How to set up a mainland company in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

A mainland company is licensed by the economic department of its emirate: the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) in Dubai, through the Invest in Dubai portal, and the Department of Economic Development (ADDED) in Abu Dhabi, through TAMM. The steps match in outline: activity, legal form, trade name, initial approval, memorandum of association, premises, any extra approvals and the licence. Most activities allow 100% foreign ownership.

Key takeaways

• Dubai mainland companies are licensed by DET through Invest in Dubai, and Abu Dhabi mainland companies by ADDED through TAMM.
• Foreign investors can own 100% of a Dubai mainland company for more than 1,000 commercial and industrial activities.
• Invest in Dubai asks applicants to hold a valid tourist or visit visa when they apply, and a Dubai lease must be registered with Ejari.
• Dubai's instant licence is issued within five minutes for activities that need no outside approvals.
• The licence fee must be paid within 30 days of the payment voucher, or the application is cancelled.

On this page 8 sections

What a mainland licence allows

A mainland licence lets a company carry on the activities written on it and sell to customers in its own emirate, across the UAE and abroad. Invest in Dubai says Dubai mainland companies can trade with individuals and businesses in Dubai, across the UAE and internationally. ADDED says an Abu Dhabi mainland business can do business throughout the UAE, with access to the local market without restrictions, and that most activities have no minimum capital requirement.

Foreign ownership of mainland companies

Up to 100% foreign ownership

Since Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2020 took effect in early 2021, foreign investors may own 100% of mainland (onshore) companies, without a majority Emirati shareholder or local agent, except for activities of strategic impact, for which the Cabinet sets licensing conditions that may restrict foreign ownership.

The UAE government portal names the activities that are not fully open to foreign owners: security, defence and military activities; telecommunications; banking, exchange, financing, insurance and bank note or coin production; Hajj and Umrah organising; Quran recitation institutes; and fishing, natural pearl and marine animal catching. Commercial agencies are on the same list. Under the Commercial Agencies Law, a commercial agency is an arrangement in which an agent represents a principal in the UAE, for example by distributing or selling its goods or services for a commission or profit. It is valid only once listed in the Commercial Agencies Register at the Ministry of Economy and Tourism, and the same law decides who may hold one.

Who may hold a commercial agency

UAE nationals only (51% PJSC and Cabinet exceptions)

Under Federal Law No. 3 of 2022 on commercial agencies, only UAE citizens and companies wholly owned by citizens or by public legal persons may act as commercial agents, with two exceptions: UAE public joint stock companies at least 51% owned by citizens, and, with Cabinet approval, an international company acting as agent for its own products where there is no agent in the UAE and the agency is new.

Whether a mainland or a free zone licence suits a business is a separate question, covered in mainland or free zone. Free zone licensing has its own guide: free zone company setup.

Setting up in Dubai with DET

In Dubai, DET issues mainland licences, applied for on the Invest in Dubai portal or at service centres across Dubai. The applicant picks the licence, legal structure and trade name, gets initial approval, then supplies the memorandum of association, a lease and any outside approvals before paying for the licence.

The steps

1. Explore the options. Invest in Dubai’s business set-up recommendation tool suggests licence types and structures for a planned activity and estimates licence costs. DET says fees vary with the licence type and the activities (what a trade licence costs).
2. Choose the licence type. DET issues industrial, commercial, professional, e-Trader and dual licences. Invest in Dubai also lists the instant, SME and Intelaq licences; Intelaq is for Emirati and GCC entrepreneurs living in Dubai. The activity decides the type (trade licence types).
3. Choose the legal structure. Invest in Dubai lists general and limited partnerships, the limited liability company, private and public joint stock companies, the civil company and the sole proprietorship, alongside one-person companies and branches (company legal forms).
4. Check foreign ownership. The Invest in Dubai portal lists the activities that are not eligible for full foreign ownership.

