Business setup in Dubai: company formation on the mainland or in a free zone, from AED 2,150

Business setup in Dubai with us: a license in 1 to 5 working days at Meydan, IFZA or DWTC, or on the mainland in 1 to 2 weeks, fees at cost, from AED 2,150.

Three ways to set up a company in the UAE

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Business setup in Dubai: mainland or a free zone

Choose by where your customers are.

Name	Mainland	Free zone
Customers	Anyone in the UAE, government bodies included	Abroad and inside the zone, and in mainland Dubai with a DET permit
License from	DET, which older texts still call DED	The zone's own authority
Foreign ownership	100% for more than 1,000 activities	100% for every activity
Office	A lease of 100 square feet or more, registered in Ejari	A flexi-desk in the zone
Residence visas	By floor space	By package at Meydan and IFZA, by office space at DMCC and JAFZA
License issued in	1 to 2 weeks	1 to 5 working days at Meydan, IFZA and DWTC, 7 to 14 at DMCC, 14 to 21 at DAFZA
Authority's fee, a year	AED 12,000–15,000	AED 12,500 at Meydan
Share capital	No standard minimum	None paid up at Meydan or IFZA, AED 50,000 at DMCC
Corporate tax	0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000, 9% above	0% on qualifying income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person, 9% on the rest
Our packages, before VAT	from AED 2,150	from AED 2,150

Business setup in Dubai by jurisdiction: the mainland and eight free zones

Every fee below is the authority's own, paid at cost. The time runs from a complete file.

Jurisdiction	Who it suits	License from, and time to it	Visas	Office
Dubai mainland, DET	Shops, restaurants, contractors and any firm that sells to UAE customers or to government bodies	AED 12,000 to 15,000 a year, by activity; 1 to 2 weeks	By the floor space of the office; GDRFA charges AED 240 for a two-year permit, with the knowledge, innovation and delivery fees	A lease of 100 sq ft or more, registered in Ejari
DMCC	Commodity traders and teams that will grow into an office	AED 35,484 for the Basic Biz package with a flexi-desk, AED 20,285 a year for the license alone; 7 to 14 working days; share capital of AED 50,000	1 to 3 on a flexi-desk, 1 in Basic Biz, then one for every 9 square metres of office	Flexi-desk, serviced office or own space in Jumeirah Lakes Towers or Uptown Dubai
Meydan	Consultants, agencies and online businesses that hold no stock	AED 12,500 a year with 3 activity groups and a desk; 1 to 3 working days	Allocations taken with the license, AED 1,850 each; an investor visa about AED 4,000	Flexi-desk at Nad Al Sheba, inside the fee
IFZA	Consulting, trading and holding companies	AED 12,900 a year for 3 activities and no visa; about 5 working days	By package, from none: AED 14,900 a year with one allocation, AED 4,950 for each visa at the zone	Flexi-desk at Dubai Silicon Oasis in the base packages; an office once the team needs more visas
DAFZA	Air freight, aviation suppliers and traders in electronics, pharmaceuticals or jewellery	from AED 15,000 a year, plus from AED 12,000 to register once; 14 to 21 working days	Set by the space the company leases	Smart desk, office, warehouse or cold store inside Dubai International Airport
JAFZA	Importers, re-exporters, 3PL firms and manufacturers at Jebel Ali Port	from AED 5,000 a year, plus AED 5,000 to register once; 3 to 14 working days	2 per workstation, 5 with a showroom, 20 on a plot, by floor area in an office or warehouse	Workstation, office of 25 to 5,000 sq m, warehouse of 313 to 1,110 sq m from AED 400 per sq m, or a plot from AED 40 per sq m a year
Dubai South	Logistics, e-commerce fulfilment and aviation at Al Maktoum International Airport	AED 12,500 a year with 5 activity groups and a flexi-desk; the same day once documents are approved	An employment visa for 2 years at AED 2,580, after an establishment card of AED 2,060	Flexi-desk in the fee; fitted offices of 28 to 300 sq m and warehouses by the cargo terminals
DWTC	Consultants, event companies and family offices in central Dubai	AED 12,000 a year, plus AED 2,000 to register and a refundable AED 1,200 deposit; 3 to 5 working days after initial approval	Up to 6 allocations at AED 2,000 each; an employee visa AED 3,000, an investor visa AED 3,500	A business address with 5 co-working hours a year, AED 525, at the World Trade Centre
DIFC	Funds, fintech, family wealth and holding companies, under DIFC's own common law courts	AED 29,380 to incorporate and AED 44,070 a year; 2 to 4 weeks	Through an establishment card of AED 2,270 and a sponsorship agreement with DIFC; the office sets the number	A leased office, a co-working desk or an affiliate's office inside the centre

