For applying the provisions hereof, the following terms and expressions shall bear the meanings ascribed thereto respectively, unless otherwise required by the context:
UAE: United Arab Emirates
Ministry: Ministry of Community Development
Minister: Minister of Community Development
Competent Authority: The local authority vested with the competence of regulating the voluntary work
Head: The Head of the Competent Authority
Law: Federal Law No. (13) of 2018 Concerning Volunteer Work
Volunteer Work: Any individual or collective activity carried out with the intention to achieve a benefit for others in return for no financial or job compensation
Volunteer: Every registered natural or legal person that carries out voluntary work without in return for no financial or job compensation
Volunteer Team: A group of registered natural or legal persons forming one team to perform voluntary work in return for no financial or job compensation
Volunteer Opportunities: Voluntary programs with specific objectives and outcomes
Natural-Person Volunteer: Every society member who engages in voluntary work of his/ her free will in return for no financial or job compensation
Legal-Person Volunteer: Every government or private institution, association, or public benefit organization that is registered or licensed in the UAE and carries out voluntary work through human, financial, or in-kind resources thereof
Visitor Volunteer: Everyone who enters the UAE’s territory under a visitor’s or tourist’s visa and desires to carry out voluntary work of his/ her own free will in return for no financial or job compensation
Volunteer Work Charter: A document that sets out the values, rules, rights, duties and guidelines for volunteers and Volunteer Teams
Register: An interactive website created by the Ministry and connecting the Ministry, the competent authority, and the entities organizing voluntary work together. The website includes a database of individual volunteers, Volunteer Teams, entities organizing voluntary work, and volunteering opportunities. This Register is known as "the National Volunteering Platform".

Upon carrying out voluntary work, the following controls shall be observed:
1. The voluntary work shall achieve community benefit;
2. The voluntary work may not compromise society security and safety;
3. The voluntary work may not cause harm to others, environment, properties or privacy rights;
4. The voluntary work may not conflict with legislation, customs, and public order of the UAE;
5. The voluntary work shall be licensed by the Ministry or the competent authority;
6. The voluntary work shall avoid conflict of interests or achievement of personal benefits;
7. The voluntary work shall avoid display, presentation, promotion or advertising of any good or service during performance of the voluntary work;
8. The voluntary work shall respect policies, statutes, and by-laws of the entity organizing voluntary work, protect properties thereof, and comply with the tasks and objectives of the voluntary work; and
9. The voluntary work shall maintain confidentiality of information and data accessed during carrying out the voluntary work.

1. Either the Ministry or the competent authority shall register volunteers and volunteering opportunities in their registers assigned for this purpose as follows:

a. Registration of Volunteers:

1) Create a personal account on the National Volunteering Platform or on any other platform belonging to the competent authority;
2) Satisfy all requirements stipulated for carrying out voluntary work;
3) Provide all required documents and exhibits; and
4) Accept the Voluntary Work Charter.

b. Registration of Volunteering opportunities:

1) Create an account in the name of the organizing entity on the National Volunteering Platform or on any other platform belonging to the competent authority;
2) Provide all required data, information, and documents and satisfy all requirements and controls of volunteering opportunities; and 
3) Submit an application for registration of volunteering opportunities.
Registration of volunteering opportunity and presentation thereof on the National Volunteering Platform or on any other platform belonging to the competent authority shall be considered as a license of the same.

2. Through the National Volunteering Platform and in coordination with the entities organizing voluntary work, the Ministry shall:

a. Document voluntary work and volunteer hours;
b. Market events and attract more volunteers;
c. Approve programs and activities for raising awareness and education of society members and organizations and approve everything pertaining to the voluntary work; and
d. Evaluate and classify volunteers and Volunteer Teams in a manner appropriate for voluntary work requirements.

Upon carrying out voluntary work, a volunteer of natural personality shall:
1. Satisfy all requirements provided for in the Law;
2. Accept the voluntary work charter; and
3. In case of specialized volunteering, he/she shall have a license to practice the profession for professions requiring so or requiring academic or experience certificates.

