Labour Card Information UAE: What's On It and Why It Matters

If you're working in the mainland UAE, your labour card is the document that proves your employment is legal — not your visa, not your Emirates ID, the labour card. Most employees never look at it. Then something goes wrong with payroll, end-of-service, or a transfer, and suddenly the details on that card matter a lot.

Quick answer

The labour card (now usually called the MOHRE work permit or labour contract record) is issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) and ties you to a specific employer, job title, salary, and contract term in the mainland. Free zone and DIFC/ADGM employees fall under different regulators. You can pull your labour card information UAE-wide through the MOHRE app, the Tas'heel portal, or by asking your PRO. Discrepancies between the card and your offer letter are the single most common cause of end-of-service disputes I see.

What a UAE labour card actually is

Strictly speaking, the physical plastic "labour card" was phased out years ago. What people still call the labour card is now the digital MOHRE work permit and the registered labour contract — same function, different format.

The record contains your full name, passport number, employer's establishment card number, job title, contract type (limited or unlimited under the old regime; now full-time, part-time, temporary, flexible, or freelance under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021), basic salary, allowances, contract start date, and contract duration. That data is the legal source of truth. If your offer letter says AED 18,000 and your MOHRE contract says AED 12,000, MOHRE's record wins in a dispute.

This matters for three things in particular: end-of-service gratuity calculations, labour ban decisions, and Wages Protection System (WPS) compliance. Get the labour card information UAE authorities have on file wrong, and you'll feel it on the way out.

Watch out: Plenty of employers register a lower "basic salary" on the MOHRE contract to reduce gratuity exposure. Legal? Technically, if you signed it. Fair? Frankly, no. Read the MOHRE contract before you sign — not the glossy offer letter.

How to check your labour card information

Three ways, ranked by how much hassle they involve.

MOHRE app. Download "MOHRE" from the App Store or Google Play. Log in with UAE Pass. Tap "My Contracts" or "Work Permit Inquiry." You'll see your active permit, contract PDF, salary breakdown, and expiry date. This is the version I'd trust.

MOHRE website. Go to mohre.gov.ae, choose "Services," then "Inquire about Labour Contract." You'll need your work permit number or passport details. Free.

Ask your PRO or HR. They can pull the contract PDF in 30 seconds from Tas'heel. If they stall for a week, that's a flag.

For free zone employees — JAFZA, DMCC, DAFZA, twofour54, and the rest — your equivalent record sits with the free zone authority, not MOHRE. DIFC employees check through the DIFC Employee Workplace Savings (DEWS) and DIFC Government Services portal. ADGM uses its own services portal. Same idea, different regulator.

If the data you see doesn't match what you signed, raise it in writing now, not at resignation.

The fees and timelines you should know

Work permit and labour card fees changed materially after the 2022 reforms. Current MOHRE pricing for a standard private sector work permit, as published on mohre.gov.ae:

• Skill level 1 (degree-holders, professionals): AED 250 for a 2-year permit on Category A establishments, scaling up to AED 3,450 for Category C.
• Establishment categorisation matters more than people think. A "Category A" company (Emiratisation-compliant, cultural diversity, etc.) pays a fraction of what Category C pays.
• Renewal: same fee bands, every 2 years.
• Late renewal fine: AED 500 per month after expiry, capped.

Issuance now takes 5–14 working days end-to-end if your medical, Emirates ID, and entry permit are all clean. Ten years ago this took six weeks. Credit where it's due — MOHRE has actually fixed this.

Costs (2024): Standard 2-year work permit AED 250–3,450 depending on company category. Contract amendment AED 100. Cancellation fee AED 100. Wage complaint filing: free.

When the labour card information becomes a legal problem

Three scenarios I deal with constantly.

Salary mismatch at end of service. Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 51, sets gratuity at 21 days' basic wage per year for the first 5 years, 30 days thereafter. "Basic wage" means what's on the MOHRE contract, not your total package. An employee on AED 25,000 total but AED 8,000 registered basic gets gratuity on AED 8,000. I've watched people lose AED 40,000+ this way.

Job title mismatch and the labour ban question. If your work permit says "Sales Executive" but you've been doing CFO work for two years, and you try to move to a competitor as CFO, the new employer's permit application can get flagged. Article 12 of the Decree-Law and Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 govern title-based permit categories. Get your title corrected during employment, not after.

WPS non-payment. The Wages Protection System (WPS) is the central bank-monitored payroll system that flags any employer paying late or under the registered amount. If your registered salary is AED 15,000 but your employer pays AED 12,000 monthly through WPS, MOHRE flags it within 60 days and can suspend the establishment's file. You can also file a complaint directly through the MOHRE app — takes 10 minutes.

For more on disputes that flow from these mismatches, see our category page on employment law.

Cancelling, transferring, and what happens to your labour card

When you resign, your employer must cancel the work permit and labour card within 14 days of your last working day, per MOHRE procedure. Cancellation requires your signature on the cancellation form — don't sign it until you've received your final settlement, gratuity, and any pending leave pay. Once cancelled, you have a 30 to 180 day grace period (depending on your visa status under the 2022 immigration rules) to either secure a new permit or exit.

Transfers between employers no longer need NOC in most cases — the 2022 reforms killed the standard 6-month and 1-year labour bans for most categories. You can move freely if you complete your contract term, or pay the early-termination compensation set out in Article 43 of the Decree-Law (typically up to 3 months' wages, capped at the remaining contract value for limited-term contracts).

One thing people miss: even after cancellation, your labour history stays on MOHRE's system permanently. Future employers, embassies for visa applications, and even some banks can pull a summary. So if there's a fake absconding report or an unjustified termination on your file, fight it now.

Key dates: Cancellation within 14 days of last working day. Grace period 30–180 days post-cancellation. Work permit renewal every 2 years. Wage complaint window: anytime, but file within 1 year of the breach for cleanest evidence.

What to do if your labour card details are wrong

Step one — get the contract PDF from the MOHRE app and compare it line-by-line with your signed offer letter and any addendum.

Step two — write to HR. Email, not WhatsApp. Ask them to file an amendment through Tas'heel. Amendments to salary, title, or contract type cost AED 100 and take 2–5 working days.

Step three — if HR refuses, file a labour complaint via the MOHRE app or call 600 590 000. The first stage is mediation at a MOHRE Tas-heel centre. If unresolved within 14 days, MOHRE refers it to the labour court and issues you a referral letter — court fees are waived for claims under AED 100,000 per Article 54 of the Decree-Law.

Honestly, most clients get this wrong by waiting until they've already resigned. By then the leverage is gone and you're chasing money instead of fixing records.

For employees in DIFC or ADGM, the process runs through the DIFC Courts Small Claims Tribunal (claims up to AED 500,000) or ADGM Employment Division — different forms, similar logic.

Sources

[1] Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations — UAE Ministry of Justice [2] Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 on the Implementing Regulations of the Labour Law [3] MOHRE service fees and work permit categories — mohre.gov.ae/en/services [4] Wages Protection System guidelines — Central Bank of the UAE and MOHRE joint circulars [5] DIFC Employment Law No. 2 of 2019 (as amended) — difc.ae

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