Overview
In UAE, there are several categories for trade licenses namely Commercial licenses, Professional licenses, Industrial licenses and Tour Licenses. A commercial license usually includes activities like Trading, Construction, Contracting, etc. A Commercial license can be formed on Mainland and as well as in Free zones but the commercial license cost will be different in Dubai. Business setup in Dubai with commercial license on mainland has to be a Limited Liability Company (LLC) where the UAE National will be the 51% shareholder. In free zones the commercial license can be formed as LLC, having a suffix of FZ LLC which gives the owner a facility to keep the company’s liability limited only where he will be the 100% shareholder. Obviously, selecting the type of jurisdiction, namely Mainland or Free zone, will depend on the business plan of the investor. The Department of Economic Development in Dubai (DED) is responsible for issuance of commercial licenses in Dubai mainland. In this article, however, let’s discuss the commercial license cost in Dubai.Dubai LLC licence fees
| Particulars |
Amount (AED) |
Mode of Payment |
| Tasheel fee for Initial Approval |
116 |
One Time |
| Initial Approval |
135 |
One Time |
| Trade Name fee |
620 |
One Time |
| Court Notarization (If Civil - AED 3000) |
1,700 |
One Time |
| Tasheel fee for final submission |
116 |
One Time |
| Other Dubai DED Fees |
1,720 |
Yearly |
| Owner Accommodations Allowance (per partner) |
1,000 |
Yearly |
| Employees Accommodations Allowance (Depends on No of Employees) (Initially one Manager) |
500 |
Yearly |
| Public Waste-related services fees |
1,000 |
Yearly |
| Service Improvement Fees / Professional |
240 |
Yearly |
| Local - Fees - Professional License |
150 |
Yearly |
| Market Fees |
2.5% of Annual Rent of office / shop |
Yearly |
| Smart Social Responsibility Platform Fee |
1,500 |
yearly |
| Foreign Trade Name (Not Applicable if Arabic trade name) |
2,000 |
Yearly |
| Total |
AED 8,960 |
$ 2,442 |
- The commercial license fee in dubai also depends on the business activity. Hence if the activities includes any external approval from some different authority then the charge will increase the for the trade license cost. Example: For an Inbound Tour Operator, the activity needs an external approval from DTCM (Dubai Tour) which cost AED 500/- and so the total commercial license cost in Dubai will increases by AED 500/-.
- It is mandatory to provide the EJARI of the office/shop to get the commercial license in Dubai and as the number of employees depends on the area of the shop/office.
- In some activities the Dubai DED allows to take an instant trade license where there is no need of any physical address and hence Market Fees becomes AED 3,000/- but as there is no need to take any physical place on rent hence the budget comes low.
- If there is more than one partner then the owner accommodation increases by AED 1,000/- for each partner.