Upon carrying out voluntary work, a volunteer of legal personality shall: 
1. Be licensed by the entities concerned to work; and
2. Satisfy all requirements and controls for volunteering opportunities desired to volunteer in respect of which.

Upon carrying out voluntary work, a Visitor Volunteer shall:
1. Satisfy all requirements for volunteers of natural or legal personalities provided for in the Law and herein excluding requirement no. (1) of Article (6) of the Law;
2. Engage in voluntary activities in the fields approved by the Ministry or the competent authority;
3. Duration of volunteering for the volunteering opportunity may not exceed the duration of the visit to the UAE.

In coordination with the Ministry or the competent authority, the entity organizing voluntary work shall specify the requirements and controls to be satisfied and adhered to by volunteers upon carrying out virtual voluntary work according to the nature of volunteering opportunity.

Following requirements shall be satisfied for the formation of Volunteer Teams:
1. Number of the team-founding members may not be less than (5) five members;
2. All founding members shall satisfy requirements for carrying out voluntary work provided for in the Law and herein;
3. The team shall submit a written Bylaws and signed by all founding members; and
4. Volunteer Team members shall be governed by same provisions and controls provided for in the Law and in the resolutions pertaining to volunteering made thereunder, and other provisions and controls.
A legal person may form volunteer team in accordance with the provisions set forth above, provided that founding members shall be from among employees working for said legal person. Members who are not employees of the legal person may join the team subject to prior approval of the Minister or the Head.

Founding members shall meet in order to develop the Volunteer Team’s Bylaws provided that said Bylaws include the following data:
1. Team name and scope of work; provided that same be specified in coordination with the Ministry and the competent authority;
2. Duration of team operation (fixed term/ non-fixed term);
3. Team objectives;
4. Team obligations in accordance with Article (12) of the Law;
5. Requirements for membership, procedures of membership approval and removal, and rights and duties of members;
6. Controls for approval of membership of persons under (18) years old and procedures necessary for voluntary work;
7. Method of and requirements for selection of the team leader and his/ her functions;
8. Rules of amending the Bylaws;
9. Financial resources of the team to the extent required for implementation of the volunteering opportunity, methods of exploitation and disposition of said resources, and methods of control over spending the same; and
10. Conditions and rules for dissolution of the team, and entity whereto the team assets, if any, shall be transferred.
In coordination with the competent authority, the Ministry shall prepare a model form for the Volunteer Teams' Bylaws.

Founding members shall select a team leader from among themselves. Such a leader shall be responsible before all entities concerned for providing follow-up on the team’s work.

Either the team leader or his/ her delegate shall submit a license application to the Ministry or to the competent authority using the form assigned for this purpose. The application shall be accompanied by the following documents:
1. Team Bylaws signed by the founding members;
2. Copies of passports and ID Cards of the founding members; and
3. Signed list including founding members' data and personal photos of each member.
The Ministry and the competent authority shall prepare a register whereon license applications shall be registered.

Either the Ministry or the competent authority, as applicable, shall consider the Volunteer Team license application, and shall make a decision within (30) thirty business days either to approve or to reject the application, and the team shall be notified of the same. Otherwise, the Ministry or the competent authority shall make certain amendments to the team Bylaws as deemed appropriate.

A grievance against the license application rejection decision shall be filed either with the Ministry or with the competent authority, as applicable, no later than (15) fifteen days the date of being notified of the rejection decision. The grievance shall be decided on within (15) fifteen business days from the date of filing the same. The decision made by the Minister or the Head of the competent authority shall be final. Non-response to the grievance within the same period shall be deemed a rejection of the grievance.

Any group or entity shall neither call itself a Volunteer Team nor carry out any of the Volunteer Teams’ activities or voluntary work other than in accordance with the provisions of the Law and of this Resolution. In case of violation, the penalties set forth in the Law shall be imposed based on severity and nature of the violation. Same shall apply without prejudice to the civil and criminal responsibilities.

Volunteer Teams may not deviate from the objectives specified in the Bylaws thereof. The team and the members thereof shall be prohibited from carrying out any work in violation of the Law or this Resolution.

