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Mainland Business Setup

Mainland Business Setup Cost Dubai 2026: Every Government Fee, Its Source and Five Worked Company Totals

Mainland business setup cost Dubai 2026: every DET, Ejari, Chamber, notary and visa fee with its source, plus five worked totals. Get a written quote.

Mir Ali
Mir Ali Founder & Licensed PRO Consultant, MIRDXB PRO
Updated 27 Sep 2026 44 min read
Mainland Business Setup Cost Dubai 2026: Every Government Fee, Its Source and Five Worked Company Totals (illustrative photo)

Key takeaways

  • Mainland business setup cost (Dubai), in one line: the government part is a stack of small fixed fees from the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), plus four lines that grow with your plans: activity fees, the market fee on your rent, the Dubai Chamber category and the visas you need. The rent itself is usually the largest single cost, and it is set by your landlord, not by any authority.
  • DET licence fees for a new company are small. Executive Council Resolution No. 13 of 2011, the published DET fee schedule, lists AED 100 for initial approval, AED 200 to reserve a trade name, AED 600 to issue a licence and AED 200 for commercial registration. With the lines DET has previously published for the voucher, a plain licence starts at about AED 1,520.
  • A few activities add an activity fee. The same resolution charges AED 15,000 to issue a general trading or investment licence and AED 10,000 for contracting. A foreign-language trade name adds AED 2,000. Appointing a local service agent adds AED 700 to DET, before the agent’s own fee.
  • The market fee follows your lease. Dubai Municipality’s market fee is 2.5% of the registered annual rent, so AED 60,000 of rent means AED 1,500. Registering the lease on Ejari costs AED 177.75 online.
  • Hiring is priced per person. Before the first visa a company needs an immigration establishment card (AED 280 at GDRFA) and a MOHRE file (AED 406 Ta’qeem fee). Each overseas hire then costs about AED 2,894 in published government lines for a category 2 company.
  • Our worked totals, rebuilt from published lines in five company profiles, run from about AED 4,200 for a one-person consultancy without staff to about AED 50,000 to 55,000 for a contracting company hiring ten people, before rent, health insurance and service fees.
  • Some costs have no official price. Office rent, a local service agent’s annual fee, bank charges, accounting and audit are set by the market or by contract. We name them, but we do not invent numbers for them.
Planning a Dubai mainland company and want the government cost worked out for your activity, your office and your hiring plan? Tell us what you want to do and we will list every official line with its source before you commit to anything.

Cost my set-up on WhatsApp

The mainland business setup cost (Dubai) is the total of the government fees you pay to license and register a company with the Department of Economy and Tourism, register its premises and Chamber membership, notarise its founding documents and open its immigration and labour files, plus the visas for the people it employs. The fixed DET licence fees for a plain licence come to roughly AED 1,500. What moves the total is your choice of activity (general trading and contracting carry large activity fees), your rent (the market fee is 2.5% of it), your trade name, whether you need a local service agent, and how many people you sponsor. Office rent, bank charges and professional fees sit on top and are priced by the market, not published by the government.

This guide is for founders, investors and SME owners who want a Dubai mainland company setup cost they can defend in a business plan. It lists every cost line in the order you meet it, gives the published amount and the source for each, shows where official sources disagree, and then adds the lines up for five typical companies. Each total was calculated line by line, and every assumption is stated next to it.

We checked the figures on 25 September 2026 against the Dubai Legislation Portal (the DET licence fee schedule, the 2021 fee reduction resolution and the notary fee resolution), the UAE Government portal, Dubai Chambers, the Dubai Land Department, and the GDRFA and MOHRE service cards our other fee guides rely on. DET’s own service pages on Invest in Dubai returned only a page frame when we tried to read them, so where a figure depends on DET’s live voucher we say so.

Is this the right guide for you?

This page is about money. The step-by-step formation process (activity, legal form, trade name, initial approval, premises, MoA, licence, Chamber, company files, visas, bank, tax) is in our mainland formation guide. If you are still deciding between a free zone and the mainland, start with free zone vs mainland Dubai. If you already hold a licence and want to know what it costs to keep it, read our guide on how to renew a trade licence in Dubai.

Mainland business setup cost (Dubai) at a glance

Every cost line of a Dubai mainland company setup cost, in the order you usually pay it. The amounts are published government figures unless the last column says otherwise. The detail, the conflicts and the arithmetic follow further down.

Cost linePublished amountWho charges itSource and status
Initial approvalAED 100DETExecutive Council Resolution No. 13 of 2011, Schedule 1, item 4
Trade name reservationAED 200; AED 1,000 or 2,000 more for special namesDETSame schedule, items 5 to 8
Licence issuanceAED 600 a yearDETSame schedule, item 1
Commercial register entryAED 200DETSame schedule, item 12
Voucher lines DET has previously publishedTrade name advertisement AED 350, service request AED 50, Knowledge and Innovation Dirhams AED 10 eachDETDubai Economy’s previously published schedule; not visible on a live DET page on 25 Sep 2026
Activity fee, where the activity carries oneGeneral trading or investment AED 15,000; contracting AED 10,000; business centre AED 10,000DETResolution 13/2011, items 21, 23, 25; Resolution 19/2021 for business centres
Local service agent appointmentAED 700 to DET, plus the agent’s own feeDET; the agentResolution 13/2011, item 9; agent’s fee is private and unpublished
Notarising the MoA or agent agreementAED 200 or 300 per party, or 0.5% of value up to AED 15,000; plus AED 100 per signature for data entryNotary publicExecutive Council Resolution No. 4 of 2014, Schedule 1
Office or premises rentSet by the leaseLandlordNo official price; usually the largest line
Ejari registrationAED 177.75 online; about AED 220 at a trustee centreDubai Land DepartmentDLD Register / Renew Tenancy Contract
Market fee2.5% of registered annual rentDubai Municipality, collected by DETDubai Media Office, July 2020; your voucher governs
Outside approvalsSet by the approving authorityDHA, KHDA, Dubai Municipality, RTA, Dubai Police and othersThat authority’s service card
Dubai Chamber membershipAED 300 to 2,200 a year by categoryDubai ChambersDubai Chambers, New Membership service
Immigration establishment cardAED 280 digital; AED 380 urgentGDRFA DubaiGDRFA establishment card service card
MOHRE establishment fileFree online, AED 406 Ta’qeem feeMOHREMOHRE Issuance of Establishment Card
Employee visasAbout AED 1,944 / 2,894 / 5,144 per overseas hire (MOHRE category 1 / 2 / 3)MOHRE, GDRFA, ICP, DHAOur employment visa cost guide
Corporate tax and VAT registrationNo registration fee; AED 10,000 penalty for late corporate tax registrationFederal Tax AuthorityFTA Decision No. 3 of 2024; Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023
Bank account, accounting, auditSet by the bank or firmPrivate providersNo official price
Mainland business setup cost Dubai: worked government totals for five company profiles, split into DET licence lines, premises lines, Chamber and notary, company files and employee visas
Five worked Dubai mainland company setup cost totals, government lines only, split by type of cost. Rent, health insurance, the local service agent’s own fee, bank and professional fees are excluded. Built from Resolution 13/2011, Resolution 19/2021, Resolution 4/2014, Dubai Chambers, DLD, GDRFA and MOHRE; your DET voucher is final.

