Trade licence types in the UAE: commercial, professional, industrial and e-commerce

A UAE trade licence is the document from an emirate’s economic department or a free zone authority that lets a business carry on the activities written on it. The federal list has six types: industrial, commercial, professional, tourism, agricultural and crafts. Dubai and Abu Dhabi add their own variants, such as Dubai’s eTrader licence for home-based online sellers.

Key takeaways

• The Ministry of Economy and Tourism lists six licence types: industrial, commercial, professional, tourism, agricultural and crafts.
• In Dubai, DET issues industrial, commercial, professional, eTrader and dual licences, and Invest in Dubai also offers instant and Intelaq licences.
• Abu Dhabi's ADDED issues seven economic licence types, including freelancer and Mobdea licences that need no physical office.
• There are more than 2,000 business activities, a business can have more than one, and some need another authority's approval.
• The emirate's economic department registers trade names and the Ministry of Economy and Tourism registers trademarks; a trade name ends in its legal form, such as LLC or EST.

On this page 11 sections

What a trade licence is

A trade licence is official permission to carry on named business activities, issued by the body that governs the place where the business is set up. On the mainland that is the emirate’s economic authority, such as the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) or the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED); in Fujairah it is Fujairah Municipality. In a free zone it is the free zone authority. ADDED describes its economic licence as what a business needs to practise a specific economic activity once it meets the terms and conditions set by the relevant laws.

Collecting the licence is the last step: the activity, legal form, trade name, initial approval, premises and any extra approvals come first (see how to start a business and the other Company setup guides). A new licence also brings duties of its own: DET’s licensing page reminds new licence holders to register for corporate tax and companies to make a beneficial owner declaration.

Trade licence, trade name and trademark

They are three separate registrations. The licence covers the activities, the trade name distinguishes the business from others and reflects its activity and legal form, and the trademark is registered at federal level.

Trade names and trademarks: who registers them

Trade name: emirate; trademark: federal ministry

The emirate's economic department registers a business's trade name, which must be followed by the legal-form abbreviation (such as LLC, EST, PJSC or PrJSC); the Ministry of Economy and Tourism registers trademarks.

The trade name is reserved before the licence is issued: DET’s set-up steps put booking the name before receiving the licence.

How to check a licence

Licence details can be checked through the National Economic Register or the issuing emirate’s search service. The u.ae page on verifying business licences links:

• the Ministry of Economy and Tourism’s National Economic Register and commercial companies licence enquiry;
• Abu Dhabi’s economic licence enquiry;
• DET’s licence information and business name searches;
• the trade name services of Sharjah, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain, and Fujairah Municipality’s licence services.

ADDED also lists a licence statement among its licensing services on TAMM.

The six federal licence types

The Ministry of Economy and Tourism sorts licences into six types, and the business activity decides which type applies.

Trade licence types (federal list)

6 licence types (federal list)

According to the Ministry of Economy and Tourism there are six types of trade licence: industrial, commercial, professional, tourism, agricultural and crafts; emirate authorities offer further licence variants (for example 7 types in Abu Dhabi and 8 listed by Invest in Dubai).

The u.ae set-up page says the activity is the basis for choosing both the legal form and the type of licence. DET describes three of them on its licensing page:

Tourism, agricultural and crafts licences complete the list. For the customs side of importing, see importing goods; the customs duty calculator estimates the duty and import VAT on a shipment.

Licence types in Dubai

DET issues Dubai mainland licences, through the Invest in Dubai portal or at service centres, and Invest in Dubai lists eight types: the three above plus eTrader, dual, instant, SME and Intelaq licences.

Dubai mainland licence types (DET)

Industrial, commercial, professional, e-Trader and dual licences

The Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism issues industrial licences (manufacturing and industrial production), commercial licences (trading, including general trading, import and export, wholesale and retail), professional licences (service businesses such as consultancies, legal firms and artisans), e-Trader licences (individuals or home businesses selling online in the UAE) and dual licences (operating in both the mainland and free zones with the required approvals).

Invest in Dubai’s licence service separates a normal licence, which needs a Memorandum of Association and a site lease contract, from the instant and eTrader licences, and DET describes the Intelaq licence on its licensing page:

Fees vary with the licence type and the activities, Invest in Dubai says; the published ones are in what a trade licence costs.

Licence types in Abu Dhabi

ADDED issues seven types of economic licence, applied for through its eServices on TAMM.

Abu Dhabi economic licence types (ADDED)

7 economic licence types in Abu Dhabi

The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development issues seven types of economic licence: the Abu Dhabi Trader licence (issued electronically for specific commercial activities to UAE citizens and residents), the dual licence (for Abu Dhabi free zone establishments to operate outside the free zone), the freelancer licence (citizens and foreigners working remotely without office premises), the Mobdea licence (Emirati women, 44 activities, no physical headquarters), the small producers licence, the standard licence (all legal forms, traditional procedure) and the virtual licence (individuals living outside the UAE).

