Federal Decree-Law No. (8) of 2025, issued by the UAE President on 12 October 2025, establishes the Federal Authority for Ambulance and Civil Defence — a federal body with legal personality and financial and administrative independence, reporting to the Cabinet. It consolidates federal responsibility for pre-hospital ambulance care and civil defence into one authority, sets its mandate over policy, emergency response, hazard monitoring and training, and shifts the ownership of the National Ambulance company to the new body.
Who should read this
Private ambulance and pre-hospital care providers, civil defence and fire-safety contractors, building owners and facility managers with civil defence obligations, event and site safety operators, and government and healthcare entities that coordinate emergency response.
Directly affected
Key facts
- Instrument: Federal Decree-Law No. (8) of 2025 on the Establishment of the Federal Authority for Ambulance and Civil Defence.
- Issued: 12 October 2025 by the UAE President; the enacted Arabic text and the Official Gazette govern the commencement date.
- Status of the Authority: a federal body with legal personality, financial and administrative independence, and the legal capacity to act; it reports to the Cabinet.
- Consolidation: it replaces the Civil Defence Authority and the National Guard Command in relation to the National Ambulance company, bringing that entity under the new Authority.
- Leadership: the Minister of Health and Prevention, Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, was appointed Chairman.
- Mandate: proposing ambulance and civil defence policy, strategy and legislation; delivering pre-hospital and rapid-response ambulance services; national alert, evacuation and shelter planning; and monitoring radiological, chemical and biological hazards.
- Coordination: it works with the National Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Management Authority and with local (emirate-level) authorities, which retain their own remit.
Executive summary
The UAE has moved ambulance and civil defence from a distributed set of federal functions into a single, purpose-built federal Authority. Federal Decree-Law No. (8) of 2025 gives that Authority its own legal personality and independent budget, places it under the Cabinet, and assigns it both the operational job of running pre-hospital emergency care and the regulatory job of proposing policy and legislation across ambulance and civil defence. The most concrete structural change is that the National Ambulance company now sits under the new Authority rather than under the Civil Defence Authority and the National Guard Command. For private operators and building stakeholders, the practical effect is a clearer — and more centralised — federal counterparty for licensing, standards and coordination.
Key provisions
The decree-law is an establishing (organisational) instrument rather than a detailed operating code, so much of the operational detail will follow in Cabinet and ministerial resolutions. Its core provisions are:
- Creation and independence. The Authority is constituted as a federal entity with legal personality and financial and administrative independence, reporting to the Cabinet — the standard UAE model that lets a body hold assets, contract, and be funded in its own name.
- Transfer of the National Ambulance company. Ownership and oversight of National Ambulance move to the Authority, replacing the prior split between the Civil Defence Authority and the National Guard Command.
- Operational mandate. The Authority delivers pre-hospital ambulance and rapid-response care for emergencies and transports patients to the nearest medical facility.
- Preparedness and hazard mandate. It develops national alert systems, evacuation and shelter plans, mock drills and joint exercises, and monitors radiological, chemical and biological pollution in peace and war.
- Policy and legislative role. It proposes ambulance and civil defence policy, strategy and draft legislation for Cabinet approval, in coordination with local authorities and other federal entities.
Article-level detail — including any express repeals, transitional periods and the scope of civil defence requirements on buildings — is set by the enacted Arabic text and the implementing resolutions, which prevail over any English summary.
Practical implications
Ambulance and pre-hospital operators. The federal Authority becomes the reference point for standards, coordination and — where applicable — permits for pre-hospital care. Providers should expect their operating framework, service-level expectations and reporting lines to be shaped by resolutions issued under the new law, and should track how National Ambulance's expanded federal role interacts with private and emirate-level services.
Civil defence and fire-safety contractors, building owners and facility managers. Civil defence obligations on buildings and facilities remain a live compliance area. Where those requirements are administered or standardised at federal level, the Authority is the body that will propose and update them; owners and managers should keep approvals, inspections and safety systems current and watch for revised technical requirements.
Event and site safety operators. Large-venue and high-occupancy operators depend on emergency-response coverage and civil defence sign-off. A consolidated Authority should make federal coordination clearer, but contractual allocations of safety responsibility should be reviewed against whatever standards the Authority issues.
Government and healthcare entities. Bodies that coordinate on emergencies should map their interfaces with the Authority and with the National Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Management Authority to avoid overlap or gaps in escalation and data-sharing.
Action points
- Identify whether your licences, permits or civil defence approvals fall within the new federal Authority's remit and calendar the resolutions that will follow.
- Review pre-hospital, ambulance and site-safety contracts for change-in-law, standards and responsibility-allocation clauses that may be triggered.
- Confirm building and facility civil defence compliance (approvals, inspections, safety systems) is current and documented.
- Map coordination interfaces with the Authority and with local emirate authorities so escalation and reporting lines are clear.
- Monitor the Official Gazette and Cabinet resolutions for commencement and implementing detail, and confirm the position against the enacted Arabic text.
Transitional and enforcement relevance
As an establishing law, the immediate legal effect is institutional: assets, oversight and mandate shift to the new Authority. Detailed obligations, penalties and any transitional carve-outs for existing licences and contracts will come through implementing resolutions. Until those issue, existing civil defence requirements and licences continue to apply; parties should not assume any relaxation. Where an obligation, deadline or sanction is decisive to a matter, verify it against the enacted Arabic text and the relevant resolution rather than an English summary.
Amends / replaces: Establishes a new federal authority and transfers oversight of the National Ambulance company from the Civil Defence Authority and the National Guard Command. Any express repeal of earlier civil defence instruments is governed by the enacted Arabic text; confirm the precise repeal and transitional provisions in the official source.
Directly affected: ambulance and pre-hospital care providers, civil defence and fire-safety contractors, building owners and facility managers, event and site safety operators, and government and healthcare entities.
Sources and authorities
Federal Decree-Law No. (8) of 2025 on the Establishment of the Federal Authority for Ambulance and Civil Defence — UAE Legislation Portal.
https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/3231
Establishes the Authority as an independent federal body reporting to the Cabinet and transfers oversight of the National Ambulance company from the Civil Defence Authority and the National Guard Command. Issued 12 October 2025. The enacted Arabic text prevails.
Instrument details
Full title: Federal Decree-Law No. (8) of 2025 on the Establishment of the Federal Authority for Ambulance and Civil Defence.
Issued by: the President of the United Arab Emirates, on 12 October 2025.
Nature: an establishing/organisational federal decree-law creating an independent federal authority reporting to the Cabinet, with implementing detail to follow in Cabinet and ministerial resolutions.
Note: this is a plain-English summary for orientation. The official Arabic text on the UAE Legislation Portal is the authoritative version and prevails in the event of any discrepancy.
Based on Federal Decree-Law No. (8) of 2025 and cross-checked against leading practitioner analyses and official reporting. General information only — it does not constitute legal advice, and the enacted Arabic text prevails. For advice on a specific matter, please contact us. Last updated: 2 July 2026.