How to Open a Restaurant or Café in Dubai 2026: Licence Activities, Municipality Approval, Food Safety and Costs

In short: As of October 2026, opening a restaurant in Dubai needs a DET licence with a food activity such as Restaurant (5610001), a trade name (AED 620), a Dubai Municipality kitchen layout approval (no fee, up to 3 working days), an annual Civil Defence safety certificate (no application fee) and a certified Person in Charge.

To open a restaurant or café in Dubai, get a DET licence with a food activity such as Restaurant (5610001), Cafeteria (5610003) or Coffee Shop (5630001): reserve the trade name (AED 620, within 10 minutes), get initial approval and lease a unit that allows food use. Dubai Municipality must then approve the kitchen layout, which has no fee and is answered within 3 working days; until then the licence carries a remark and you cannot trade. Before opening you also need the annual Dubai Civil Defence safety certificate (Ejari and maintenance contract, no application fee) and a certified Person in Charge under the Dubai Food Code. DET publishes no single licence fee, so the unit and fit-out drive the budget.

This guide is for first-time restaurant and café founders, chefs going independent, franchisees and investors who are still abroad. It covers which licence activity to choose, the order of approvals as the authorities publish it today, the Dubai Municipality food safety rules you must plan for, smaller formats such as cloud kitchens and food trucks, published fees and tax. A lot of advice online still describes the old DED process or quotes fees that the authorities no longer charge, so every figure here links to an official source.

Which licence activity does a restaurant or café need?

A restaurant or café in Dubai needs a DET licence with a food activity, usually Restaurant (5610001), Cafeteria (5610003), Coffee Shop (5630001) or Catering Services (5629002), which the official activity search classes as “Professional” activities regulated by Dubai Municipality. Mainland businesses in Dubai are licensed by activity. The official activity search from Invest in Dubai (DET) lists these food service activities:

Each of the first five activities is classed as “Professional”, is regulated by Dubai Municipality, and lists the requirement “Request for Layout Assessment for Food Establishment Licensing”. Activity names and codes are from the official search, checked on 11 October 2026 and re-checked on 15 October 2026. We found no separate DET activity called “cloud kitchen” or “food truck”, so do not pay for a package that promises one without seeing the activity code.

What are the steps to open a restaurant in Dubai?

Opening a restaurant in Dubai follows eight steps: choose the activity, reserve the trade name, get initial approval, lease the unit, get the Dubai Municipality layout approval, fit out, activate the licence, then obtain the Civil Defence certificate and certified staff. The UAE government portal sets out the mainland order as: trade name, initial approval, premises, additional government approvals, then licence collection. For a food business it looks like this in practice:

Can a restaurant get an instant licence?

A Dubai restaurant can get DET’s Instant Licence, issued within five minutes, but it cannot serve customers until Dubai Municipality approves the kitchen layout and the remark on the licence is cleared. Invest in Dubai describes the Instant Licence as “issued within five minutes for a group of activities that do not require external approvals”, and the official activity page for Restaurant lists “Business License – Instant License – SME License” as available licence types. In practice the instant licence lets you hold a valid licence while the unit is being prepared. The Dubai Municipality layout approval is still required “for activating your trade license after initial issuance”, so you cannot serve customers until that remark is cleared. Our instant licence guide explains the first-year conditions.

What does Dubai Municipality require from a food business?

Dubai Municipality requires a food business to have its kitchen layout approved (no fee, within 3 working days), a certified Person in Charge on site, trained food handlers and staff with occupational health cards. Dubai Municipality regulates food safety in the emirate through the Dubai Food Code and its service cards. The points that matter most when you are opening:

These are the rules that most often delay openings: a PIC who is not yet certified, or a layout that the inspector cannot approve because the kitchen flow or washing areas do not meet the code. Our business setup service checks the layout and staffing plan against these rules before you build. For every Municipality approval by food business type, a pre-inspection checklist and the common reasons inspections fail, see our Dubai Municipality food permit guide.

Do you need Civil Defence approval?

A Dubai restaurant needs an annual Dubai Civil Defence certificate of safety, which for DET-licensed businesses requires your Ejari and an annual fire safety maintenance contract, with the application fee listed as nil. Dubai Civil Defence issues the “Certificate of Compliance with Preventive and Safety Conditions for Buildings and Companies”. For businesses licensed by DET, the “Certificate of Safety” is issued annually. The documents listed are your Ejari and an annual maintenance contract for the fire and life safety systems, and the application fee is shown as nil. You apply through Tasheel and the other service centres Civil Defence lists. Fit-out work on the unit may also need Civil Defence approval of the drawings and a completion inspection, depending on the building, so ask the landlord what the building requires before you start.