What clients write about Legarithm

4.8 on Google from 26 reviews.

We had long been looking for someone to register a company in the UAE and help with the account. With Legarithm it went as it should: a clear process, help with the documents, no red tape.

Julia But Google review

Everything is well coordinated and clear. Half an hour of the first meeting was more useful than two weeks of trying to work it out myself.

Octavian Wellspring Google review

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What business setup in Dubai costs

Our fee for the company is one of three packages, before VAT: Smart at AED 2,150, Business at AED 5,450 and VIP at AED 9,350. The license and government fees are paid at cost, and the two renewal lines are the authority's own fees.

Our packages for a free-zone company

from AED 2,150Get a quote

Our packages for a mainland company: from AED 2,150
Office with its lease in Ejari, for a mainland company: in your quote
Residence visa, our fee, each: from AED 1,450
Accounting with the tax returns, a month: from AED 1,300
Meydan license from the second year, the zone's fee: AED 12,500
Mainland license from the second year, DET's fee: AED 12,000–15,000
Bank account application, our fee: from AED 1,800
License renewal, or a change of activity, shareholder or name, our fee: AED 2,550 a renewal, AED 1,450 a change

All prices for a company in the UAE

Company formation in Dubai: legal forms and license types

License type	What it covers	Where, and the fee
Commercial	Buying and selling goods and services, import and export	DET, AED 12,000 to 15,000 a year; AED 12,000 at DWTC
Professional	Services that rest on a skill: consulting, design, IT, training: professional license in Dubai	DET by activity; AED 12,000 at DWTC, AED 12,500 at Meydan
Industrial	Manufacturing, assembly and packaging, with a production site	DET on the mainland; at JAFZA a light industrial unit of 313 to 619 sq m
General trading	Unrelated lines of goods on one license: general trading company in Dubai	AED 15,000 a year at JAFZA, AED 24,000 at DWTC Free Zone
E-commerce	Sales of goods and services through a website, an app or a marketplace: e-commerce license in Dubai	AED 12,000 a year at DWTC; on the mainland, a commercial license with an e-commerce activity
eTrader	A Dubai resident's home business that sells through social media, as a sole establishment	DET, AED 1,370 with the Dubai Chamber fee

Company forms: LLC, FZE and FZCO

A Dubai company is a legal form with a license on top. On the mainland the usual form is the limited liability company, the LLC, owned by one person or more. DET also registers sole establishments, civil companies and branches of foreign companies. A free zone registers an FZE for one shareholder and an FZCO for two or more.

Activities a license can list

More than 2,000 activities are open, and a foreigner owns 100% of the company in more than 1,000 of them. The license names every activity the company invoices, and those activities decide its type in the table. We match your business to the list of DET or of the zone before we file: trade license in Dubai.

One Unified License number for every company

Each licensed company in Dubai, mainland or free zone, receives 1 Dubai Unified License number: the identifier that banks and government offices use to look the company up. With it a free-zone company applies for a mainland operating permit on the Invest in Dubai platform. The mainland has no standard minimum share capital.

Popular business activities in Dubai and who approves them

DET or the zone issues the license. Where a regulator approves the activity too, we file with it.