Foreign ownership in Dubai

100% foreign ownership for over 1,000 activities

On the Dubai mainland, 100% foreign ownership is available for more than 1,000 commercial and industrial activities, with exclusions for activities of strategic importance; mainland companies can trade with individuals and businesses in Dubai, across the UAE and internationally.

5. Check extra approvals. Some activities need clearance from another authority. The UAE government portal gives examples: the Central Bank for banks, exchange houses and insurers; the Capital Market Authority, which the portal still calls the Securities and Commodities Authority, its name until 1 January 2026, for financial consultation and share broking; and the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) for manpower supply.
6. Reserve the trade name. The name has to follow DET’s trade name guidelines, which start with reflecting the business activity (trade licence types covers the rules). It can be reserved before initial approval, and DET can cancel or change a name if it finds that a similar one already exists.
7. Get initial approval. It means the government has no objection to the business, but it does not yet allow trading. Foreign investors first need approval from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners’ Affairs (GDRFA), the UAE government portal says.
8. Sign the memorandum of association (MoA). DET issues the MoA for LLCs, one-person companies and civil companies; a notary issues it for every other legal form. A service agent contract is added if the business type requires one.
9. Register the lease. A normal licence needs a site lease registered with Ejari (see Premises below).
10. Pay and receive the licence. The licence is issued once the fee is paid.

Paying for the licence

30 days from the payment voucher

After the steps for a mainland licence are complete, the trade licence fee must be paid within 30 days of receiving the payment voucher; if it is not paid within that period, the application is cancelled.

Documents DET asks for

Documents for a new Dubai business

Visit visa, ID, Articles of Association; attested parent documents for branches

To start a business in Dubai, an applicant must hold a valid tourist or visit visa before applying for a licence and provide a copy of the licence holder's passport (non-residents) or Emirates ID (residents), a copy of the residence visa or entry permit (non-GCC nationals) and the company's Articles of Association (not required for a one-person LLC); a branch of a company based abroad or in a UAE free zone also needs a copy of the parent's licence, and all parent company documents must be attested in the home country by the UAE Embassy and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, counter-attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and legally translated into Arabic and attested by the UAE Ministry of Justice.

A public or private joint stock company also files a feasibility study. A company licensed in another emirate that opens a Dubai branch provides a board resolution, an authorisation letter from its managing director, its commercial registration certificate and its MoA. Approvals from other authorities, where the activity needs them, go in with the licence application.

Instant licence or normal licence

Dubai instant licence

Issued in 5 minutes; virtual site for the first year

Dubai's instant licence is issued within five minutes for a group of activities that do not require external approvals and can include a Memorandum of Association, a virtual site for the first year, Dubai Chamber membership for commercial activities, a GDRFA establishment card and, for LLCs, single-owner LLCs, sole establishments and civil companies, a MOHRE establishment card with the option to employ three people; a normal licence needs an MoA and a site lease contract.

The instant licence covers only activities that DET can approve on its own. Its MOHRE establishment card is available to LLCs, single-owner LLCs, sole establishments and civil companies. The virtual site lasts for the first year only: on renewal or any amendment, the company has to give a valid business location (trade licence renewal). For a normal licence, DET’s service time of 10 minutes applies to the issuing step, once the MoA, lease and approvals are in place.

The e-Trader licence is a separate route: a home-based licence for selling products or services online from the owner’s residence in Dubai, issued only as a sole proprietorship.

Setting up in Abu Dhabi with ADDED

In Abu Dhabi, ADDED licenses mainland businesses, and applications go through ADDED’s eServices on TAMM. ADDED’s steps run in the same order as Dubai’s:

1. Business activity. The activity places the business in a licence category: industrial, commercial, professional, tourism, agricultural or occupational.
2. Legal form. It has to suit both the activity and the ownership.
3. Trade name. It is registered with ADDED.
4. Initial approval. It is applied for from ADDED at the same time as the trade name.
5. MoA or local service agent agreement. Which one depends on the legal form and the ownership.
6. Business location. The business finds premises and obtains a tenancy contract.
7. Additional approvals. Depending on the activity and location, other bodies may need to approve, such as Abu Dhabi Municipality, the Department of Health or the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.
8. Licence. It is issued once the documents are submitted and the fees paid.