Cloud kitchens, food trucks and kiosks

Not every food business needs a dining room. This table puts the official minimums and permit fees for each format side by side (Dubai Municipality figures, checked 15 October 2026):

The minimum kitchen areas come from Dubai Municipality’s April 2020 requirements by activity, so confirm the current figure for your unit before you sign. The official rules for smaller formats:

• Cloud kitchens. Dubai Municipality’s layout approval service says each unit in a shared cloud kitchen must be at least 200 sq ft, with shared storage, preparation and washing areas allowed. There is no separate “cloud kitchen” activity in the DET search, so the licence usually carries a food preparation activity such as Banquet kitchen or Ready-made Meals preparation. Confirm the code with DET before you sign the kitchen contract.
• Food trucks. Dubai Municipality’s annual food truck permit is AED 200, plus a AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation fee, issued within 1 working day. You still need a trade licence and a base kitchen that meets the Food Code.
• Kiosks and event stalls. A food kiosk permit is AED 200 per kiosk and a temporary event permit AED 160, each plus AED 20. Event permits must be filed 3 working days before the event. Dubai Municipality requires an inspection grade of A, B or C to be eligible.
• Home kitchens. DET’s Intelaq licence (AED 1,070 a year) is only for businesses 100% owned and managed by UAE or GCC nationals. When food activities were added in 2020, Dubai’s announcement required a designated kitchen outside the home with its own outside entrance. Expatriate residents need a normal licence and an approved kitchen. Our home business licence guide has the details.

How much does it cost to open a restaurant in Dubai?

The cost to open a restaurant in Dubai has no single official price, because the largest costs are the unit, the fit-out and the equipment; the published government items start with the AED 620 trade name and a no-fee kitchen layout approval. These are the government items that are published:

Figures checked on official pages on 11 October 2026 and re-checked on 15 October 2026. On top of these, budget for the lease and Ejari, fit-out to the approved layout, kitchen equipment, the annual fire safety maintenance contract, PIC and food handler training, staff visas, medical tests and health insurance. Your shop sign is a DET commercial permit, not a Dubai Municipality one, and must follow the RTA billboard manual that DET links to.

Two figures circulate online that the authorities do not charge in the form quoted: fees of AED 1,500 or more for kitchen layout approval (Dubai Municipality now lists it at no cost), and food truck permits at AED 160 (the current annual permit is AED 200 plus AED 20).

How do VAT and corporate tax apply to a restaurant?

A Dubai restaurant must register for VAT once taxable sales pass AED 375,000 in 12 months, and must register for corporate tax, charged at 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above, according to the Federal Tax Authority.

• VAT: registration is mandatory once taxable supplies pass AED 375,000 over the past 12 months, or are expected to in the next 30 days. You may register voluntarily from AED 187,500. Most restaurants pass the mandatory threshold quickly, so track sales monthly from the first day.
• Corporate tax: 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above that. Every company must register. See our corporate tax registration guide.
• Municipality fee on bills: Dubai charges a municipality fee on the sales of hotel establishments; Decree No. 27 of 2019 cut it from 10% to 7%. Whether it applies to your outlet depends on how it is classified, so confirm this with DET when you apply and price your menu accordingly.

Can you open a Dubai restaurant while living abroad?

You can open a Dubai restaurant while living abroad, because the trade name, initial approval, licence application and layout approval are all online, but someone must be on the ground for the unit, the fit-out and the inspections. Investors in the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand often licence the company and secure the unit first, then fly in for fit-out and launch. What can be done remotely, and what cannot:

• Remote: the trade name, initial approval and the licence application are online, and the layout approval is submitted through the Dubai Municipality website. Your drawings can be prepared by a local fit-out contractor.
• Needs someone on the ground: viewing and measuring the unit, fit-out supervision, inspections and the opening itself. Plan who will represent you, and whether they need a power of attorney notarised and legalised for UAE use.
• Needs you in person: your own residence visa medical and Emirates ID biometrics, and usually the bank account meeting.
• Time zones: the UAE is UTC+4 with no daylight saving, and government offices work Monday to Friday. Build that into deadlines when an inspector or landlord asks for a document.

Our business setup service runs the DET, Dubai Municipality and visa steps for founders who are not yet in the UAE, and our route map to starting a business in the UAE compares this with free zone options.

Should a restaurant set up on the mainland or in a free zone?

A restaurant that serves the public on the street, in a mall or in a residential community is normally licensed on the mainland by DET, because that is where its customers are. Some free zones have their own food outlets licensed by the zone, which suits you only if your customers are inside that zone. Before signing a free zone package for a food concept, ask the zone in writing whether the activity allows serving the public outside the zone and which authority inspects the kitchen. Dubai Municipality’s layout approval service accepts free zone applicants too, and asks them to attach their trade licence. To compare zones for a non-food company, see our Dubai free zones list.

Common mistakes when opening a restaurant in Dubai

• Signing a lease before checking that the building allows food use and the kitchen meets the minimum area for the activity.
• Starting fit-out before Dubai Municipality approves the layout, then rebuilding the kitchen.
• Changing the kitchen during fit-out without a new approval. Dubai Municipality requires one for any change to space, preparation areas, equipment placement or process flow.
• Choosing “Coffee Shop” when the menu needs cooking, or “Restaurant” when the concept includes shisha, which these activities exclude.
• Opening without a certified Person in Charge on every shift.
• Forgetting the annual Civil Defence certificate and the maintenance contract it depends on.
• Putting up a sign without the DET commercial permit.
• Registering for VAT late after a strong first quarter.

Questions people ask