Mainland business setup cost (Dubai): how MIRDXB PRO helps

Most founders do not overspend on DET licence fees or other government fees. They overspend on decisions: an activity added “just in case” that carries a five-figure activity fee, a trade name that costs AED 2,000 more than it needed to, an office too small for the visas they plan, or a hire started before the company files exist. We are an Amer and Tasheel partner in Al Barsha 1, Dubai, and we price the whole set-up line by line before anything is paid, then handle the government side of it. When you want the full formation handled, that is our company formation support.

What we do

  • Cost the plan before you commit. We take your activity, legal form, trade name idea, office options and hiring plan, and list every government line with its source.
  • Challenge the expensive choices. We show which activities carry an activity fee, what a foreign-language name adds, and what your rent does to the market fee.
  • Handle the government steps. Initial approval, trade name, the Ejari link, the licence voucher, the Chamber, the GDRFA establishment card and the MOHRE file, in the right order.
  • Price the first hires. We cost each visa on the published lines for your MOHRE category, so the first hire is budgeted before the offer letter goes out.
  • Keep the receipts honest. Every government fee is on its official receipt, separate from any centre charge and from our own fee.

How it works

  1. Message us on WhatsApp with the activity you have in mind, the owners (people or companies, and their nationalities), and whether you already have premises.
  2. We send a line-by-line estimate of the government cost, with the source of each line and the items that have no official price named as such.
  3. You get a written quote for our work, separate from the government fees.
  4. We prepare and lodge each step, with the owners signing where the law requires them to.
  5. You receive the licence and the company files, every official receipt, and a calendar of the first renewal dates.

What it costs

Government fees are passed on at cost and shown on the official receipts: DET’s voucher, the DLD Ejari charge, the notary’s fee, Dubai Chambers, GDRFA and MOHRE. Our own fee is quoted in writing before we start and depends on the work involved; a one-person professional licence is simpler than a general trading company with a corporate shareholder and ten hires. Our fees page explains how we price. We never fold our fee into a “government fee” line.

Why founders use us

  • We publish the source for every figure in this guide, and where an official page would not open, we say so instead of filling the gap.
  • We handle the licence and the files that depend on it (the GDRFA establishment card, the MOHRE file and the visas), so the set-up does not stall between departments.
  • We tell you when you do not need us, for example when a simple licence with no staff can be completed online by the owner.
  • Our office is in Al Barsha 1, Dubai, open Monday to Thursday and Saturday 09:00 to 18:00, Friday 09:00 to 12:00. Owners abroad can authorise us through a power of attorney where a step needs a representative.
Want a written Dubai LLC setup cost for your own plan, with every government line sourced and our fee shown separately? Send us the activity and the number of people you plan to hire.

Get a written quote

Where the DET licence fees come from

A Dubai mainland licence is issued by the Department of Economy and Tourism, which took over the licensing role of the former Department of Economic Development (DED). The legal basis for its fees is Executive Council Resolution No. 13 of 2011 Approving Fees and Fines of the Department of Economic Development, published on the Dubai Legislation Portal. Article 2 approves “the fees for services rendered by the DED which are listed in Schedule (1)”, and Schedule 1 lists 89 fee items. Schedule 2 is the fines table that our guide to an expired trade licence in Dubai covers.

Two later documents matter for a set-up budget. Executive Council Resolution No. 19 of 2021, in force from 12 July 2021, cut several DED fees, including the business centre licence from AED 25,000 to AED 10,000. And Dubai Economy has, at different times, published a short list of lines that appear on the licence voucher (a register fee, a trade name advertisement, a service request and the Knowledge and Innovation Dirhams). Our sibling fee guides use that list, and we keep using it here so the figures agree across the site.

What we could and could not open

On 25 September 2026 the Invest in Dubai service pages for initial approval, trade name booking and licence issue showed only a page frame, and the DET licensing page showed only its navigation. The fee schedule itself opened on the Dubai Legislation Portal. So the DET licence fees below come from the resolution text, the 2021 reduction resolution and the previously published voucher list, labelled line by line. The voucher DET issues for your application is final.

DET licence fees for a new mainland company, line by line

DET licence fee lineAmountWhen it appliesSource
Initial approval for licence issuanceAED 100Every new licenceRes. 13/2011, Sch. 1, item 4
Reservation of a trade nameAED 200Every new licenceItem 5
Trade name indicating a neighbourhood, a trademark or an Arabised nameAED 1,000Only for such namesItem 6
Foreign or numeric trade nameAED 2,000Only for such namesItem 7
Trade name featuring “Dubai”, “Emirates”, “Gulf” or acronymsAED 2,000Only for such namesItem 8
Issuance or renewal of a licenceAED 600Every licence, each yearItem 1
Registration in the commercial registerAED 200Companies and registered tradersItem 12
Registration in the central register of economic activitiesAED 200Where DET charges itItem 10
Appointing a service agent for a licenceAED 700Licences that need a local service agentItem 9
Service application formAED 50Per transactionItem 44; also on the previously published voucher list
Trade name advertisementAED 350Every licencePreviously published voucher list (see the conflict note below)
Knowledge Dirham and Innovation DirhamAED 10 eachDubai government transactionsPreviously published voucher list; not in the 2011 schedule
General trading activity, issue / renewalAED 15,000 / 3,000Only if the licence carries itItems 23 and 24
Investment activity, issue / renewalAED 15,000 / 3,000Only if the licence carries itItems 25 and 26
Contracting activity, issue / renewalAED 10,000 / 3,000Only if the licence carries itItems 21 and 22
Business centre licence, issue or renewalAED 10,000 (reduced from 25,000)Business centre operators onlyRes. 19/2021, Sch. 1
Home-based activity licence (Intilaq), issue or renewalAED 1,000Home-based licencesItem 27
Additional activity permitAED 1,000 per activityWhere DET treats an activity as a permitItem 82
Urgent processingAED 500OptionalItem 35
Licence translationAED 250OptionalItem 33

The lines every new licence meets (initial approval, trade name, licence issue, commercial register, trade name advertisement, service request and the two Dirhams) add up to AED 1,520. That is the floor of the mainland trade licence cost for a plain company with an ordinary Arabic and English name and no activity fee. It is our arithmetic on the published lines, not a DET quotation, and it is the figure we use in the worked totals.