Activity	Approval beyond the license	What it takes
Any activity with no outside approval	None: DET or the free zone alone	DET's Instant License, issued in five minutes, with a virtual address for the first year
Clinic, medical centre or another health facility	DHA, the Dubai Health Authority	An application in the Sheryan system with an initial fee of AED 500 to 2,000 by facility type, decided in about 5 working days. The license is issued inactive and becomes active after DHA inspects the finished premises
Training institute	KHDA, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority	An Educational Services Permit: AED 15,020 for 1 or 2 activities up to AED 25,020 for more than seven, in 8 working days. Its initial approval holds for six months, and the trade license must follow within them
Real estate brokerage, leasing or development	RERA, at the Dubai Land Department	A real estate activity license in the Trakheesi system, in 1 working day. It costs AED 25,000 a year for development, AED 15,000 to manage property for others, AED 10,000 for valuation, AED 5,000 for an activity with no fee of its own
Restaurant, cafe or food trading	Dubai Municipality	Approval of the layout before the fit-out, which activates the food activity on the trade license, then a permit for food activities
Limousine, car rental, freight and other commercial transport	RTA, the Roads and Transport Authority	A commercial transport activity permit: AED 620 to 5,120 by activity, in 3 to 15 days. The permit or NOC holds for 90 days
Veterinary clinic or pest control	Dubai Municipality	An NOC before the trade license: 2 working days for veterinary work, 4 for pest control
Online shop, app or selling through social media	TDRA, the telecoms and digital government regulator	An NOC for an online activity, free, in 2 working days. A website trades on a .ae domain
Publishing, broadcasting and digital media	The National Media Authority	The federal authority regulates and licenses media activities and outlets, digital media included, inside media free zones as well

Business setup in Dubai step by step, with times

day 1
Choose the jurisdiction and activities
You tell us who your customers are and how many visas you want. We name the route, the authority, the activities for the license and any regulator from the table above. The Business package adds a 1-hour consultation on activities, shareholding and the zone.
day 1 or 2
Reserve the trade name
We check the name against the naming rules and reserve it. On the mainland DET, Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism, confirms a name in 10 minutes for AED 620. You send three names in order of preference.
2 to 4 days
Initial approval and memorandum
DET grants a mainland company its initial approval for AED 120 and issues the memorandum of association of an LLC. In a free zone you sign the memorandum and the desk lease online, with an e-signature after an online identity check.
with step 3
Take an address
A mainland company leases an office and registers the lease in Ejari, Dubai's tenancy register. A free-zone company takes a flexi-desk, a shared desk rented from the zone, or the office or warehouse its visas need.
1 day to 4 weeks
Receive the license
Meydan, IFZA and DWTC issue the license 1 to 5 working days after complete documents, DMCC in 7 to 14, DAFZA in 14 to 21. DET issues a mainland license 1 to 2 weeks after we start. We file the ultimate beneficial owner declaration with it.
1 to 4 weeks later
Visas, tax number, bank account
We file the establishment card, which is the company's immigration file, then the visas, the registration with the Federal Tax Authority and the bank application. We follow each until the Emirates ID and the account are issued.

Company registration in Dubai: the documents

Documents

Each owner and manager

Passport copy
Photo on a white background
Proof of address from the last 3 months
UAE entry permit or residence visa, which DET asks of a mainland applicant
Three trade names, in order of preference
No-objection letter from your UAE sponsor, when you hold a work visa

A company as shareholder

Certificate of incorporation and good standing
Memorandum and articles of association
Board resolution to open the Dubai company
Attestation by the UAE embassy and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with an Arabic translation

You send them in your account. We check each document the day it arrives and tell you what is missing.

See the platform

Residence visas with your Dubai company setup

Every route side by side is on residence visas in the UAE, and ten years with no sponsor on golden visa in the UAE.

