue the certificate, MOHRE directs the worker to file a labour complaint. You can also complain if required information has been omitted.

A complaint can be filed through:

• The Labour Claims and Advisory Call Centre on 80084
• The MOHRE website
• The MOHRE mobile application

Keep your written request and the employer’s response available when making the complaint. If you received an incomplete certificate, preserve that copy as well.

Documents Indian and Kerala Workers Should Keep

Indian government guidance advises overseas workers not to lose their employment contract and to make extra copies. Keep copies of your contract, passport and visa in a secure place.

As a practical evidence measure, also save payslips, bank entries showing salary payments, WPS records, resignation or termination letters and messages from the employer. Store digital copies in secure cloud storage and leave another set with a trusted relative. This keeps your employment evidence available if your phone or original documents are lost.

Once your records are ready, you can use the same verified employment details when applying through current Gulf job listings.

Today, download your MOHRE contract PDF and save a second copy outside your phone.