Four places where the published figures disagree

We say where sources conflict rather than pick the convenient number. Four conflicts affect a set-up budget.

PointOne source saysAnother saysWhat we budget on
General trading, investment and contracting activity feesOur earlier fee guides, from Dubai Economy’s published list: AED 3,000Resolution 13/2011: AED 3,000 is the renewal fee; issue is AED 15,000 (general trading, investment) or AED 10,000 (contracting)The issue fee for a new licence and AED 3,000 from the first renewal. We could not find an amending resolution on the Dubai Legislation Portal that lowered the issue fee
Business centre activity feeOur earlier fee guides: AED 5,000Resolution 19/2021: reduced from AED 25,000 to AED 10,000 for issue and renewalAED 10,000, the figure in the resolution
Trade name advertisement and announcementsPreviously published voucher list: AED 350 for trade name advertisementResolution 13/2011 lists AED 500 per newspaper announcement (item 3) and AED 350 for a facade name board permit (item 60)AED 350 as on the voucher list; add AED 500 only if DET asks for a published announcement
Foreign trade namePreviously published list: AED 1,000 to 3,000Resolution 13/2011: AED 1,000 (Arabised or trademark), AED 2,000 (foreign or numeric, or with “Dubai”, “Emirates”, “Gulf”)AED 2,000 for a foreign-language name
Why the voucher can still differ

The 2011 schedule is the latest complete DET fee table we could read. Dubai has since added levies (the Knowledge and Innovation Dirhams), approved time-limited incentives and, in some cases, packaged fees differently on its platforms. Treat every DET line in this guide as a checklist for reading your voucher. If a line on your voucher is not in these tables, ask DET what it is before you pay; if a line here is missing from your voucher, do not add it back.

Initial approval: the first DET licence fee (AED 100)

Initial approval is DET’s confirmation that the government has no objection to the owners, the activity and the legal form. u.ae describes it as the step that “confirms the government has no objection” and notes that foreign investors are checked with the immigration authority. The fee in the schedule is AED 100. The cost that matters at this stage is not the fee but the choices it locks in: the activities and the legal form. What the approval covers, its validity and the reasons it is refused are in our guide to initial approval in Dubai.

Trade name: AED 200, or up to AED 2,200

Reserving an ordinary trade name costs AED 200 (item 5). The name must include the legal form and follow DET’s naming rules. The cost rises when the name is special: AED 1,000 more for a name that refers to a neighbourhood, a trademark or an Arabised word, and AED 2,000 for a foreign or numeric name, or one using “Dubai”, “Emirates”, “Gulf” or acronyms. These are one of the easiest savings in the whole Dubai mainland company setup cost, because the surcharge is paid at issue and, where it is treated as a licence line, again on renewal. The rules on what is allowed, how long a reservation lasts and how trademarks differ are in our guide to trade name registration in Dubai.

Licence issuance and registration: DET licence fees of AED 600 plus AED 200

The licence itself is AED 600 for each year (item 1), and registration in the commercial register is AED 200 (item 12). Dubai Law No. 13 of 2011, Article 8(a), makes a licence valid for one year, renewable, and allows a longer term of up to four years at the business’s request with DET’s approval. A longer term normally means paying the yearly lines for each year up front. u.ae adds a practical rule: “You have to pay for your trade licence within 30 days of receiving the payment voucher”, or the application is cancelled.

Activity fees: the line that decides most budgets

Most activities carry no separate activity fee in the published schedule. A handful do, and they dominate the mainland trade licence cost when they apply: general trading and investment (AED 15,000 to issue, AED 3,000 a year to renew), contracting (AED 10,000 to issue, AED 3,000 to renew) and business centres (AED 10,000). If you only need to trade in a defined family of goods, a specific trading activity avoids the general trading fee. The difference between the two, and what general trading actually permits, is in our general trading licence guide. The licence categories and how activities are chosen are in Dubai mainland licence types.

Local service agent: AED 700 to DET, plus the agent’s fee

u.ae lists a local service agent agreement as one of the steps for some mainland licences, and Resolution 13/2011 charges AED 700 for “appointing a service agent for a licence” (item 9). The agent’s own annual fee is a private contract between you and the agent. It is not published by any authority, and we do not print a market range for it. Who needs an agent (mainly professional licences held by foreign owners), what the agent can and cannot do, and how to read the agreement are in our local service agent guide.

Dubai’s 2026 incentives and the DET licence fees

Two Dubai incentive packages in 2026 touched licensing fees. The first (approved 30 March 2026) deferred certain fees for three months from 1 April 2026, including premium business name fees, local service fees and several service charges, for new licences and renewals. The second (21 May 2026) exempted named sectors, such as event management and some aviation and marina businesses, from market fees, foreign trade name fees and certain cleaning and accommodation fees. The deferral window has closed, and the exemptions apply only to the listed sectors. Our trade licence renewal guide tracks what applied.

UAE nationals should also check the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development. Dubai Chambers lists a five-year Chamber fee exemption for its members, and Gulf News reported in 2021 that the licence fee exemption for Emirati members had been extended to seven years. Ask the Establishment what applies to your licence before you budget.

Premises: rent, Ejari and the market fee

A mainland licence is tied to a physical address in Dubai. u.ae lists “an office/warehouse rental agreement” among the licence requirements and, for Dubai, Ejari registration of the lease. For most companies this is the largest part of the mainland business setup cost Dubai companies carry, and it has three layers.

1. The rent

The rent is agreed with the landlord or the business centre operator. No authority publishes a price for commercial space, so we do not print a range. Where your property type is covered, the Dubai Land Department’s rental index is the official place to compare rents. Two things to check before signing: that the space is acceptable to DET for your activity (some activities need a shop front, a warehouse or industrial land), and that it supports the number of visas you plan, because MOHRE quota and GDRFA both look at the company’s premises. Our guide to office space for a trade licence in Dubai covers business centres, flexi desks, virtual offices and warehouses, and company visa quota in Dubai covers the link to visas.

2. Ejari: AED 177.75 online

The Dubai Land Department’s service card for registering or renewing a tenancy contract lists AED 100 for registration, AED 10 Knowledge fee, AED 10 Innovation fee and a service partner fee: AED 177.75 in total through the Dubai REST app or website, or about AED 220 at a real estate trustee centre. A business centre usually provides its own Ejari for the desk or office it licenses to you. If the landlord’s side is slow, our Ejari registration service handles it.

3. The market fee: 2.5% of the registered rent

DET collects a Dubai Municipality market fee on the licence voucher, calculated from the annual rent on the registered tenancy. In June 2018 the Dubai Executive Council cut the rate from 5% to 2.5%, as reported at the time, and the Dubai Media Office’s July 2020 stimulus announcement referred to “the 2.5% market fee”. We have not found a later official change, but the rate on your voucher governs.

