Start a Business in the UAE: The Complete Route Map (2026)

In short: to start a business in the UAE, fix your activity first, then choose the mainland (licensed by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism) for UAE clients, a free zone for international work, or offshore only for holding assets. On the mainland, reserve a trade name (AED 200), get initial approval (AED 100), sign the memorandum of association, register an Ejari lease (AED 177.75 online) and collect the licence. Then open the establishment card, apply for visas, open a bank account and register for Corporate Tax within three months. Licence fees start near AED 1,520; an illustrative no-visa consultancy renting at AED 30,000 totals AED 33,147.75 in year one. Corporate Tax is 9% above AED 375,000.

This page is a route map, not a manual. It is for founders who have not yet picked a jurisdiction or licence type, and for anyone holding a “package” quote who wants to check it fits the business they plan to run.

If you already know you want a Dubai mainland company, go to our step-by-step mainland company formation guide. If you want a free zone and only need to pick one, start with the guide to all UAE free zones by emirate.

What four decisions decide how you start a business in the UAE?

1. What exactly will the business do?

The UAE Government portal puts identifying the business activity first, ahead of legal form, and notes that more than 2,000 activities are available. The activity fixes the licence type (in Dubai: commercial, professional, industrial, eTrader, dual, instant, SME or Intelaq, per the same portal), the legal forms open to you, and whether a sector regulator must approve you. Be precise: “consultancy” and “financial consultancy” are different activities, and only one needs a financial regulator.

2. Who are your clients, and where are they?

This separates mainland from free zone. Selling to consumers, businesses or government bodies across the UAE points to a mainland licence. Clients overseas or inside the zone point to a free zone. A company that only holds shares or assets outside the UAE may need no more than offshore. Dubai also now has a middle route for free zone companies wanting some mainland work, covered below.

3. How many people will you need to sponsor?

Each licensing authority sets how many visas a company can sponsor. Count founders and employees who need residence through the company over the first two years, not just the first month. Our guide to company visa quota in Dubai explains how quota is set and raised.

4. What is your budget, and what office do you need?

Premises are a licensing condition, not a later choice. Virtual offices, flexi desks, business centres and full Ejari-registered offices are each accepted for some activities and not others; our guide to office space for a trade licence sets out what DET and the free zones accept. For numbers, start with the business setup cost planner, which compares mainland and free zone totals side by side.

If your business is X, where should you start?

Find the row closest to your plan. Each playbook covers the regulator, jurisdictions, approvals and order of steps.

Should you choose mainland, free zone or offshore?

The table below is a short summary drawn from official pages. The detailed comparison of visas, quota, costs and tax belongs to our free zone vs mainland guide.

Can a free zone company now work on the Dubai mainland?

Yes, with permission. Dubai Executive Council Resolution No. (11) of 2025, issued on 3 March 2025, lets Dubai free zone establishments operate in the emirate outside their zone with a DET licence or permit. It sets three routes: a licence for a branch in the emirate (Article 5), a licence for a branch operating on the mainland from the free zone (Article 6), and a temporary permit for specific activities of no more than six months (Article 7). Article 12 sets the fees: AED 10,000 a year for the free zone branch and AED 5,000 for the permit. Financial establishments licensed in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) are excluded.

The permit launched in October 2025 as the Free Zone Mainland Operating Permit. The Dubai Media Office announcement says it is valid for six months, renewable at AED 5,000, open to free zone companies holding a Dubai Unified Licence (DUL) through the Invest in Dubai platform, and in its first phase limited to non-regulated activities such as technology, consultancy, design, professional services and trading.

Does your activity need a second approval?

For the activities below, the trade licence alone does not let you trade: the sector regulator must also approve you. The table names the regulator for Dubai and the federal level; other emirates can have their own authority for health, education and food.

How do you start a business in Dubai step by step?

On the Dubai mainland the order follows the UAE Government portal’s list of steps, and DET handles them through the Invest in Dubai platform. The fees below are from Executive Council Resolution No. 13 of 2011, the DET fee schedule.