Visa step	Fee, at cost	Time
Establishment card, the company's immigration file	from AED 2,000 at Meydan, AED 2,060 at Dubai South, AED 2,270 at DIFC	48 hours at Dubai immigration
Entry permit, or a change of status inside the UAE	AED 500 to Dubai immigration for an application from inside the country	after the card
Medical test from the age of 18, and fingerprints for the Emirates ID	from AED 2,250 at Meydan	one trip to the UAE
Residence permit for 2 years, private sector	AED 240 with the knowledge, innovation and delivery fees	within 48 hours at GDRFA
From license to visa, in all	The zone's visa fee, at IFZA AED 4,950	1 to 3 weeks

2 yearsOwners and staff on the company's file

A mainland or free-zone company sponsors an investor or partner visa for each shareholder and an employment visa for each person it hires. Every permit runs for 2 years and is renewed with the license. The owner's visa comes 1 to 3 weeks after the license, and its number follows the office on the mainland and the package in a zone.

AED 4,000Your family on your visa

Once your visa is issued you sponsor a spouse, sons under 25, unmarried daughters and a child with special needs. You show a lease in your name registered in Ejari, health insurance for each of them and attested marriage and birth certificates. An employee also shows a salary of AED 4,000 a month, or AED 3,000 with housing. Our fee is AED 2,150 a person, plus the zone's.

AED 1,450What our fee covers in each package

Smart, at AED 1,450, files the entry permit and the visa and books the medical test and the Emirates ID. It changes your status when you are already in the UAE and tracks the file to the card. Business, at AED 2,900, sends our representative with you to the medical test. VIP, at AED 7,300, adds express government processing where the zone offers it and a meeting at the airport.

A first-year budget for company formation in Dubai, line by line

Take one founder with one visa and the books kept from the first month. The authorities' fees are at cost; the Smart package and accounting are ours.

First year	Free zone	Mainland
License, paid at cost	AED 12,500 at Meydan	AED 12,000–15,000
Address	flexi-desk, in the zone's fee	office rent, in your quote
Accounting, 12 months at AED 1,300	AED 15,600	AED 15,600
Our Smart package: company, one visa, bank account	AED 5,400	AED 5,400
The first visa, the authorities' fees at cost	AED 10,100 at Meydan	GDRFA and establishment card, in your quote
In all: license, visa, accounting and our Smart package	AED 43,600	AED 33,000–36,000, plus the office rent and the visa fees

from AED 2,000Establishment card for the first visa, at Meydan

Each figure is a starting price: a second activity, a larger office or more visas raise it, and the quote lists every line before you pay. For the first visa a free zone also bills the establishment card and the medical test with the Emirates ID, at Meydan from AED 2,000 and from AED 2,250. Each zone's own lines are in Dubai free zone license cost, fees by zone.

AED 620The authorities' own charges

The authorities publish their own charges. DET takes AED 620 for the trade name and AED 120 for the initial approval, then a license fee set by the activity, AED 12,000 to 15,000 a year. The Dubai Land Department registers a lease in Ejari for AED 220 at a trustee centre. Meydan charges AED 12,500 a year for a license with a flexi-desk.

AED 27,450First year at IFZA, one visa, before accounting

With one visa and our Smart package of AED 5,400, a first year before accounting comes to AED 27,450 at IFZA, where the zone bills AED 22,050. The same year costs AED 21,590 at Dubai South and AED 20,053 at JAFZA, before any rent. DWTC bills AED 23,525 for the license, the address and an investor visa, its refundable deposit included.

After the license: tax number, VAT and the bank account

Corporate tax

We register the company with the Federal Tax Authority within 3 months of incorporation, for AED 1,850 or inside the Business package. The tax is 0% up to AED 375,000 and 9% above: corporate tax in the UAE. Our accountants in Dubai keep the books behind the return.

VAT

VAT registration in the UAE becomes compulsory once sales pass AED 375,000 in 12 months and is open from AED 187,500. The rate is 5%. We register the company for AED 1,300 before VAT, and the VIP package includes it.

Bank account

We send the application for the business bank account in the UAE as soon as the license exists, and a bank opens the account in 2 to 4 weeks. Smart applies to a digital bank, Business to a traditional UAE bank with 2 applications, VIP to 3.

Renewing a Dubai company: license, visas and filings each year

Business and VIP keep these dates in your account, and we file ahead of each: license renewal and PRO services in Dubai.