Registered annual rentMarket fee at 2.5%With Ejari (online)
AED 20,000AED 500AED 677.75
AED 60,000AED 1,500AED 1,677.75
AED 100,000AED 2,500AED 2,677.75
AED 150,000AED 3,750AED 3,927.75
AED 250,000AED 6,250AED 6,427.75

The rents in this table are round numbers chosen to show the arithmetic, not market prices. Because the market fee is recalculated at every renewal, a bigger office raises the Dubai mainland company setup cost twice: once in the rent and again, at 2.5%, on the voucher every year.

The MoA, the agent agreement and the notary

A limited liability company needs a memorandum of association (MoA). u.ae lists signing the MoA, and for some licences a local service agent agreement, as a formation step. In Dubai these documents are signed before a notary public, government or private. Ask whether DET’s platform offers an electronic signing route for your legal form when you apply, as we could not read its service pages. The notary’s fee is published: Executive Council Resolution No. 4 of 2014 sets the fees of both government and private notaries public in Dubai.

Notary fee linePublished feeSource
Attestation of signatures on an instrument worth up to AED 100,000AED 300 per partyRes. 4/2014, Sch. 1, item 1
Attestation of signatures on an instrument worth more than AED 100,0000.5% of its value, up to AED 15,000Item 2
Attestation of signatures on an instrument of unspecified valueAED 200 per partyItem 3
General or special power of attorneyAED 100 per partyItem 4
Attestation of a translator’s signatureAED 50 per pageItem 6
Electronic data entryAED 100 per signatureItem 15

The resolution does not say how the “value” of an MoA is measured. On one reading an MoA is an instrument of unspecified value (AED 200 per party); on another its value is the share capital, so an AED 300,000 company would pay 0.5%, which is AED 1,500. Our worked totals show both readings as a low and a high figure. Ask the notary before you sign, because the difference grows with the capital.

How much capital should you state? Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021 on Commercial Companies does not set a minimum for an LLC. Article 76(1) says only that the company “shall have a sufficient capital to achieve the object of its incorporation”. Some activities and some residence routes have their own capital thresholds, covered below and in our guide to 100% foreign ownership in Dubai. What goes into the MoA and how it is amended later are in our memorandum of association guide.

Owners abroad and corporate shareholders

If an owner cannot sign in Dubai, a power of attorney signed abroad has to be legalised in the home country and then attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which charges AED 150 for a personal document and AED 2,000 for a commercial document (Cabinet Resolution No. 38 of 2022). A company that is owned by another company needs the parent’s documents (typically the certificate of incorporation, a board resolution and a power of attorney) legalised and attested, and translated into Arabic by a legal translator. Three commercial documents at MOFA is AED 6,000 before home-country charges and translation, which are priced by the providers. Our attestation cost guide has the home-country side, and our legal translation service handles the Arabic.

Outside approvals for regulated activities

Article 7 of Dubai Law No. 13 of 2011 makes DET consider licence applications “in coordination with the Competent Entities”, and u.ae lists additional government approvals as a formation step for sectors such as telecommunications, finance, aviation and media. In practice that means health activities with the Dubai Health Authority, education and training with the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, food with Dubai Municipality, transport with the Roads and Transport Authority, security with Dubai Police and financial activities with the relevant federal regulator. Each authority sets its own fees, inspections and timings. They are not DET licence fees and do not appear in its schedule. If your activity needs one, get that authority’s fee in writing before you sign a lease, because a refused approval can leave you with premises you cannot use.

Dubai Chamber membership: AED 300 to 2,200 a year

Mainland companies register with Dubai Chambers, and the fee usually appears alongside the licence lines. The Chambers’ New Membership service, read on 25 September 2026, prices membership by category and says approval takes two hours once requirements are met.

Category (Dubai Chambers wording, shortened)Annual fee
National establishments practising a specific activityAED 700
General tradingAED 1,200 to 2,200
Banks, insurance companies, building contractors, branches of foreign companiesAED 2,200
Lawyers, auditors and consultancy engineersAED 1,000 to 2,200
Various simple tradeAED 500
Handicraft, e-traders and Intelaq licencesAED 300
Members of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for SME DevelopmentFive-year exemption

The membership renewal page and the Chambers’ service manual carry the same categories, with one difference: the renewal page lists hotels, related financial services and insurance brokers at AED 2,000 to 2,200, the manual at AED 1,000. Where your activity does not fit a named category, our worked totals use a range of AED 700 to 2,200 and the voucher settles it. The deep guide on categories, certificates of origin and renewal is Dubai Chamber membership.

Company files: the Dubai mainland company setup cost before the first hire (AED 686)

A licence lets the company trade. It does not yet let it sponsor anyone. Two files have to exist first, and both have published fees.

Company filePublished feeSource
Immigration establishment card, GDRFA Dubai, digitalAED 200 + 5% VAT + AED 10 + AED 10 + AED 50 = AED 280 (AED 380 urgent; AED 100 more if issued through Amer)GDRFA establishment card issue card
MOHRE establishment card (labour file) and quotaFree online; Ta’qeem fee AED 406; business centre commission up to AED 72MOHRE Issuance of Establishment Card; Work Permit Quotas for Establishments
Total before any centre chargeAED 686Our arithmetic

The order is fixed: licence, then the GDRFA card, then the MOHRE file and quota, then work permits and visas. Our establishment card guide and MOHRE labour card guide explain each file, and our labour file opening service opens them for you.

Visas: the per-person part of the Dubai mainland company setup cost

Staff visas are priced per person and the full build is in our UAE employment visa cost guide. In summary, on the published fee lines, one mainland Dubai hire from abroad costs about AED 1,944 (MOHRE category 1), AED 2,894 (category 2) or AED 5,144 (category 3), and AED 1,090 more if the person is already inside the UAE. That covers the MOHRE work permit, worker protection insurance, the entry permit, the medical, the Emirates ID and the residence card. Health insurance, which the employer must provide, and centre charges come on top. Our worked totals use the category 2 figure, AED 2,894.38, which is the category our employment visa guide works on for a new company; check your own category on MOHRE once the file is open.

