UAE Authority Updates: Construction Review Beyond Dubai’s 2026 Safety Guide

Reviewed on 4 November 2026 against accessible official legislation, authority indexes and controlled PDFs. Not every authority has issued a new construction-safety manual. Registration laws, professional competence, utility interfaces and document amendments must be assessed separately for the project’s jurisdiction and activities.

Dubai: contractor and engineering-consultancy laws

Laws 7 and 14 of 2025 introduce contractor and engineering-consultancy registration, classification and competence frameworks, rather than replacement safety manuals. Check permitted activities, classification, technical-staff evidence and subcontracting or supervision arrangements against the relevant law and live authority route.

Law 7 was published in Gazette 726 on 15 July 2025. Article 29 specifies commencement six months after publication: 15 January 2026 is the calculated date. Article 26 allows existing contractors one year to regularise, giving an ordinary calculated deadline of 15 January 2027; the committee may extend for a similar period. These are derived dates, not a confirmation of a live filing deadline or an extension.

Law 7 Article 15(17) and Law 14 Article 17(13) require specified original agreements, records, documents and drawings to be kept for at least ten years from completion-certificate issuance or termination of the relevant agreement—not from record creation. Law 14 also specifies digital copies. Article 17(22) requires continuous supervision of contracted works throughout execution.

1. Dubai Law No. 7 of 2025 — official Arabic Gazette, Issue 726

1. Dubai Law 14 of 2025 — official Arabic legislative text

Abu Dhabi: Qudorat is not just a training-provider check

Qudorat requires registration for individuals and professional entities practising or providing OSH services in Abu Dhabi. Mechanism 7.0 and category criteria are V4.0, dated 1 April 2026; the live mechanisms index lists 7 April 2026 as effective. Practitioner and service-provider registrations are distinct from employer appointments and course-specific training approval.

Mechanism 7.2 covers consultancy personnel and the senior OSH person at a high-risk entity. It requires the specified Level 7-equivalent qualification or listed membership route, at least three years’ OSH experience, and 15 hours of annual CPD for renewal. Registration lasts one calendar year; check the digital card’s issue and expiry dates and applicable category evidence.

1. ADPHC — current ADOSH-SF mechanisms and effective dates
2. ADPHC — Qudorat FAQ, September 2026
3. ADPHC — Mechanism 7.2 Senior Practitioner criteria, April 2026

Abu Dhabi: use each CoP’s own version and date

The Core Manual remains V4.0, July 2024, and most mechanisms remain V4.0, effective 15 July 2024. Do not call the whole framework V4.1. CoP 23 Working at Height and CoP 34 Lifting Equipment and Accessories have V4.1 PDFs dated 16 February 2026. Their amendment records identify a federal-reference update and a QCC ADS 22/2018 examination/testing-reference update, respectively, with minor editorial changes.

The live index lists CoP 44 Traffic Management and Logistics and CoP 1.1 Asbestos at V4.1, effective 27 February 2026. ADPHC identifies updated asbestos-survey types. A PDF revision date must not automatically be relabelled as a legal effective date. CoPs are minimum mandatory technical requirements where applicable to an entity’s undertakings; not all 2026 amendments are editorial.

1. ADPHC — current CoP versions, effective dates and mandatory status
2. ADPHC — ADOSH-SF Manual V4.0, July 2024
3. ADPHC — CoP 23 Working at Height V4.1, February 2026
4. ADPHC — CoP 34 Lifting Equipment and Accessories V4.1, February 2026
5. ADPHC — legislation update summary, including asbestos survey types

Sharjah: 2024 CoP status changes and a 2025 high-rise guideline

SPSA amendment records confirm conversion from guidelines to Codes of Practice and added audit checklists: OSHJ-CoP-22 MEWPs V2, 3 July 2024; CoP-27 PPE V2, 26 June 2024; and CoP-28 Portable Power Tools V2, 26 June 2024. These are 2024 changes, not a new 2026 construction code. The appended checklists are SPSA auditor tools, not establishment self-audit checklists; auditors may request further evidence.

OSHJ-GL-11 High-Rise Building Safety records Version 1, 15 January 2025, “New Document.” Do not use “V7” in the filename as its edition. Review PTW authorisation, risk assessment, precautions, supervision, closure and records. “Guideline” does not establish that every requirement is voluntary. The inspected construction-management baseline is CoP-02 V1 Rev 0, September 2021; the practitioner explanatory note is V1 Rev 0, June 2023.

1. SPSA — OSHJ-CoP-22 MEWPs, 2024 amendment record
2. SPSA — OSHJ-CoP-27 PPE, 2024 amendment record
3. SPSA — OSHJ-CoP-28 Portable Power Tools, 2024 amendment record
4. SPSA — OSHJ-GL-11 High-Rise Building Safety, internal Version 1, January 2025
5. SPSA — OSHJ-CoP-02 Construction Management V1 Rev 0, September 2021
6. SPSA — OSHJ Practitioner explanatory note, June 2023

Ras Al Khaimah: building regulations and temporary works

Resolution 7 of 2026 publishes Building Conditions and Specifications Regulations addressing excavation/shoring and neighbouring-structure protection during basement works, concrete pouring, dewatering and piling. Article 62 states commencement from issuance. The exact calendar issuance date was not established: do not substitute the website’s May/June dates.

RAKR-S-2025 Structural Regulations, third issue, December 2025, records changes to materials, standards and wind loads, plus a new structural-system approval section. Section 14 covers excavation/shoring permits, NOCs, surrounding-site information, competent/licensed contractors, investigations/design information and adjacent-property undertakings. Their presence does not prove every control was newly introduced in that revision. Keep municipal requirements distinct from RAKEZ permit conditions.

