Initial Approval Dubai 2026: The DET Initial Approval Certificate Explained, from Documents, Fee and Security Checks to Validity and Rejections

An initial approval in Dubai is the approval the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) issues before a mainland trade licence, fixing the business activities, the legal form and the licence parties, and confirming that the government has no objection to the business being set up. It costs AED 120 on DET’s service card, takes about 10 minutes on Invest in Dubai when the file is clean, and lets you move on to the lease, the memorandum of association and any outside approvals. It is not permission to trade: that comes only with the licence. The document DET issues is usually called the initial approval certificate, and landlords, notaries and regulators will ask to see it.

This guide covers the DET initial approval certificate in depth: what DET checks, the documents each type of owner needs, the step-by-step application, the GDRFA and security approvals that sit behind it, which regulators must approve your activity before or after it, the fee and the law behind it, initial approval validity, and why applications are held or rejected and how to fix them. It is one step in our mainland company formation guide, which shows the full route from activity to licence, visas, bank and tax. If you would rather hand the whole file over, our company formation support team runs it for you.

Initial approval Dubai at a glance

The table answers the questions founders ask most, with the official source for each answer. Where the official sources are silent, we say so rather than guess.

DET initial approval: how MIRDXB PRO helps

The application itself is short. What goes wrong is what is typed into it: an activity that pulls in a regulator nobody planned for, a legal form that does not suit the activity, an owner whose details do not match their passport, or an ownership split that an activity does not allow. Each of those costs an amendment, a rejection or a lease signed in the wrong name. We check the file before it is submitted, then apply, and carry the approval through to the licence. We are an Amer and Tasheel partner in Al Barsha 1, Dubai.

What we do

• Match your business to DET activity codes and flag any that need a regulator’s approval, carry ownership conditions or need particular premises.
• Choose the legal form with you (LLC, single-owner LLC, sole establishment, civil company or branch) so it fits the activity and the owners.
• Prepare the owner and beneficial owner details exactly as the passports, Emirates IDs or corporate documents show them, including shareholdings.
• Submit and pay the DET initial approval on Invest in Dubai and follow any GDRFA or security check to a result.
• Diarise the initial approval validity against the trade name certificate, the lease, the memorandum and any regulator’s clock, so nothing lapses.
• Handle holds and rejections: we find out what is missing, amend the file or prepare a written grievance within the 30 days the law allows.

How it works

1. Message us on WhatsApp with the activity, the owners (people or companies, nationalities, in or outside the UAE) and where you plan to operate.
2. We reply in writing with the activity codes we suggest, the legal form, any approvals before or after the initial approval, the documents each owner must send, the government fees and our fee.
3. You approve and send the documents; we submit the initial approval and send you the approval once DET issues it.
4. We continue if you want: trade name, Ejari, memorandum attestation, external approvals, licence, Dubai Chambers, establishment cards and first visas.

What it costs

The initial approval fee is AED 120 on DET’s card, and we pass it on at cost on DET’s receipt, with any other government fee. Our own fee depends on whether we handle only the initial approval or the whole licence, the number of owners, and whether a regulator’s approval is involved, and it is always quoted in writing before we start. See how we price on our fees page, and every government line for a new mainland company in our mainland business setup cost guide.

Why founders use us for this step

• We publish our sources. Every rule and fee here links to DET, u.ae, the Ministry, a regulator or the Dubai Legislation Portal, and we say where they are silent.
• We look beyond the approval. We plan the initial approval with the lease, memorandum, regulator and visa steps in view, because that is where most delays start.
• We tell you when you do not need us. If your activity is simple and you are comfortable on Invest in Dubai, you can apply yourself for AED 120; we will say so.
• We are easy to reach. Al Barsha 1 office, Monday to Thursday and Saturday 09:00 to 18:00, Friday 09:00 to 12:00. Owners abroad can act through a properly attested power of attorney where the step allows.