The owner’s own residence

Owners often forget to budget for themselves. GDRFA’s Green residence route for partners and investors has published card lines: an entry permit of AED 200 plus 5% VAT, then a residence permit of AED 200, plus AED 10 Knowledge and AED 10 Innovation Dirhams and AED 20 delivery, with “the issuance fee increases by AED 100 annually whenever the residency is over two years”. The route’s entry card sets a condition that the investor’s or partner’s share “cannot be less than one million paid Dirhams”. For a five-year Green residence applied for from outside the UAE, the published lines come to about AED 1,600:

Owner’s Green residence line (partner or investor)AEDSource
Entry permit, AED 200 + 5% VAT210.00GDRFA Green visa issuance (investor/partner)
Residence, five years: AED 200 + 3 x AED 100 + AED 10 + AED 10 + AED 20 delivery540.00GDRFA Issuing green residence permit (partner investor)
Emirates ID, five years: AED 500 + AED 100 smart services600.00ICP identity card issuance
Medical fitness, Dubai regular250.00DHA fee catalogue
Total, applicant outside the UAE1,600.00Our arithmetic

An applicant already inside the UAE adds GDRFA’s AED 500 inside-country fee and Dirhams on the card. Owners whose share is below the Green threshold have other routes, which GDRFA and MOHRE decide on the facts of the company, the owner’s role and the MoA; we price that once we see them. The investor and partner routes, including Golden residence for larger investors, are compared in our investor visa service page.

Tax, bank and audit in the Dubai mainland company setup cost

Corporate tax and VAT: no registration fee, real deadlines

Registering for corporate tax and, where required, VAT through EmaraTax carries no government fee. The cost is in missing a deadline. The site-wide figures we have verified are these: a new company registers for corporate tax within three months of incorporation (FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024), and a late registration carries an AED 10,000 penalty under Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023. The corporate tax rate is 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above, and a resident business with revenue of AED 3 million or less may elect Small Business Relief for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 (extended by Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026). VAT registration is mandatory above AED 375,000 of taxable supplies and optional above AED 187,500. Steps and edge cases are in our corporate tax registration guide.

Bank account

Opening a corporate account has no government fee. Banks set their own account charges and minimum balances and publish them in their own tariffs, which change often, so we do not list them here. What a bank will ask for, and why accounts are refused, is in our corporate bank account guide.

Accounting and audit

Article 102 of the Commercial Companies Law says “A Limited Liability Company shall have one or more auditors to be elected by the general assembly of the partners every year.” That makes an audit a recurring cost for an LLC from the first financial year, whatever its size. Audit and bookkeeping fees are set by the firms and are not published by any authority, so budget them from written quotes.

Beneficial owners

Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023 requires mainland companies to keep a register of beneficial owners and file it with the licensing authority, and to report any change within 15 days (Article 15). The filing is part of the licence process rather than a separate priced service; the cost of getting it wrong is the penalty regime under Cabinet Resolution No. 132 of 2023. Our UBO register guide has the rules.

Not sure which lines apply to your activity, your owners and your office? Send us the plan. We will mark every line as published, calculated from your file, or market-priced, before you sign a lease.

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Worked totals: mainland business setup cost (Dubai) for five companies

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.

Each total below adds only government lines, rebuilt from the sources above and checked by calculation. The rents are round assumptions chosen to show how the market fee works, not market prices, and the rent itself is left out of every total. So are health insurance, the local service agent’s own fee, bank charges, accounting and audit, centre charges and any provider’s fee, because none of them has an official price. Where a published source allows two readings (the Chamber category, the notary’s treatment of the MoA), the total is shown as a range.

Company profileBefore the first hire (AED)Including company files and visas (AED)
A: A one-person professional consultancy4,197.75 to 5,697.754,197.75 to 5,697.75
B: A two-partner services LLC with two hires4,497.75 to 6,197.7510,972.51 to 12,672.51
C: A general trading LLC with a foreign-language name23,947.75 to 26,247.7533,316.89 to 35,616.89
D: A contracting company hiring ten people20,747.75 to 25,347.7550,377.55 to 54,977.55
E: The Dubai subsidiary of a foreign company11,197.75 to 14,997.7517,672.51 to 21,472.51

The spread is wide, and the reasons are visible in the lines. Case C can cost more before its first hire than Case D, because the general trading issue fee (AED 15,000) and the foreign trade name (AED 2,000) outweigh the higher market fee on Case D’s larger premises. Case D becomes the most expensive only once its ten visas are added. Case E sits in the middle mainly because of AED 6,000 of MOFA attestation on the parent company’s documents, a line many foreign groups do not budget for.

Case A: a one-person professional consultancy

A foreign management consultant takes a professional licence as a sole establishment, with a local service agent, a business centre office at an assumed registered rent of AED 20,000 and no staff yet. The agent agreement is notarised with two parties. No MoA is needed for a sole establishment.

LineAEDSource
DET fixed lines (initial approval, trade name, licence, commercial register, advertisement, service request, Dirhams)1,520Res. 13/2011; previous voucher list
Appointing a local service agent700Res. 13/2011, item 9
Market fee, 2.5% of AED 20,000 (assumed rent)500Dubai Municipality via DET
Ejari registration, online177.75DLD
Dubai Chamber membership700 to 2,200Dubai Chambers
Notarising the agent agreement (2 parties, plus data entry)600Res. 4/2014
Government total4,197.75 to 5,697.75Our arithmetic

Case B: a two-partner services LLC with two hires

Two partners set up a marketing services LLC with AED 100,000 capital, an office at an assumed registered rent of AED 60,000 and two staff hired from abroad. MOHRE category 2 is assumed.

LineAEDSource
DET fixed lines (initial approval, trade name, licence, commercial register, advertisement, service request, Dirhams)1,520Res. 13/2011; previous voucher list
Market fee, 2.5% of AED 60,000 (assumed rent)1,500Dubai Municipality via DET
Ejari registration, online177.75DLD
Dubai Chamber membership700 to 2,200Dubai Chambers
Notarising the MoA (2 parties; low: unspecified value, high: value = capital)600 to 800Res. 4/2014
GDRFA establishment card and MOHRE file686GDRFA; MOHRE
Visas, 2 x AED 2,894.38 (category 2, from abroad)5,788.76Employment visa cost guide
Government total10,972.51 to 12,672.51Our arithmetic

Case C: a general trading LLC with a foreign-language name

A single foreign owner forms a general trading LLC with AED 300,000 capital, an English-only brand name treated as a foreign trade name, an office and store at an assumed registered rent of AED 150,000, and three hires from abroad.

LineAEDSource
DET fixed lines (initial approval, trade name, licence, commercial register, advertisement, service request, Dirhams)1,520Res. 13/2011; previous voucher list
Foreign trade name2,000Res. 13/2011, item 7
General trading activity fee, issue15,000Res. 13/2011, item 23
Market fee, 2.5% of AED 150,000 (assumed rent)3,750Dubai Municipality via DET
Ejari registration, online177.75DLD
Dubai Chamber membership1,200 to 2,200Dubai Chambers
Notarising the MoA (1 party; low: unspecified value, high: value = capital)300 to 1,600Res. 4/2014
GDRFA establishment card and MOHRE file686GDRFA; MOHRE
Visas, 3 x AED 2,894.38 (category 2, from abroad)8,683.14Employment visa cost guide
Government total33,316.89 to 35,616.89Our arithmetic

Case D: a contracting company hiring ten people

Two partners form a building contracting LLC with AED 1,000,000 capital, an office and yard at an assumed registered rent of AED 250,000 and ten hires from abroad. Chamber category: building contractors.