1. RAK Municipality — Building Conditions and Specifications Regulation, Resolution 7 of 2026
2. RAK Municipality — RAKR-S-2025 Structural Regulations, third issue, December 2025

Dubai infrastructure: railway and utility interfaces

RTA’s Railway Law Implementation Requirements V3.0 amendment is dated March 2025 and approved 15 April 2025. It supersedes the Glossary, References and sections 1.2, 1.7, 3.4 and 3.9—not the whole manual. Review applicable railway safety certification, risk management, ALARP evidence and LNO requirements before relevant testing or operational interfaces. The inspected Rail NOC Submission Guidelines are second edition, November 2024; these are not a general construction-HSE code.

1. RTA — Railway Law Implementation Requirements V3.0 amendment, March 2025
2. RTA — Rail NOC Submission Guidelines, second edition, November 2024

1. DEWA Major Project Guidelines catalogue
2. Unconfirmed source

   DEWA — Power Supply Guidelines for Major Projects, September 2026 update

   DEWA's website refused our review request (access denied), so this guideline was not read during the review.

3. Unconfirmed source

   DEWA — Water Transmission Planning Guidelines, October 2026 update

   DEWA's website refused our review request (access denied), so this guideline was not read during the review.

4. Unconfirmed source

   DEWA — current Infrastructure NOC service and validity rules

   DEWA's website refused our review request (access denied), so this guideline was not read during the review.

Trakhees: Dubai-wide guide is not proof of CS-series replacement

The supplied construction manual was previously reviewed as Dubai Municipality’s 2026 Safety Guide for Construction Works. Decree 19 of 2025 applies the construction-safety framework across Dubai, including free zones. Article 10 repeals Administrative Resolution 51 of 2008 and contradictory provisions; it does not expressly repeal CS-1.0–CS-5.0 wholesale. Publication through PCFC alone would not establish a separate Trakhees technical revision.

1. Dubai Municipality — official 2026 Safety Guide matched to the supplied manual’s substantive text
2. Dubai Decree 19 of 2025 — Dubai-wide scope, competent entities, publication and repeals

1. Unconfirmed source

   PCFC Trakhees — Construction Safety manuals and CS-series public catalogue

   PCFC's website refused our review request (access denied), so this document was not read during the review.

2. Unconfirmed source

   PCFC Trakhees — public Construction Safety circular index

   PCFC's website refused our review request (access denied), so this document was not read during the review.

Federal standing duties: heat controls and injury reporting

The annual midday restriction remains 15 June–15 September, 12:30–15:00 for direct-sun/open-place work, subject to specified exceptions and protective arrangements. Shade, cooling, drinking water and first aid remain relevant. The 2026 cycle has ended; this is a standing annual duty, not proof of a newly enacted rule.

The official Arabic Resolution 657 of 2022, Article 2(4)–(6), requires immediate medical-authority and police notification as specified, prompt MoHRE reporting of dangerous accidents, and reporting within 48 hours in all work-injury or occupational-disease cases. Article 2(1) requires a prescribed monitoring system for establishments with 50 or more workers; paragraph (j) includes specified occupational-risk worker records kept at least five years after service ends. This is not a blanket retention rule for all training files.

1. MoHRE — annual midday break guidance
2. Resolution 657 of 2022 — official Arabic text

Civil Defence and northern emirates: evidence limits

DCD’s indexed public listing identifies the September 2018 UAE Fire and Life Safety Code. A replacement 2026 Code or relevant later construction/impairment circular was not verified. Use the controlled Code, current fire approvals and written project directions.

1. Unconfirmed source

   MoHRE — July 2026 insurance guide, no new employer obligations

   MoHRE's website gave no response from our review location, so this document was not read during the review.

2. Unconfirmed source

   MoHRE — Labour Accommodation System edition, February 2024

   MoHRE's website gave no response from our review location, so this document was not read during the review.

3. Unconfirmed source

   RTA — eNOC service notices and ROW manual update-in-progress notice

   The address returned only a redirect page to our review, so the notice quoted here was not read from it.

4. Unconfirmed source

   Dubai Civil Defence — current UAE Fire and Life Safety Code listing

   Dubai Civil Defence's website gave no response from our review location, so this page was not read during the review.

5. Unconfirmed source

   Ajman Municipality — environmental and safety compliance certificate service

   Ajman Municipality's website gave no response from our review location, so this service page was not read during the review.

6. Unconfirmed source

   WAM — UAQ Municipality construction-worker summer safety initiative, 22 July 2026

   The news page returned only a redirect placeholder to our review, so the item was not read from it.

7. Unconfirmed source

   Fujairah Municipality — Building Section, Site Safety Guidelines 2023 listing

   Fujairah Municipality's website gave no response from our review location, so this listing was not read during the review.

8. Unconfirmed source

   Umm Al Quwain — unified local-services portal

   Umm Al Quwain's services portal gave no response from our review location, so it was not read during the review.

Review priorities for site teams

• Dubai: check contractor/consultant registration and regularisation with the authority, alongside the 2026 guide.
• Abu Dhabi: check actual Qudorat category and current applicable CoPs, not a blanket version claim.
• Sharjah/RAK: reconcile the named editions with site activities, permits and temporary-works design packs.
• Utility/rail/free-zone interfaces: obtain written approvals and resolve document conflicts with the competent authority.
• Record jurisdiction, document version, revision versus commencement, source, responsible reviewer and unresolved evidence. Do not treat this article as authority approval.