Can a UAE shareholder legally obtain company documents from co-owners?

As a shareholder, you have the right to inspect and obtain copies of company documents under UAE Commercial Companies Law (Articles 110–114).

Submit a written request to the board or at a shareholder meeting. If they refuse, you can approach the courts to compel access.

Greetings,

As a shareholder in a UAE company, you do have rights under the UAE Companies Law to access and review company documents, including financial records and corporate resolutions. However, the extent of your rights and the procedures to obtain these documents depend on:

• The type of company (LLC, free zone, etc.)
• The company’s Articles of Association
• Whether the requested documents fall under “shareholder-accessible records” as defined by law

If other shareholders refuse to provide access, there are legal mechanisms to compel disclosure through:

• A formal legal notice
• Filing a request before the competent authority or court
• Seeking intervention from the relevant licensing authority or free zone (if applicable)

Given that the statutory provisions and legal remedies depend on the company structure and documents, we recommend a detailed review of your case to determine the strongest legal route.

You may book a consultation through the website or authorize our firm, FUTURE VISION ADVOCATES & LEGAL CONSULTANCY, to take the necessary legal steps on your behalf.

Greetings from Dr.Khalifa Bin Huwaiden Advocates & Legal Consultants.

Yes, you have legal rights in the UAE as a shareholder to access company documents.

Simple steps:

1. Send a written request to the Board of Directors
2. Mention your shareholding percentage in the capital
3. Specify which documents you want to see

Documents you can access:

• Financial records
• Meeting minutes
• Annual reports

For more information, please contact us over the phone during our official working hours from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, or reach us directly via WhatsApp.

You can obtain copies of the company's incorporation documents from the registration authority.

If you are a partner in a company, you have rights, including access to the company's books, documents, and financial statements. According to UAE company law, you can send a letter to the manager requesting a general assembly meeting, and if they refuse, you can file a lawsuit against them.

For more information, please contact us.

Thank you for contacting us via Legal Advice Middle East.

There is more than one legal route here, depending on the company type, your shareholding, and what documents are being blocked. We handled a partially similar shareholder-access dispute before, and we obtained a favorable result for our client by compelling controlled disclosure through formal channels.

As a shareholder, you generally have enforceable rights to inspect core corporate records and obtain copies where justified, but giving you “statutory provisions” by article number or naming specific laws is not something we provide in this channel to avoid inaccuracies without reviewing the full file.The other shareholders’ typical strategy is delay, “confidentiality” claims, and pushing you to accept summaries only.

Our strategy is a formal notice that preserves evidence, then a targeted disclosure request through the competent registry and, if needed, court-backed compulsion, while extracting what can be obtained directly from official records. The silent risk is document alteration after your request, so timing and proof matter.

Precise advice requires reviewing your proof of shares, the memorandum and any shareholder agreement, and the license file. Our consultants speak Arabic, English, Russian, Hindi, and Chinese.

This response is provided by Rashid Al Kaitoob Advocates & Legal Consultants based solely on the information you’ve provided and does not constitute a final legal opinion. A binding legal assessment can only be given after reviewing the full documents of the case.

Hello,

As per your query, if you are a minority shareholder and hold below 25% of the shares in the company, you have the right to ask for a copy of the company documents through a legal notice.

Please contact us by email, call/ WhatsApp.

Hello,

As a UAE company shareholder, you have the right to inspect and obtain copies of company documents under the UAE Companies Law.

You can send a formal written request, or issue a legal notice if refused, and file court application if necessary.

Please feel free to contact us if you require any further assistance.