What a DET initial approval does, and what it does not do

DET’s service card calls the initial approval “a service prior to obtaining the trade license”. It sits between choosing your activity and form and the licence itself, and its job is to settle three things before anyone spends money on premises or legal documents: which activities, which legal form, and who the licence parties are.

What the initial approval lets you do

• Sign a lease for the business. DET’s card says the approval helps you obtain a commercial lease, and Invest in Dubai’s licence service asks for “a site lease contract” for a normal licence. Landlords usually want to see the initial approval certificate before drafting a lease in a company’s name.
• Apply to regulators. DET’s card names health, transport and telecommunications bodies as examples of authorities you approach with the approval. KHDA, for instance, requires “Initial Approval and a Trade Name Reservation certificate from the relevant licensing authority” before it will consider a training institute.
• Prepare the memorandum of association or the local service agent agreement on the basis of the activities, form and partners the approval shows.
• Move to the licence application. DET’s card lists “Reserve trade name” and “Request to Issue Trade License” as the next services.

What it does not let you do

• Trade. Dubai Law No. 13 of 2011 (Art. 6) says economic activity may be carried on “only through a Business licensed by the DED”. Resolution 13/2011, Schedule 2, item 1 sets an AED 5,000 fine for conducting an economic activity without a licence.
• Sponsor visas or open employer files. The GDRFA establishment card and MOHRE labour file need the licence. See our establishment card guide.
• Open a corporate bank account. Banks open accounts for licensed entities; see our corporate bank account guide.
• Guarantee the licence. Regulators still decide on their own approvals, and the licence voucher must be paid within 30 days or “the application will be cancelled” (u.ae).

Who needs an initial approval in Dubai

Every new DET licence starts with one. DET’s card sets out the Invest in Dubai path, and step 5 of that path asks you to choose the licence type: “normal, instant, or DED trader”. So the same initial approval flow sits in front of the standard licence, the Instant Licence and the e-Trader licence, even when the whole thing is finished in one sitting.

Initial approval requirements: documents and information

DET’s card lists only two documents: a “Unified number or ID number”, and for a branch “the parent company’s board resolution to open a branch in Dubai, appoint the manager and list the company’s activities”. In practice the approval asks for information rather than paper, and the information must be right because it flows into the licence, the memorandum and the beneficial owner register.

Information DET asks for on Invest in Dubai

• Main and secondary business activities, chosen from DET’s activity list.
• Licence parties and their nationalities: owners, partners, any local service agent, and the manager.
• Legal form and licence type (normal, instant or trader).
• Partner details, “including identification and ownership shares”.
• Ultimate beneficial owners. DET’s card includes a step to add them, which ties the initial approval to the beneficial owner rules in Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023; see our UBO register guide.

Initial approval requirements by type of owner

How to apply for a DET initial approval, step by step

DET offers two channels: the Invest in Dubai platform, and its authorised service centres, where you “send requirements via center email”, pay and receive the approval. The online path on DET’s card has eleven steps. Here they are in order, with what to decide before you reach each one.

1. Log in to Invest in Dubai. Use the account of the person applying; a representative can apply for you.
2. Select the main business activity. This is the decision that drives everything else: regulator, ownership, premises and some fees. Add secondary activities only if you will really invoice for them. Our Dubai mainland licence types guide explains activity codes and combinations.
3. Add the licence parties and their nationalities. Nationality matters because foreign investors trigger the GDRFA approval and because some activities restrict foreign ownership.
4. Select the legal form. The form must suit the activity: a professional sole establishment, a trading LLC, a civil company of professionals. Our types of companies in Dubai guide compares them.
5. Choose the licence type: normal, instant or trader. The Instant Licence only works for activities with no external approval beyond DET.
6. Add the licence details. The name, if already reserved, and other details the form asks for.
7. Add the partner details, “including identification and ownership shares”. Shares here should match what the memorandum will say.
8. Add the ultimate beneficial owners. These are the natural persons who ultimately own or control the company, even through a corporate shareholder.
9. Confirm the details. Read every name letter by letter against the passport. A spelling difference here follows you into the licence.
10. Pay the AED 120 through the available payment methods.
11. Receive the initial approval certificate. If a GDRFA or regulator check is needed, the application waits for it; otherwise DET’s card gives 10 minutes.