LineAEDSource
DET fixed lines (initial approval, trade name, licence, commercial register, advertisement, service request, Dirhams)1,520Res. 13/2011; previous voucher list
Contracting activity fee, issue10,000Res. 13/2011, item 21
Market fee, 2.5% of AED 250,000 (assumed rent)6,250Dubai Municipality via DET
Ejari registration, online177.75DLD
Dubai Chamber membership2,200Dubai Chambers
Notarising the MoA (2 parties; low: unspecified value, high: value = capital)600 to 5,200Res. 4/2014
GDRFA establishment card and MOHRE file686GDRFA; MOHRE
Visas, 10 x AED 2,894.38 (category 2, from abroad)28,943.80Employment visa cost guide
Government total50,377.55 to 54,977.55Our arithmetic

Case E: the Dubai subsidiary of a foreign company

A company incorporated abroad owns 100% of a new consultancy LLC with AED 500,000 capital, an office at an assumed registered rent of AED 100,000 and two hires. Three parent documents (certificate of incorporation, board resolution, power of attorney) are attested at MOFA as commercial documents.

LineAEDSource
DET fixed lines (initial approval, trade name, licence, commercial register, advertisement, service request, Dirhams)1,520Res. 13/2011; previous voucher list
Market fee, 2.5% of AED 100,000 (assumed rent)2,500Dubai Municipality via DET
Ejari registration, online177.75DLD
Dubai Chamber membership700 to 2,200Dubai Chambers
Notarising the MoA (1 party; low: unspecified value, high: value = capital)300 to 2,600Res. 4/2014
MOFA attestation, 3 commercial documents6,000CR 38/2022
GDRFA establishment card and MOHRE file686GDRFA; MOHRE
Visas, 2 x AED 2,894.38 (category 2, from abroad)5,788.76Employment visa cost guide
Government total17,672.51 to 21,472.51Our arithmetic

What the five cases teach

  • The activity fee outweighs every other DET licence fee. Without an activity fee, the DET licence fees stay near AED 1,520. With general trading, they pass AED 16,500.
  • The market fee is the rent in disguise. At 2.5%, every extra AED 10,000 of registered rent adds AED 250 of market fee to the voucher, every year.
  • Visas overtake the licence quickly. For a company without an activity fee, two category 2 hires already cost about as much as all its licence, premises, Chamber and notary lines together (Case B).
  • Corporate owners pay for paperwork. Attesting a parent company’s documents at MOFA is AED 2,000 per document, before legalisation abroad and translation.
  • A one-person company can stay small. A professional licence with no staff, no activity fee and a modest desk keeps the government side near AED 4,200 to 5,700, before the agent’s own fee and the rent.
Does your plan look like one of these five? Tell us which, with your activity, owners and hiring plan, and we will send you the same table built for your company, with our fee quoted separately in writing.

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When each cost is paid: the payment sequence

The mainland business setup cost Dubai founders face is not paid in one go. It is spread across the formation steps, and some lines are committed weeks before the licence exists. Knowing the order helps with cash flow and tells you which costs you lose if the plan changes.

Dubai mainland company setup cost payment sequence: initial approval and trade name, lease and Ejari, MoA notarisation, outside approvals, licence voucher with market fee and Chamber, establishment card and MOHRE file, then visas
When each government line of a Dubai mainland company setup cost falls due, in the usual formation order. The licence voucher must be paid within 30 days (u.ae). Amounts from Resolution 13/2011, Resolution 4/2014, DLD, Dubai Chambers, GDRFA and MOHRE.
StageGovernment lines paidIf the plan changes after this point
1. Initial approval and trade nameAED 100 + AED 200 (more for a special name)Small sums; a new name or activity means a new reservation
2. PremisesRent and deposit to the landlord; Ejari AED 177.75The largest commitment; a lease is a contract, not a government fee, and is not refunded because a licence is refused
3. MoA and agent agreementNotary fees; MOFA attestation for documents from abroadNotary and attestation fees are for a service already done
4. Outside approvalsThe approving authority’s feesSet by that authority
5. Licence voucherDET licence fees, any activity fee, the market fee, often the Chamber fee; payable within 30 daysUnpaid vouchers lapse and the application is cancelled (u.ae)
6. Company filesGDRFA establishment card AED 280; MOHRE Ta’qeem AED 406Needed only when you sponsor someone
7. VisasPer person, in the order MOHRE then GDRFA and ICPRefund rules differ by card: ICP, for example, refunds issuance fees for a service not completed but not application or smart services fees
8. Tax registrationNo fee; register within the deadlineAED 10,000 penalty for late corporate tax registration

Initial approval comes before the lease on purpose. It costs AED 100 and tells you whether the owners and activity are acceptable before you commit to a year of rent. The whole route, with timings, is in our mainland formation guide.

Year two: the DET licence fee, activity fee and market fee that recur

A good set-up budget also shows the second year, because several set-up lines recur and a few disappear. The table uses the same sources as above.

LineYear one (set-up)Year two onwards
Initial approval, trade name reservation, commercial registerAED 100 + 200 + 200Not repeated
Licence issue or renewalAED 600AED 600 a year
General trading or investment activityAED 15,000AED 3,000 a year
Contracting activityAED 10,000AED 3,000 a year
Market fee2.5% of registered rent2.5% of registered rent, recalculated on the current lease
EjariAED 177.75Again when the lease is renewed
Dubai ChamberAED 300 to 2,200AED 50 to 2,200 on the renewal schedule
GDRFA establishment cardAED 280AED 280 at each renewal, normally aligned with the licence
Staff visasFull first-visa costRenewed every two years; cheaper, because there is no entry permit or status change
Audit and accountsFrom the first financial yearEvery year for an LLC (CCL Art. 102)
Corporate tax returnNot yet dueWithin nine months of the end of each tax period

For Case C (general trading) the difference is striking: the activity line alone falls from AED 15,000 to AED 3,000. For Case B (services) the DET licence fee lines barely change, and the market fee, Chamber and visa renewals make up most of the recurring cost. The renewal process and its voucher are in our guide on how to renew a trade licence in Dubai, and the penalties for missing it in expired trade licence in Dubai.

How to cut the Dubai mainland company setup cost legitimately

None of the government fees can be negotiated. What you can change is which lines apply to you. These are the levers, ranked by how much they usually move the total in our five cases.

