Dubai Courts shows only cases that have been registered in a court. A police report or a prosecution file will not appear there, because each stage of a case has its own authority, its own portal and its own reference number.
For a registered case, the Dubai Courts portal and the Dubai Courts Smart App both work from three details: the case number, the filing year and the case type. The table below matches your situation to the right portal, and the sections after it cover each route, including the rental, labour and DIFC matters that are handled outside the Dubai Courts portal.
Which portal matches your case
| Where the matter stands | Where to check |
|---|---|
| Police report or complaint, no prosecution file yet | Dubai Police app or website |
| Referred to Public Prosecution | Dubai Public Prosecution case inquiry |
| Registered in a Dubai court (civil, commercial, criminal, labour, personal status, real estate or execution) | Dubai Courts portal or Smart App |
| Landlord and tenant dispute | Rental Disputes Centre, Track Your Case service |
| Labour complaint that has not reached court | MOHRE |
| Commercial or civil case for a DIFC company | DIFC Courts |
A Dubai Police reference number, a Public Prosecution number and a Dubai Courts case number are three different identifiers. Entering one in another authority’s search will not find the case, so match the number on your paperwork to the stage it came from.
How a criminal case moves from police to court
A criminal case passes through three authorities in order, and the reference number changes at each handover:
- Dubai Police take the report, gather evidence and send their signed findings to Public Prosecution.
- Public Prosecution, the only authority that can start a criminal case, investigates, brings the charges and refers the accused to the competent court.
- The Court of First Instance hears the trial, with Public Prosecution presenting the evidence.
- Either side can appeal to the Court of Appeal, and from there to the Court of Cassation. Once appeals are used up, the relevant authorities enforce the sentence.
That is why the same case needs a different search at each stage. A case that has left the prosecution file is looked up on the court portal under its court case number.
Check on the Dubai Courts portal or Smart App
Open Case Inquiry on the Dubai Courts case inquiry service and enter the case number, the filing year and the case type.
- Open the Dubai Courts portal and choose Case Inquiry from the public services.
- Select the case type. The options follow the court’s specialised divisions: personal status, civil, criminal, commercial, real estate, labour and execution.
- Select the court level that matches the stage: First Instance, Appeal or Cassation.
- Choose the filing year. This is the four-digit year the case was registered, not the year of the incident or of the latest hearing.
- Type the case number exactly as printed on your paperwork and submit.
The Dubai Courts Smart App uses the same Case Inquiry service with the same fields. It also shows the next hearing date and the courtroom for the session.
The case number is printed on the summons and on court notices, and your lawyer will have it.
Check a case with Public Prosecution
Use the Public Prosecution case inquiry with the case type, the year and the prosecution number.
- Open the inquiry page and choose the category that matches your file, such as a criminal case, an appeal, a cassation or a traffic objection.
- Select the year the prosecution file was opened.
- Enter the number and submit.
A message saying no case matches the data means the number, type or year differs from what the prosecution holds. Compare all three with the paperwork before searching again.
When Public Prosecution refers a criminal case to court, the court registers it under its own case number. From that point, search the Dubai Courts portal, not the prosecution page.
Dubai Police inquiries & travel bans
The Dubai Police app and website handle the first stage, and the Inquiry About Circulars and Travel Bans service signs you in through UAE PASS.
The service shows whether a travel ban or circular is registered against you, which authority issued it and the case details. It also lets you pay an outstanding amount online, and the ban is lifted automatically once an eligible payment goes through. It works from inside and outside the UAE.
Police-stage matters carry a police reference number. That number belongs to the police system only and does not work on the prosecution or court portals.
Rental, labour & DIFC cases
Three kinds of dispute never show up on the Dubai Courts portal while they sit with their own body.
Rental disputes
Landlord and tenant disputes are handled by the Rental Disputes Centre (RDC) at Dubai Land Department. Its Track Your Case service runs on the RDC website and in the Dubai REST app. Enter the case number or your mobile number and submit to see the case information.
Labour complaints at MOHRE
A labour complaint starts at MOHRE, which has 14 days to reach an amicable settlement. If none is reached, MOHRE refers the dispute to the Labour Court. For claims up to AED 50,000, MOHRE itself can issue a final decision, and either party then has 15 working days to appeal to the Court of Appeal. Larger claims go to court.
Until the referral becomes a registered court case, there is nothing to find on the Dubai Courts portal. After that, search it with the court’s case number. MOHRE’s Labour Claims and Advisory Call Centre is on the toll-free number 80084.
DIFC Courts & arbitration
DIFC Courts settle commercial and civil cases for companies based at the Dubai International Financial Centre and have no jurisdiction over criminal matters. Those cases are looked up through the DIFC Courts’ own service. Arbitration at the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) happens outside the Dubai courts, so a DIAC matter will not appear on the court portal either.
What the result screen shows
A successful search returns the current stage of the case, the next hearing date and the assigned court division or courtroom. Where a judgment has been issued, the status shows it too.
The inquiry does not return the documents, evidence or witness material in the case file. Those come from your lawyer or from the court registry.
When a judgment is challenged, the case continues at the next level, so switch the court level in the search to follow it from First Instance to Appeal and then Cassation.
If a case does not appear
Check these in order:
- Wrong stage. A police number entered on the prosecution page, or a prosecution number entered on the court portal, returns nothing.
- Wrong year. The year field takes the year the case was filed.
- Wrong case type or court level. The same serial number can exist in other years and categories, so a near match on the number is not enough.
- Wrong authority. Rental, pre-referral labour, DIFC and DIAC matters live outside the Dubai Courts portal.
- Not registered in court yet. A complaint lodged with the police or MOHRE has no court case number until a court registers it.
If all five check out and the result is still empty, take your Emirates ID and the paperwork to a Dubai Courts Customer Happiness Centre and ask staff to trace the case.
FAQ
Can I check a Dubai court case without a case number?
The court and prosecution searches ask for the number, the year and the type, so trace the number first. It appears on the summons and court notices, and your lawyer can supply it. For a travel ban or circular, the Dubai Police inquiry works without a court number.
Which court hears an appeal in Dubai?
The Court of Appeal hears appeals from the Court of First Instance. A further appeal goes to the Court of Cassation.
Can I check a Dubai travel ban from outside the UAE?
Yes. The Dubai Police Inquiry About Circulars and Travel Bans service is available inside and outside the UAE through the Dubai Police app and website, with UAE PASS sign-in.
Does a MOHRE complaint show on the Dubai Courts portal?
Not while it sits with MOHRE. The portal shows the dispute only after MOHRE refers it and the Labour Court registers it as a case.
Does a DIFC Courts case show on the Dubai Courts portal?
No. DIFC Courts run separately from Dubai Courts, so search a DIFC case through the DIFC Courts’ own service.
What to do next
- Read the top of your paperwork and note which authority issued the number: police, prosecution, court, RDC or MOHRE.
- Gather the case number, the filing year and the case type before opening the portal.
- Search the matching portal from the table above, and if nothing shows, work through the mismatch list before visiting a Customer Happiness Centre.