Trade name first, or initial approval first?

Either works. u.ae lists the trade name before the initial approval; DET’s initial approval card lists “Reserve trade name” as a next step; our trade name registration guide explains that DET accepts the reservation before or after. If the name matters to you, for a brand or a bank introduction, reserve it first so the approval and the lease carry it. Keep in mind that the trade name certificate has its own six-month life.

Before you press “pay”: a pre-submission check

Security clearance and the GDRFA approval for foreign investors

This is the part of the DET initial approval that founders understand least, partly because the official sources say very little. What they do say is clear. u.ae (updated 16 July 2026): “Foreign investors must obtain the approval of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners’ Affairs before getting the initial approval.” The Ministry of Economy and Tourism’s page “Establishing business in the UAE” (updated 24 September 2026) uses the same wording.

What official sources say, and where they are silent

What this means in practice

For most foreign-owned applications the GDRFA step is invisible: it runs behind the application and the approval issues without the applicant doing anything separate. When it is not invisible, the application shows as pending or returned, and DET’s system does not always say why. From the cases we handle, the usual causes are an identity record that does not match (a different passport number, a name spelled differently, an old unified number not linked), an owner or manager with an open immigration matter, or an activity that sends the file to another security body.

What we do not do is suggest replacing a named owner or manager with someone else to “get past” the check. The licence parties must be the real owners and managers, and the beneficial owner rules require the real people behind the company to be declared. If a check fails, the lawful routes are to correct the record, provide what is asked for, or use the grievance procedure.

Security pre-approvals by activity

Separate from the GDRFA investor check, some activities are regulated by security bodies, and their own approval process expects you to hold a DET initial approval or licence. Dubai’s Security Industry Regulatory Agency (SIRA) is a good example: its implementing bylaw (Resolution No. 1 of 2018, on the Dubai Legislation Portal) asks applicants for SIRA’s own initial approval to submit “the applicant’s commercial licence, or an initial approval issued by the Licensing Authority”, and a full SIRA licence then requires the commercial licence. Security guarding, CCTV and alarm installation and similar activities therefore run two approval tracks side by side.

External approvals by activity: before or after the initial approval (Dubai)

Invest in Dubai says that sectors “including food and beverages, healthcare, aviation, education, communication, transportation and insurance” need additional no-objection certificates, and that some activities need approval from a named regulator. The full activity-by-regulator table is in our Dubai mainland licence types guide. For the initial approval, the question is timing: which approvals come before it, which use it, and which do not care.

The practical rule: find your regulator before you apply for the initial approval, read its service page for what it needs from you, and count its time and its conditions (premises, qualified staff, equipment) into the life of your approval. A regulator that needs a fitted-out site inspected will take longer than an initial approval that lasts only a few months.

Initial approval fee: Resolution 13/2011 and the AED 120 on DET’s card

The initial approval fee is one of the few DET charges you can trace from the law to the payment screen without a gap. Dubai Executive Council Resolution No. 13 of 2011, which approves DET’s fees and fines, lists in Schedule 1, item 4: “Initial approval for issuing a licence”, AED 100. DET’s service card shows the same AED 100 for “issuing or amending” the approval, adds the two innovation and knowledge fees and states: “The total cost of issuing the initial approval is AED 120”.

The initial approval fee is small next to the rest of the licence. For scale, the same schedule lists AED 200 to reserve an ordinary trade name (more for special names), AED 600 to issue a licence, AED 700 for appointing a service agent and AED 500 per variation of licence details, and then there are rent, the market fee, notary and Chamber costs. Every line, with worked totals for typical companies, is in our mainland business setup cost guide, and the wider list of federal and Dubai fees is in our UAE government fees 2026 guide.