1. Choose the activity and legal form. Sole establishment, limited liability company (LLC), civil company or branch: see types of companies in Dubai.
2. Reserve the trade name. AED 200. A name in a foreign language adds AED 2,000 (an Arabised name AED 1,000).
3. Get initial approval. AED 100. It is DET’s no-objection in principle, not permission to trade.
4. Sign the memorandum of association (MOA). Companies with partners need one; some professional licences also need a local service agent agreement.
5. Take premises and register the lease in Ejari. AED 177.75 online with the Dubai Land Department (AED 220 at a trustee centre). The licence voucher also carries a market fee, generally 2.5% of the annual rent.
6. Get any sector approval from the regulator in the table above.
7. Pay the voucher and collect the licence. AED 600 to issue it and AED 200 for the commercial register. With the other voucher lines, a plain licence comes to about AED 1,520; general trading adds AED 15,000 and contracting AED 10,000. Dubai Chamber membership starts at AED 700 (AED 1,200 to 2,200 for general trading).

Free zones run the same stages inside one application to the zone authority, usually with a desk or office package instead of a separate Ejari lease. The full mainland walk-through, with documents, is in our mainland company formation guide.

What happens after the licence is issued?

Whichever route you take, this sequence follows, and each step depends on the one before.

How much does it cost to start a business in the UAE?

There is no single UAE price: each authority sets its own fees, and activity, visa count and office change the total. The table shows only the official figures cited on this page.

Illustrative scenarios, not real clients (from our cost planner, MOHRE category 2): a Dubai mainland consultancy with no visas and AED 30,000 rent comes to AED 33,147.75 in year one, of which AED 3,147.75 is fees (licence about AED 1,520, market fee AED 750, Ejari AED 177.75, Dubai Chamber AED 700). The same consultancy with two visas and AED 40,000 rent comes to AED 52,544.07: add AED 686 for the GDRFA and MOHRE company files and about AED 4,230 per hire at the counter. Rent is usually the largest line, and free zone packages without visas can start well below these totals.

Agent service charges, business centre rent, bank fees, insurance and courier costs are not government fees, and they vary by provider. For a sourced breakdown of every DET fee line with worked company totals, use the mainland business setup cost guide. Free zone package prices are in each emirate’s free zone guide linked above. If you would rather hand the whole process to one team, our business setup in Dubai service covers the licence, establishment card, visas and registrations described on this page.

How do visas and hiring change the route?

Visa needs can override every other decision: a business hiring ten staff in year one needs a licence and premises that support that quota from the start. Mainland employers work through MOHRE for work permits, while free zone employees are processed through the zone. For costs per visa, see the UAE employment visa cost guide.

Does a new UAE company pay Corporate Tax and VAT?

Corporate Tax applies under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 to financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023: 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above it (Cabinet Decision No. 116 of 2022; UAE Government portal). A resident business with revenue of AED 3 million or less can elect Small Business Relief for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029, after Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026 extended it from 2026. A free zone company that meets the conditions of a Qualifying Free Zone Person can pay 0% on qualifying income but cannot also elect Small Business Relief, so where your revenue comes from feeds directly into the free zone decision. Registering through EmaraTax has no fee; the deadline is three months from incorporation, and late registration costs AED 10,000. VAT is a separate registration, mandatory once taxable supplies pass AED 375,000 a year. Our corporate tax registration guide covers deadlines, EmaraTax steps and small business relief.

Which mistakes put founders on the wrong route?

• Choosing the jurisdiction before the activity. A cheap package is no saving if the zone cannot licence your exact activity.
• Assuming a free zone licence covers mainland clients. In Dubai that needs a DET licence or permit, and the permit’s first phase covers non-regulated activities only.
• Buying an offshore company to get a visa or trade locally. It holds no business licence for UAE trade.
• Fitting out or hiring before the second approval. Regulated businesses are commonly delayed because premises or staff were committed before the regulator signed off.
• Under-planning visas. A desk or package with too few visas for your hiring plan forces an early upgrade or move.
• Missing the first deadlines. The 60-day beneficial owner filing and the three-month corporate tax registration run from licensing, not from your first sale.

Questions people ask