  1. Pick the narrowest activity that covers the business. A specific trading activity instead of general trading avoids AED 15,000 at issue and AED 3,000 every year after.
  2. Size the premises to the plan, not the ambition. Rent is the largest line and the market fee adds 2.5% of it. Check that the space still supports the visas you plan in the first two years.
  3. Keep the trade name ordinary. A name in Arabic and its English equivalent avoids the AED 1,000 or AED 2,000 special-name fees.
  4. Check the MOHRE category before a hiring wave. The work permit is AED 250, AED 1,200 or AED 3,450 depending on category; ten hires at category 3 cost AED 22,500 more in permits than at category 2.
  5. Plan documents from abroad early. One well-drafted power of attorney, attested once, costs less than several single-purpose documents at AED 2,000 each for a company.
  6. Register for tax on time. The AED 10,000 late registration penalty is larger than the entire DET voucher of a simple licence.
  7. Use the online channels. MOHRE services are free online apart from the government fee, Ejari is cheaper online than at a trustee centre, and GDRFA adds AED 100 to an establishment card issued through Amer.

One line we do not recommend cutting: a correct lease. A cheaper arrangement that DET or GDRFA will not accept costs more when the licence or the first visa is refused.

What goes wrong with a set-up budget

An unplanned activity fee arrives on the voucher

General trading was added “to keep options open”, and the voucher shows AED 15,000 nobody planned for. Decide activities at initial approval with the fee schedule in front of you.

The lease was signed before the approval

The premises turned out to be unsuitable for the activity, or an outside authority refused. The rent is owed anyway. Get initial approval, and any outside approval, before you sign.

The Chamber fee was not in the plan

The Chamber line often sits on the licence voucher and ranges up to AED 2,200. Budget it from the start.

The first hire waits for the company files

An offer letter went out the day the licence was issued, but the GDRFA establishment card and the MOHRE file did not exist yet. Allow for them in the timetable and in the AED 686 they cost.

A corporate owner’s documents were not attested

The parent’s resolution was notarised abroad but never legalised and attested, so DET and the notary would not accept it. Legalisation abroad and MOFA attestation add weeks as well as fees.

The quote bundled everything into one number

A single “package price” cannot be checked. Ask for government lines, centre charges and service fees on separate lines. Our PRO services cost guide explains how a fair quote is laid out.

Mainland business setup cost (Dubai): what circulates online that is not true

ClaimWhat the sources say
“A mainland licence costs a fixed AED 10,000 to 15,000.”No official fixed price exists. DET’s published lines for a plain licence are about AED 1,520; activity fees, the market fee, the Chamber and visas move the total by tens of thousands.
“You need AED 300,000 capital for a mainland LLC.”The Commercial Companies Law sets no minimum for an LLC; Article 76 requires capital “sufficient” for the company’s object. Specific activities and residence routes can have their own thresholds.
“General trading costs AED 3,000.”That is the renewal activity fee in Resolution 13/2011. The activity fee at issue is AED 15,000.
“Every mainland company needs a local service agent.”Since the 2021 Commercial Companies Law most commercial activities can be 100% foreign owned without one. Agents are mainly relevant to professional licences held by foreign owners and some other forms.
“A virtual office is enough for a mainland licence.”u.ae requires a physical address and a registered lease (Ejari in Dubai). Approved business centres are a legitimate low-cost option; a mail-forwarding address is not.
“Corporate tax registration costs money.”Registration through EmaraTax has no fee. Late registration carries an AED 10,000 penalty.
“Small companies do not need an audit.”Article 102 of the Commercial Companies Law requires every LLC to have one or more auditors, elected each year.
“A setup package includes all visas.”Visas are priced per person by MOHRE, GDRFA and ICP. A package that includes them either limits the number or prices them separately; ask which.

How to verify every mainland business setup cost (Dubai) figure in this guide

Figure or ruleWhere to check itWhat we saw on 25 September 2026
DET fee lines: initial approval 100, trade name 200 / 1,000 / 2,000, licence 600, service agent 700, commercial register 200, activity feesDubai Legislation Portal, Executive Council Resolution No. 13 of 2011, Schedule 1Schedule with 89 items, as quoted
Business centre licence AED 10,000Executive Council Resolution No. 19 of 2021, Schedule 1Reduced from AED 25,000, in force 12 July 2021
Trade name advertisement 350, service request 50, Dirhams 10 + 10Your DET voucherInvest in Dubai pages displayed only a frame; figures from the previously published list
Pay the voucher within 30 days; lease and Ejari requiredu.ae, Steps to start a business on the mainlandPage last updated 16 July 2026
Notary feesExecutive Council Resolution No. 4 of 2014, Schedule 1As quoted; applies to government and private notaries
Ejari AED 177.75DLD, Register / Renew Tenancy Contract100 + 10 + 10 + 55 + 2.75 VAT
Market fee 2.5%Your voucher; Dubai Media Office, 11 July 20202.5% referred to officially in 2020
Chamber feesDubai Chambers, New Membership and Membership RenewalAED 300 to 2,200 by category; two-hour approval
Establishment card AED 280; Ta’qeem AED 406GDRFA and MOHRE service cardsAs in our establishment card and government fees guides
Owner’s Green residence linesGDRFA Green visa issuance (investor/partner); Issuing green residence permit (partner investor)AED 200 + VAT entry; AED 200 + 10 + 10 + 20, AED 100 more a year beyond two; share of at least AED 1 million
No minimum capital; auditor required; one-person LLC allowedFederal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021, Arts. 71, 76, 102As quoted

What we will and will not do

We will

  • Price your Dubai mainland company setup cost line by line before you commit, with the source of every government figure.
  • Show government fees on their official receipts, passed on at cost, and quote our own fee in writing before we start.
  • Point out the choices that raise the cost (activities, trade name, premises, category) while there is still time to change them.
  • Handle initial approval, the trade name, the licence, the Chamber, the GDRFA establishment card, the MOHRE file and the first visas as one job when you want that.
  • Tell you plainly when a figure is not published, or when an official page would not open, rather than fill the gap.

We will not

  • Quote an all-inclusive “package price” that hides which lines are government fees.
  • Promise a licence, an outside approval or a visa that depends on another authority’s decision.
  • Invent prices for rent, local service agents, banks or auditors; we ask them for written quotes instead.
  • Recommend a cheaper office or arrangement that DET or GDRFA will not accept.
  • Give legal or tax advice on structuring; where that is what you need, we will say so and point you to a lawyer or tax adviser.

Mainland business setup cost (Dubai): frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to set up a mainland company in Dubai?

There is no single official price. The mainland business setup cost Dubai founders pay is built from DET’s published lines (about AED 1,520 for a plain licence), any activity fee, the market fee at 2.5% of your registered rent, Ejari, the Chamber (AED 300 to 2,200), notary fees and, if you hire, AED 686 for the company files plus each visa. Our five worked totals run from about AED 4,200 to about AED 55,000 before rent.