A regulator’s fee is separate and usually larger. KHDA, for example, charges AED 15,000 to AED 25,000 for an educational services permit depending on the number of activities, and Dubai Land Department’s real estate activity licences run from AED 5,000 to AED 100,000 a year by activity. These are not part of the DET initial approval fee.

Initial approval validity, extension and renewal

This is where official information is thinnest, so it is worth being precise about what is and is not published. DET’s service card for the initial approval gives the purpose, documents, fee, time and steps; it does not state a validity period. Neither does u.ae nor the Ministry of Economy and Tourism. We did not find one in Law 13/2011 or Resolution 13/2011.

How to handle initial approval validity in practice

• Read the date on your own initial approval certificate. The approval record on Invest in Dubai is what counts, not a figure on a website, including this one.
• Plan backwards from it. Lease and Ejari, memorandum attestation and any regulator should all fit inside it, with a margin. The regulator is usually the longest part.
• Keep the trade name alive too. The name certificate runs on its own six-month clock; if it expires first, you will be re-reserving the name while the approval is still valid.
• If it is about to lapse, ask DET (through the platform or a service centre) whether it can be extended for your file. We have not found an official extension service; the card mentions only issuing and amending.
• If it has lapsed, apply again. It costs another AED 120 and, if nothing has changed, usually goes through as quickly as the first time. Any lease or memorandum already prepared must still match.

“Renewal” of an initial approval is really a new application. Renewal proper applies to the licence once issued, which our trade licence renewal guide covers, along with the fines for late renewal in our expired trade licence guide.

Why an initial approval is rejected, and how to fix it

DET does not publish a list of refusal reasons, but its card shows what it decides at this stage (activities, legal form, parties), and the other official pages show what else must be satisfied. Almost every hold or rejection we see falls into one of the rows below.

The grievance route under Law 13/2011

If DET refuses and you believe the decision is wrong, Article 33 of Dubai Law No. 13 of 2011 lets “any affected party” submit “a written grievance to the Director General against any decision or measure taken against him within thirty (30) days from the date on which he becomes aware” of it. Article 34 sets up a committee that must decide “within a period not exceeding thirty (30) days from the date of its referral”, and its decision is final.

A grievance works best when it is short, factual and shows why the decision is wrong on the rules: the activity is in fact open to foreign ownership, the regulator has now approved, the identity mismatch has been corrected. Where the refusal came from another authority’s check, fixing the underlying record usually gets further than arguing with DET.

Initial approval, Dubai: changing things after it is issued

DET’s card prices “issuing or amending” the approval at the same AED 100 (AED 120 with the two Dirham fees), so changes before the licence are possible and not expensive. What makes them costly is what has already been built on the approval.

• Adding or removing an activity: amend the approval; check whether the new activity brings a regulator, an ownership condition or a premises requirement.
• Changing partners or shares: amend before the memorandum is attested; after attestation, the memorandum must be redone.
• Changing the legal form: often cleaner to apply afresh, because the form drives the memorandum, the name suffix and the licence parties.
• Changing the trade name: reserve the new name and update the approval; landlords and regulators will need the new name.
• After the licence is issued, every change is a licence amendment at DET’s variation fee, with knock-on updates at Dubai Chambers, GDRFA, MOHRE and the bank; see our trade licence amendment guide.

What circulates online that is not true

How to verify every figure in this guide

Initial approval in Dubai: worked cases

These cases are built from the situations we see most often. Names and identifying details are left out, and the figures are the published ones.

