Consultancy Business in Dubai 2026: Licence, Approvals and Costs, and Which Fields Need a Regulator

A consultancy licence in Dubai is a professional licence from DET on the mainland, or a service or professional licence from a free zone such as IFZA, Meydan, DMCC, SHAMS or RAKEZ. Management, marketing and IT consultancy need nothing more. Legal, engineering, financial, education and security advice need a separate regulator’s approval.

This guide is for founders who want to sell advice: independent consultants moving from employment to their own firm, overseas consultancies opening a Dubai base, and professionals in regulated fields who need to know whether their field is one of the regulated ones. It sits under our guide to starting a business in the UAE, which covers the choices every new company makes.

This page answers one question: which consultancy fields need a regulator, and which do not. We checked the activity cards DET publishes on its Invest in Dubai platform, which name the regulating entity for each activity, then read each regulator’s own rules. The professional licence class, its legal forms (sole establishment, civil company or LLC) and when a local service agent is needed are covered in our professional licence Dubai guide.

Which consultancy fields need a regulator in Dubai?

Each activity card in DET’s Search Business Activities tool shows a code, a licence type and a “Regulating Entity”. Where the card names DET, the trade licence is the only permission. Where it names another body, that body has its own licence or approval. The matrix below uses those cards, checked 3 October 2026, and each regulator’s published rules.

What “no approval” still means for unregulated codes

No outside regulator does not mean no conditions. DET’s description of several consultancy activities in its search tool sets a minimum qualification. Management Consultancies (7020003) states a bachelor’s degree in business or economics and three years’ experience. Marketing Research & Consultancies, Tax Consultant and Logistics Consultancy each state a relevant bachelor’s degree and three years’ experience, and Feasibility Studies Engineering Consultancy states an engineering degree and ten years’ experience. The newer activity card for management consultancy does not repeat the qualification line, so ask at initial approval whether DET will want degree and experience evidence for your code.

The same descriptions for Management Consultancies, Feasibility Studies Consultancies and Environmental Consultants say these firms may not conduct field surveys and questionnaires without approval from the competent authority. IFZA’s management consultancy page carries the same condition. If market research with the public is part of your service, budget time for that approval.

Who regulates each specialised consultancy, and what do they require?

Legal consultancy: the LAD licence applies in free zones too

Article 5 of the LAD bylaw says legal services may only be provided to the public through a legal consultancy firm licensed by the LAD, and Article 3 extends the bylaw to firms “including in free zones, such as the Dubai International Financial Centre”. Legal services are defined broadly: opinions, drafting contracts, registering and liquidating companies, settlements and representation before arbitral tribunals. Pleading before the Dubai Courts is excluded and belongs to advocates.

On nationality the texts differ. Article 9 of the bylaw sets UAE nationality as the condition for sole proprietorship and company applicants, with LAD discretion to exempt in the company case. LAD’s own service card for a sole establishment firm (dated January 2022) describes a route for non-UAE nationals with eight years’ experience and a business plan showing a unique service or demand. Treat this as decided case by case by the LAD. The licence fee is AED 3,000 plus AED 10 innovation and AED 10 knowledge fees, with a 50% discount for UAE nationals in the first three years. The LAD issues a no objection certificate to the licensing authority, and the firm then supplies its commercial licence, its Ejari or title deed and its indemnity policy.

Engineering consultancy: Law No. 14 of 2025

Dubai Law No. 14 of 2025 regulates engineering consultancy across architectural, civil, electrical, electronic, mechanical, mining, petroleum, chemical, coastal and geological engineering. According to the Government of Dubai Media Office, offices need a valid trade licence and DM registration, DM runs a unified electronic system linked to Invest in Dubai, fines reach AED 100,000, and offices and staff have one year from commencement to regularise. The law takes effect six months after publication and annuls Local Order No. 89 of 1994. As reported by law firm SAT & Co., it was published in the Official Gazette on 5 October 2025 and took effect in early April 2026, which would put the regularisation deadline around April 2027. The official summary does not say whether free zone offices are carved out, so confirm with DM before you rely on a free zone licence alone.

Financial advice: CMA onshore, DFSA in the DIFC, FSRA in ADGM

Federal Decree-Laws No. 32 and 33 of 2025 replaced the Securities and Commodities Authority with the CMA from 1 January 2026. The rulebook on the CMA’s site places Financial Consultations in Category Five, and DET’s card describes the activity as recommendations on securities, commodities, derivatives and currencies, plus financial analysis and planning. The CMA says the new law introduces new regulated financial activities, so check the current rulebook with the CMA before applying. Inside the DIFC the DFSA licenses this work; see our DIFC company setup guide for that route.

HR consultancy versus a recruitment agency

DET’s Human Resources Consultancies activity covers manpower planning, performance and training advice. It does not cover finding and placing candidates. Recruitment brokerage and temporary labour supply are MOHRE activities with their own licence fees and bank guarantee (see the cost table below), and MOHRE also checks the business address, criminal records and credit reports of the applicants.