What is renewed	When	What it costs
Mainland trade license	Every year, before the date printed on it; on Invest in Dubai, by SMS to 6969 or at a service centre	DET's fee by activity, AED 12,000 to 15,000
Free-zone license and desk	Every year, with the zone's lease	AED 12,500 at Meydan; at IFZA AED 14,000 with no visa, AED 17,100 with one; at JAFZA AED 6,910 with the immigration card
Ejari lease of a mainland office	With each new term of the lease; a change of rent is notified 90 days before the end	AED 220 at a trustee centre, AED 177.75 in the app
Establishment card	Every year, with the license	AED 2,200 at IFZA, AED 1,825 at DMCC, AED 1,910 at JAFZA
Residence visas	Every 2 years, with the license	The zone's fee at cost, plus ours

9 monthsThe corporate tax return, once a year

We prepare the return from the books we keep and file it with the payment within 9 months of the year end. A year closing on 31 December 2026 is due by 30 September 2027. Small Business Relief is elected in that return, year by year, while revenue stays at AED 3 million or less. A late return costs AED 500 a month for the first 12 months.

28 daysVAT returns, every quarter

A registered company with turnover below AED 150 million files every quarter, a larger one every month. The return and the payment are due within 28 days of the end of the period, so January to March is filed by 28 April. A late return costs AED 1,000, and AED 2,000 for a repeat within 24 months.

In 2026 DET renews the license of the sectors it names without a current lease, when the lease follows within 3 months, and waives their fines for a late renewal.

Questions about business setup in Dubai

How much does business setup in Dubai cost?

The license is paid at cost: AED 12,500 a year at Meydan, AED 12,000 to 15,000 on the mainland, AED 35,484 for the DMCC Basic Biz package. Our fee is one of three packages, from AED 2,150 before VAT, and each residence visa adds the authority's fee plus ours from AED 1,450.

How long does company formation in Dubai take?

1 to 5 working days for a license at Meydan, IFZA and DWTC, 7 to 14 at DMCC, 14 to 21 at DAFZA and 2 to 4 weeks at DIFC. A mainland license takes 1 to 2 weeks, visas 1 to 3 weeks after it, the bank account 2 to 4.

Can a foreigner own 100% of a company in Dubai?

Yes, with no local sponsor: in every free zone, and on the mainland for more than 1,000 commercial and industrial activities since 2021. A short list of strategic activities, defence and banking among them, follows its own rules.

Which free zone is best for business setup in Dubai?

The one whose office and visas fit your trade. A consultancy takes Meydan or IFZA at about AED 12,500 a year with a desk, a commodity trader DMCC, air cargo DAFZA, sea freight JAFZA, a fund or a fintech DIFC. All the zones are compared on free zones in the UAE.

Can a free-zone company sell in mainland Dubai?

Yes. A free-zone company with a Dubai Unified License applies on the Invest in Dubai platform for a mainland operating permit. The permit costs AED 5,000 for six months and covers consultancy, technology, design, professional services and trading. Revenue earned there is taxed at 9%. The other routes are in where a free-zone and a mainland company can sell.

Do I have to come to Dubai to set up a company?

Not for a free-zone license: we verify your identity online and you sign electronically. DET asks a mainland applicant for a UAE entry permit or visa, and for a residence visa you come once, for the medical test and the fingerprints.

Which is the best business to start in Dubai?

The one whose customers you already have. An activity with no outside approval takes DET's Instant License in five minutes. A clinic waits for DHA, a training institute for KHDA, a property brokerage for RERA, and a shop, a restaurant or a building contractor needs a mainland license.

What is a low-cost business setup in Dubai?

A free-zone company with no visa. Meydan and Dubai South charge AED 12,500 a year for the license with a flexi-desk, and our packages start at AED 2,150 before VAT. Outside Dubai a license starts at AED 3,999 a year: the cheapest free zones in the UAE, with and without a visa. In Sharjah a mainland license costs 13% of the yearly rent, from AED 1,300: company setup in Sharjah.

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