What are the DET licence fees for a new company?

Executive Council Resolution No. 13 of 2011 lists AED 100 for initial approval, AED 200 for a trade name, AED 600 for the licence and AED 200 for commercial registration. DET’s voucher has also carried a AED 350 trade name advertisement, a AED 50 service request and AED 10 Knowledge and Innovation Dirhams. Activity fees and special trade names come on top. Your voucher is final.

Why is a general trading licence so much more expensive?

Because the activity carries its own activity fee. Resolution 13/2011 charges AED 15,000 to issue a general trading or investment licence and AED 3,000 a year to renew it, against no separate fee for most activities. If your goods fall within one family, a specific trading activity can avoid the fee. Choose at initial approval, not at the payment screen.

Is there a minimum share capital for a Dubai LLC?

The Commercial Companies Law does not set one. Article 76 requires capital “sufficient to achieve the object of its incorporation”. Some activities and some residence routes set their own thresholds; GDRFA’s Green partner route, for example, requires a share of at least AED 1 million. The capital you state can also affect the notary fee on the MoA, so decide it deliberately.

How is the market fee calculated?

It is a Dubai Municipality fee collected on the DET voucher, calculated at 2.5% of the annual rent on your registered Ejari. The rate was cut from 5% in 2018, and the Dubai Media Office referred to “the 2.5% market fee” in 2020. AED 60,000 of rent means AED 1,500, recalculated every renewal on the current lease.

Can I set up a mainland company without an office?

No. u.ae requires a physical business address and a rental agreement, and in Dubai the lease must be registered on Ejari. An approved business centre desk or office is a legitimate lower-cost option and usually comes with its own Ejari. A mail-forwarding or “virtual” address is not enough for a mainland licence.

Do I need a local service agent, and what does it cost?

Most commercial LLCs can now be 100% foreign owned without one. Agents are mainly needed for professional licences held by foreign owners. DET charges AED 700 to appoint an agent (Resolution 13/2011, item 9); the agent’s annual fee is a private contract that no authority publishes, so compare written offers and read the agreement.

How much does it cost to notarise the MoA in Dubai?

Executive Council Resolution No. 4 of 2014 charges AED 200 per party for an instrument of unspecified value, AED 300 per party up to AED 100,000, or 0.5% of the value (capped at AED 15,000) above that, plus AED 100 per signature for electronic data entry. It does not say how an MoA’s value is measured, so ask the notary.

What does the Dubai Chamber membership cost for a new company?

Dubai Chambers prices membership by category: AED 700 for national establishments in a specific activity, AED 1,200 to 2,200 for general trading, AED 2,200 for banks, insurers, contractors and foreign branches, AED 1,000 to 2,200 for lawyers, auditors and consultancy engineers, AED 500 for simple trade and AED 300 for e-traders. Approval takes two hours once requirements are met.

How much should I budget for each employee visa?

On the published lines, one hire from abroad costs about AED 1,944, AED 2,894 or AED 5,144 for MOHRE category 1, 2 or 3 companies, and AED 1,090 more if the person is already in the UAE. Before the first visa the company needs its GDRFA establishment card and MOHRE file, AED 686 together. Health insurance and centre charges are extra.

What does the owner’s own residence visa cost?

On GDRFA’s Green partner and investor route, a five-year residence applied for from abroad comes to about AED 1,600 in published lines: entry permit AED 210, residence AED 540, Emirates ID AED 600 and medical AED 250. The route requires a share of at least AED 1 million. Owners below that threshold use other routes that depend on the company and their role.

Are there recurring costs after the first year?

Yes. The licence (AED 600), any activity fee on renewal (AED 3,000 for general trading, investment or contracting), the market fee on the current rent, the Chamber renewal, the establishment card, visa renewals every two years, and an annual audit for every LLC under Article 102 of the Commercial Companies Law. Initial approval, trade name and commercial registration are not repeated.

Is the mainland more expensive than a free zone?

It depends on the activity, premises and hiring plan. Per hire, visas cost about the same order on both sides. The bigger differences are licence structure, premises rules and whether you need to trade directly with the Dubai market. Our free zone vs mainland Dubai guide compares both, including DMCC’s published schedule.

Can MIRDXB PRO set up our mainland company?

Yes. We price the plan line by line, then handle initial approval, the trade name, the licence voucher, the Chamber, the GDRFA establishment card, the MOHRE file and the first visas. Government fees are passed on at cost with official receipts, and our own fee is quoted in writing before we start. Message us on WhatsApp with your activity and hiring plan.

Can you handle the set-up if the owners are outside the UAE?

Often, yes. Many steps can be completed with a power of attorney signed and legalised abroad and attested by MOFA, and we act for you in Dubai. Some steps, such as a residence visa, need the owner in the UAE at the right point. Tell us early, because attesting documents abroad adds weeks.

Pricing a company line by line, then filing the licence, the establishment cards and the first visas in the right order, is what our PRO services in Dubai team handles.

Last reviewed

Checked against official sources on 25 September 2026. The DET licence fee schedule, the 2021 fee reduction, the notary fee schedule, Dubai Chambers’ membership fees, the u.ae formation steps, the Commercial Companies Law and GDRFA’s Green partner cards were read that day; other figures match our government fees and employment visa guides. Where these figures differ from our earlier fee guides (general trading and contracting issue fees, the business centre fee), this guide follows the resolutions and says so.

Official sources

Secondary, attributed: Gulf Business, 12 June 2018, and UNCTAD’s Investment Policy Monitor on the market fee cut from 5% to 2.5%; Gulf News, November 2021, on the seven-year licence fee exemption for Emirati members of Dubai SME.

Please note. This guide sets out fees published by the Government of Dubai, Dubai Chambers, the Dubai Land Department, GDRFA, MOHRE, ICP and the UAE Government, verified 25 September 2026. DET’s own service pages did not display their content to us on that date, so DET lines are taken from Executive Council Resolution No. 13 of 2011 as published on the Dubai Legislation Portal, the 2021 reduction resolution and Dubai Economy’s previously published voucher lines; your DET voucher is final. The worked totals are our arithmetic on published lines, using assumed rents for illustration only, and exclude rent, insurance, bank, audit, agent and service fees. The cases are built from common situations and are illustrative, not records of named clients. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Ready to turn the numbers into a licence? MIRDXB PRO prices your Dubai mainland company line by line, handles the government steps in order, and shows every fee on its own receipt.

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Mir Ali

Written by

Mir Ali

Mir Ali runs MIRDXB PRO, an Amer & Tasheel authorised typing centre partner in Dubai. He has personally handled 100+ visa, Emirates ID and labour files across MOHRE, GDRFA, ICP and DED, and writes these guides from the counter rather than from a marketing desk.

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