ADDED’s standard licence accommodates every legal form and follows this traditional route. ADDED also says a business that does not need physical premises can get a licence to operate online instantly through TAMM. The instant licence on TAMM, which the UAE government portal describes as an online service with no visit to a service centre, is issued without the lease contract or MoA, but it does not remove them: both are due within 30 days of issue.

Abu Dhabi instant licence

Lease and MoA due within 30 days of issue

Through the TAMM 'Issue Economic Licence - Instant Licence' service, an applicant can get an instant Abu Dhabi economic licence without first providing documents such as the lease contract or the Memorandum of Association; the lease contract and the Memorandum of Association are required within 30 days from the date of issuance.

ADDED’s other licences, such as the Abu Dhabi Trader (Tajer Abu Dhabi), freelancer, Mobdea and virtual licences, are compared in trade licence types.

Premises

A mainland licence normally needs premises with a lease, such as an office, shop or warehouse. A few licences are built for businesses without one.

Business premises

Physical address and lease; Ejari registration in Dubai

Every business in the UAE must have a physical address; the premises must meet the emirate economic department's requirements and municipal land planning rules, an office or warehouse rental agreement must be provided, some emirates require it to be attested, and in Dubai the agreement must be registered with Ejari.

Those licences are:

• Dubai instant licence: a virtual site for the first year, then a valid business location on renewal or any amendment.
• Dubai e-Trader licence: run from the owner’s home in Dubai.
• ADDED freelancer licence: remote work in specific fields without office premises, open to citizens and foreigners.
• Tajer Abu Dhabi licence: specific commercial activities without an official establishment site, according to TAMM.
• ADDED Mobdea licence: for Emirati women, mainly creative activities, with no physical headquarters.

Setting up in the other emirates

The other emirates follow the same outline through their own departments: the Sharjah Economic Development Department, the departments of economic development in Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah Municipality, according to the UAE government portal. The Basher platform, linked from the UAE government portal, lets investors set up a business online and is connected with the federal and local entities that issue commercial licences. Licences are issued emirate by emirate, so a company licensed in another emirate that opens a branch in Dubai, for example, applies to DET with its board resolution and parent company documents.

After the licence

The licence starts a set of registrations with deadlines of their own. The full setup sequence covers each one; in short:

• Establishment cards and visas. Dubai’s instant licence includes a GDRFA and a MOHRE establishment card; the full setup sequence covers the other routes and visas.
• Bank account. See opening a business bank account.
• Corporate tax registration. DET’s licensing page reminds new licence holders of it. The deadline below is for companies and other juridical persons; individuals who trade in their own name follow separate rules.

Corporate tax registration deadline

3 months from incorporation

A resident juridical person incorporated, established or recognised in the UAE on or after 1 March 2024, including a Free Zone Person, must apply for Corporate Tax registration within three months of the date of incorporation, establishment or recognition.

Who registers, the documents and the EmaraTax steps are in corporate tax registration.

• Beneficial owners. DET’s licensing page says a newly licensed company must make an Ultimate Beneficial Owners declaration, part of the UAE’s rules against money laundering.

Beneficial owner register

60 days to create and file; 15 days to update

A company must create a register of its beneficial owners within 60 days of its incorporation (or of the decision's issue for existing companies), update it within 15 days of learning of any change, and file the beneficial owner and partners/shareholders registers with the registrar within 60 days of licensing and registration.

• VAT. Registration becomes mandatory once taxable supplies and imports pass the threshold over the previous 12 months, or are expected to pass it in the next 30 days. VAT registration explains when the obligation arises and works through examples.

Mandatory VAT registration threshold

AED 375,000

A business must register for VAT if the value of its taxable supplies and imports exceeded AED 375,000 over the previous 12 months, or is expected to exceed AED 375,000 in the next 30 days.

More on licences, legal forms and renewals is in the Company setup guides.