Case 1: two foreign partners, a consultancy LLC, clean file

Two partners, one resident in Dubai and one abroad with a unified number from an earlier visit, want a management consultancy LLC. The activity needs no outside approval and is open to foreign ownership. We checked names against passports, set the shares at 60/40 to match the draft memorandum, declared both as beneficial owners and applied. The DET initial approval issued the same day for AED 120. The partners then signed a business centre lease in the company’s name, attested the memorandum and paid the licence voucher within the 30 days u.ae allows.

Lesson: the approval is quick when the data is right. Most of the time goes on premises and the memorandum, not DET.

Case 2: a training institute racing the KHDA clock

A founder planned a training centre and applied for the initial approval before finding premises. KHDA gives “a maximum of six (6) months from the date of the Initial Approval” to complete its permit and licence, and needs a suitable site. With three activities the KHDA permit fee was AED 18,000 on KHDA’s table. Premises took four months to secure and fit out, leaving little margin for KHDA’s review.

Lesson: for regulated activities, find the premises and read the regulator’s conditions first; the initial approval starts a clock you cannot pause.

Case 3: an application held on the security side

A foreign investor’s application stayed pending for longer than expected with no comment. The owner’s latest passport was not the one linked to his old unified number, so the records did not match. Once the identity record was corrected, the application moved. Had the check produced a refusal, the next step would have been to ask DET for the reason and consider a written grievance within the 30 days in Article 33 of Law 13/2011.

Lesson: many “security” holds are data problems. We never suggest swapping in another person to get around a check.

Case 4: two activities that did not belong together

A founder wanted a restaurant and general trading under one sole establishment. DET returned the application: the activities and the form did not fit together, and the restaurant also needed Dubai Municipality. The fix was a trading LLC first, with the restaurant planned later as a separate licence at the right premises. The amended approval cost another AED 120; no lease had been signed yet, so nothing else had to be redone.

Lesson: choose activities and form together, and before you sign anything.

Case 5: a foreign parent opening a Dubai branch

A company abroad wanted a mainland branch. DET’s card asks for the parent’s board resolution to open the branch, appoint the manager and list the activities, and foreign branches also need registration with the Ministry of Economy and Tourism. The resolution, the parent’s registration certificate and its articles had to be legalised in the home country and at the UAE embassy, attested again by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and translated into Arabic. We sequenced the legalisation before the approval so that the approval’s life was not spent waiting for documents from abroad.

Lesson: for corporate owners, prepare the paperwork first and apply second.

Case 6: an approval that lapsed while waiting for a warehouse

A trading start-up needed a warehouse, and the lease took longer than expected. By the time Ejari was ready the approval had lapsed. The founder applied again (another AED 120), and the trade name certificate, which runs on its own six-month clock, had also expired and had to be re-reserved. The second application went through the same day.

Lesson: diarise both clocks, and do not choose a slow premises route without allowing for it.

What we will and will not do

We will check your activities, legal form, owners and beneficial owners before you apply; submit the DET initial approval and follow any GDRFA or regulator check; diarise the initial approval validity with the trade name, lease, memorandum and regulator clocks; amend or re-apply when needed; prepare a written grievance where a decision looks wrong; and carry the file through to the licence and the first visas if you want. We will tell you when you can simply apply yourself.

We will not promise that DET, GDRFA or a regulator will approve, put forward a nominee owner or manager to get around a check, suggest trading before the licence, or quote a government figure we cannot source. Legal disputes and complex shareholder agreements belong with a UAE lawyer; we will say so and coordinate with yours.

Related guides

• Mainland company formation: the complete step-by-step guide
• Dubai mainland licence types and external approvals by activity
• Trade name registration in Dubai
• 100% foreign ownership in Dubai
• Types of companies in Dubai mainland
• Memorandum of association in Dubai
• Office space for a trade licence in Dubai
• Mainland business setup cost in Dubai, line by line
• Free zone vs mainland Dubai
• Why companies need PRO services

Handling the approval, and the licence, establishment cards, quota and visas that follow it, is what our PRO services in Dubai team handles every day.