Education consultancy

DET’s Education Support Services card (8550006) covers educational consulting, university admission services, academic representation and exam preparation, names KHDA as the regulating entity and lists the LLC form only. If you also run workshops or courses, KHDA’s catalogue offers a training institute permit and a course authorisation for entities that are not training institutes. Our Dubai Knowledge Park guide explains how KHDA approval works in that free zone.

Marketing and advertising consultancy has its own activity codes, and advertising consultations need the media regulator’s approval. See our marketing agency setup guide.

Where can you set up a consultancy?

A free zone consultancy that wants mainland Dubai clients is not shut out. Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025 lets DET issue a branch licence, a licence for a branch operating out of the free zone (AED 10,000 a year) or a permit for specific activities (AED 5,000). In October 2025 Dubai launched the Free Zone Mainland Operating Permit, valid six months for AED 5,000, with phase one limited to non-regulated activities including consultancy, technology, design and professional services. Regulated advice is not in that first phase. Our free zone vs mainland comparison covers the wider trade-offs.

Approvals checklist for a consultancy licence

• The exact DET activity code (or free zone activity) that matches what you will sell, and the regulator named on its card.
• Degree and experience evidence where the activity description sets a minimum qualification.
• Regulator approval where the card names one: LAD, DM, CMA, CBUAE, DLD, KHDA, SIRA, Civil Defense or MOHRE.
• Professional indemnity insurance where the regulator requires it (LAD and FTA tax agents do).
• Competent authority approval before running field surveys or questionnaires.
• FTA tax agent registration if you will represent clients before the FTA.
• Premises that satisfy the licensing authority and, for legal firms, the LAD’s rule that two firms may not share premises.

How do you get a consultancy licence in Dubai, step by step?

For a regulated code, add the regulator’s time; LAD and MOHRE both ask for a licence or initial approval during their own process, so the steps overlap.

What does a consultancy licence cost?

DET’s own fees for a professional licence (initial approval, trade name, licence, registration, service agent) are set out line by line in our professional licence guide, so we do not repeat them here. The table below lists only the official fees and capital requirements that apply because of a specialised consultancy field.

Not government fees: office rent, business centre packages, free zone package prices, professional indemnity premiums, translation and attestation of degrees, and any agent’s service charge. DM, KHDA, SIRA, Civil Defense, CBUAE and DLD fees for consultancy approvals were not published in a form we could verify, so they are left out; each authority quotes them at application.

Visas and hiring for a consultancy

Owners usually hold a partner or investor visa, and consultants you hire need a MOHRE work permit and an employment visa; our guide to the investor, partner and manager visa explains which route applies. In free zones the visa allowance follows the package; SHAMS states up to 50 visas per licence. If you second consultants to client sites, make sure it is advisory work and not, in practice, labour supply, which is a MOHRE agency activity.

VAT and corporate tax for consultancies

Corporate tax applies to businesses under a commercial licence at 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above it. Small Business Relief, for taxable persons with revenue up to AED 3 million, was extended by Ministerial Decision No. 131 to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 (Ministry of Finance, 7 August 2026). Registration deadlines and EmaraTax steps are in our corporate tax registration guide.

VAT registration is mandatory once taxable supplies and imports exceed AED 375,000 a year and optional above AED 187,500. Many consultancies bill clients overseas. Under Article 31 of the VAT Executive Regulation, services can be zero-rated when the client has no place of residence in a VAT implementing state and is outside the UAE when the services are performed, and the services are not tied to UAE real estate or goods. A client counts as outside the UAE if present for less than 30 days and the visit is not connected with the supply. Clause 3 removes zero-rating where the work is in practice received in the UAE by someone else, such as the overseas client’s employee or director, who could not recover the VAT in full. A business whose supplies are only zero-rated can apply to the FTA for an exception from registration under Article 16. Verify each contract against the FTA’s guidance before invoicing at 0%.

Common mistakes that delay or block a consultancy licence

• Choosing a general code for regulated work. A management consultancy licence does not authorise legal opinions, investment recommendations or recruitment. Regulators and banks look at what you do, not the licence title.
• Assuming a free zone avoids the LAD or DM. The LAD bylaw expressly reaches free zones. Law No. 14 of 2025’s free zone reach should be confirmed with DM.
• Underestimating capital. The CMA capital and MOHRE bank guarantee are needed before any revenue.
• Missing qualification evidence. Where DET’s description sets a degree and experience minimum, unattested certificates hold up the file.
• Running surveys without approval. Several consultancy activities prohibit field surveys without the competent authority’s approval.
• Selling into mainland Dubai from a free zone without a permit under Resolution No. 11 of 2025.
• Zero-rating every foreign invoice without checking Article 31’s conditions.

If you would rather hand the whole file over, our business setup service in Dubai covers the licence, approvals, establishment card and visas.

Questions people ask