Volunteer Teams shall be supervised and controlled by the Ministry or the competent authority, as applicable, and may organize training courses, and provide technical advice and various kinds of sponsorship in a manner that would raise the level of services, and achieving efficiency of Volunteer Teams' performance.

Volunteer Teams shall submit to the Ministry or to the competent authority regular quarterly reports on the activities and events carried out and organized thereby, and on the financing resources, if any. The team shall have all volunteering opportunities registered on the National Volunteering Platform or on any other platform of the competent authority.

1. Volunteers shall be prohibited from raising or accepting donations nor permitting fundraising thereof or advertising the same through any means whatsoever;
2.  Volunteer Teams may collect donations after approval of the Ministry through requesting provision of financial or in-kind sponsorship to the extent necessary for implementation of the volunteering opportunity under the following requirements and controls:

a. An application using the form prepared for this purpose shall be submitted to the Ministry;
b. Kind and value of sponsorship required for implementation of the volunteering opportunity shall be specified;
c. In case of approval of the application, the Ministry shall display the volunteering opportunities on the platform to attract sponsorship thereto; 
d. In case of availability of full sponsorship of the opportunities as stated in the application, the Volunteer Team shall implement the opportunity in accordance with required procedures;
e. In case of unavailability of required sponsorship, the team may request cancellation of the opportunity, the team shall refund all and any sponsorships received thereby to the parties concerned within (15) fifteen days; and
f. The Volunteer Team shall submit to the Ministry a detailed report on any sponsorships received thereby to support volunteering opportunities.

1. Controls for Carrying out Voluntary Work outside the UAE:

a. Volunteering opportunity intended to be executed may not conflict with the UAE policies and legislation;
b. Volunteering opportunity shall serve the UAE vision and foreign policy;
c. Volunteering opportunity shall be satisfying all conditions and requirements of the entities concerned with foreign affairs; and
d. Volunteering opportunity shall be introduced through an entity registered, licensed or notarized inside the UAE via the National Volunteering Platform or any other platform of the competent authority.

2. Requirements for Carrying out Voluntary Work outside the UAE:

a. Volunteer shall be at least (21) twenty-one years old; and
b. Volunteer may not have been punished with a custodial sentence on the grounds of a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or breach of trust, unless amnestied or rehabilitated.

The Ministry or the competent authority, each within its area of competence, shall receive complaints filed by or against volunteers, Volunteer Teams, or the entities organizing voluntary work; provided that complaints shall be filed within (15) fifteen days from occurrence of the event subject of the complaint. Complaints shall be considered and replied to no later than (15) fifteen business days of the date of filing the same.

Upon imposing any of the penalties provided for in Article (16) of the Law, the Ministry shall:
1. Prepare a report on the violation committed;
2. Notify the violator of the violations committed and date for reply to the same. Failure to reply within the set date shall be deemed an acknowledgement of the violation;
3. Consider the violation after passage of the deadline set for reply, as either the case shall be discontinued or a proportional penalty shall be imposed based on severity and nature of the violation committed without consideration to the hierarchy of punishments, same shall apply without prejudice to civil or criminal liabilities, as necessary; and
4. Delegate the competent authority to impose the penalties provided for in Article (16) of the Law in accordance with procedures set forth in this Article. The competent authority shall submit to the Ministry regular reports on the violations committed and penalties imposed on violators.
Every stakeholder may file a grievance with the Minister or the Head of the competent authority against the decisions made and actions taken against itself under provisions of this Article within (15) fifteen days from being notified of the decision or the action against which the grievance is filed. The grievance shall be decided on within (30) thirty business days from filing thereof. Non-reply to the grievance within said period shall be deemed a rejection thereof.

Everyone engaging in voluntary work at the time of issuance of this Resolution shall apply to the Ministry or to the competent authority in order to have their affairs adjusted in accordance with this Resolution no later than (6) six months of the date of entry of this Resolution into force.

The Minister shall issue the resolutions and forms necessary for implementation of provisions of this Resolution.

Any and all other provisions shall be repealed to the extent that they go against or conflict with provisions of this Resolution.

This Resolution shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall enter into force on the day following the date of its publication.