The u.ae set-up page adds that ADDED offers an instant licence service online, with no visit to a service centre.

Free zone licences

A free zone business gets its licence from the free zone authority, not from the emirate’s economic department, and each authority decides what it licenses. Applications go online through the authority’s website.

Licences differ by zone: the u.ae free zone page links industrial licences in Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (KEZAD), media, gaming and publishing licences from Abu Dhabi’s Creative Media Authority, and DMCC sectors from tea, coffee and gold to tech, crypto and eCommerce. Not every zone registers every legal form, and media and food businesses also answer to sector regulators, such as Dubai Municipality for food.

Abu Dhabi and Dubai each have a route for free zone establishments that want to work outside their zone:

• Abu Dhabi: ADDED’s dual licence lets establishments registered in Abu Dhabi’s free zones carry out their activities outside the zone.
• Dubai: Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025 lets DET license a branch in the emirate or a branch operating out of the free zone, or issue a temporary permit for specific activities, and the establishment must keep separate financial records for that work. It does not apply to financial establishments licensed in the DIFC.

The wider choice is compared in mainland or free zone, and the free zone process in free zone company setup.

E-commerce licences

Dubai has a licence made for online sellers, the eTrader licence. In Abu Dhabi and the free zones, the route depends on the licence type and the zone.

Dubai: the eTrader licence

DET describes the eTrader licence as being for individuals or home businesses selling products or services online in the UAE. Invest in Dubai adds that it is a sole establishment licence for Dubai home-based businesses that have been issued with a trade name, so the name is booked first. The application goes through the Invest in Dubai portal, and Invest in Dubai gives a service time of five minutes for an eTrader or instant licence.

The owner’s liability follows the rules for a sole establishment, explained in company legal forms, and the fee Invest in Dubai publishes is covered in trade licence costs.

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Trader and freelancer licences

None of ADDED’s seven licence types is named for e-commerce. The Abu Dhabi Trader licence is issued electronically to citizens and residents for specific commercial activities, and the freelancer licence covers remote work in specific fields without office premises. The Mobdea licence, for female UAE citizens, also needs no physical headquarters. ADDED’s licences are applied for through TAMM.

Free zones

Whether a free zone licenses online trade depends on the zone. The u.ae free zone page, for example, lists eCommerce among the sectors DMCC permits. Work outside the zone follows the free zone rules above.

Business activities and activity lists

Every licence names one or more activities, and the activity drives the licence type, the legal form and any extra approvals.

Business activities in the UAE

More than 2,000 business activities

There are more than 2,000 business activities to choose from in the UAE, and one business can hold more than one activity; the activity is the basis for choosing the legal form and the type of licence.

The legal form has to match the activity, and some activities need another authority’s approval: those related to legal affairs, security affairs and financial securities and commodities before the initial approval, others along the way. The u.ae page gives examples:

The u.ae page still names the Securities and Commodities Authority for the last row. Federal Decree-Laws No. 32 and No. 33 of 2025, in force since 1 January 2026, renamed it the Capital Market Authority.

The National Economic Register, linked from the u.ae page on verifying licences, can be searched for registered activities. DET’s set-up tool suggests licence types, and DET publishes the activities that do not allow 100% foreign ownership (see mainland company setup). In Abu Dhabi, adding activities is one of ADDED’s services on TAMM.

Choosing a trade name

A trade name is registered with the economic department of the emirate before the licence is issued, and it has to follow set rules. Under the u.ae rules, the name must:

1. be followed by the legal form, such as LLC, EST, PJSC or PrJSC;
2. respect public morals and public order;
3. suit the activity and the legal status of the business;
4. contain no names of any religion or governing authority, and no names or logos of outside bodies;
5. not have been registered before.

Trade name certificates are renewable.

Dubai adds its own guidelines. The name must not use the name of God, or family, tribe or other people’s names unless the name is the licensee’s, and must not resemble existing Dubai brands, government projects or international brands. Arabic names are written in Latin letters as they sound, not translated. The name must reflect the activity, so a contracting name cannot go on a building material trading licence. Names of global political or religious sectarian organisations are restricted, and DET can cancel or change a name if a similar one exists. Availability can be checked on the Invest in Dubai portal, where booking needs only a verified account.

In a free zone, the name ends in the company’s legal form, such as LLC, FZE or DMCC, and the u.ae free zone page advises checking permitted names with the free zone authority or the economic department. DMCC publishes a list of restricted trade names. The booking fee is in trade licence costs.

Changing or adding activities later

Adding or changing an activity is an amendment to the licence, a separate service from issuing or renewing it. DET’s amend service covers licence details, including the name and the activities. ADDED lists amending an economic licence, and amending the trade name, address and activity, among its services on TAMM.

Renewal is a separate service again, covered in renewing a trade licence.