In short
- DET lists AED 520, AED 1,020 and AED 2,520: AED 4,060 for a mainland company that is dissolved.
- Creditors have 45 days from the newspaper notice in Dubai, and the law's own minimum is 30 days.
- Corporate tax deregistration is due within 3 months of the dissolution, VAT within 30 business days.
- A late tax deregistration costs AED 1,000 a month, AED 10,000 at most for each tax.
In this guide
How to close a company in Dubai: the routes
A company is closed by liquidation, and a license left unrenewed does not replace it. Who runs the procedure follows from who issued the license. The paperwork around a license and its visas is part of our PRO services in Dubai and the UAE.
| What is closed | Who cancels it | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Mainland LLC or another commercial company | DET | A resolution, a liquidator, a notice with 45 days for creditors, a final report |
| Sole establishment or civil company | DET | Labour cards cancelled; a civil company adds a notarised contract that ends the partnership |
| Branch of a foreign company | The Ministry of Economy, then DET | Removal from the ministry's register and an attested decision of the board |
| Free-zone company | The zone's registrar | A resolution, clearances, the zone's notice and a liquidation report |
| Company closed by a court | The court | A judgment that names the liquidator and the method |
The Commercial Companies Law lists the grounds: the term ends, the object is achieved, most of the assets are lost, a merger, the partners' agreement or a court order. In a limited liability company the managers put the question to the partners once losses reach half of the capital.
A company that only changes its licensing authority has no need to close. The law lets it move its registration between a free zone and the mainland and keep its legal personality: see free zone vs mainland in the UAE.
Company liquidation process in the UAE, step by step
This is the order for a mainland company in Dubai, where the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) splits the file into two phases.
- Resolution. The partners resolve to dissolve the company and name the liquidator and the method. DET takes the minutes notarised.
- Acceptance. The liquidator signs a letter of acceptance and adds an auditor registration certificate and a notarised signature specimen.
- Certificate of dissolution. DET issues the certificate of dissolution and liquidator appointment for AED 520. Phase 1 ends here.
- Notice to creditors. The liquidator writes to each creditor by registered letter and publishes the notice in two Arabic local newspapers for one day. Creditors have 45 days to claim.
- Settlement. The liquidator lists assets and debts, collects what the company is owed and pays the creditors. In the same weeks the company cancels its visas, its utility account and its lease.
- Final report. The partners approve the liquidator's final account. The liquidator files it with the original newspapers and a joint declaration that no objection arrived in the 45 days.
- Cancellation. DET cancels the license for AED 1,020 and takes AED 2,520 as the dissolution fee. A service centre completes the request within 10 minutes, and the company leaves the commercial register.
- Tax. The corporate tax deregistration follows the cancellation, within 3 months of the dissolution. The VAT deregistration can start earlier.
The notice sets the pace: no mainland liquidation in Dubai ends before the 45 days have run. The law's own minimum is 30 days from the notice.
The liquidator and the liquidator's report
The partners or the general assembly appoint the liquidator. The law bars the company's auditor from the role, and anyone who audited its accounts in the five years before. DET asks for the liquidator's auditor registration certificate, and DMCC takes a liquidator from its own list of approved auditors.
The managers' authority ends with the dissolution. Until a liquidator is named they answer to third parties as liquidators, and from then on the liquidator:
- draws up an inventory of assets and debts and a balance sheet that the managers sign
- collects debts and banks them in the name of the company under liquidation
- sells the assets and pays the creditors, the costs of the liquidation first
- deposits with the court the share of a creditor who did not claim
- gives the partners an interim account every three months
The liquidation is complete once the partners or the general assembly approve the final account, and the liquidator enters that in the commercial register. What is left after the debts goes to the partners: their capital first, then the rest by their profit shares.
DET takes the final report with the newspapers. JAFZA asks the company's auditors for a liquidation report, and Meydan Free Zone sells one for AED 1,000. The Federal Tax Authority wants financial statements up to the day the license is cancelled.
A claim against the liquidator can be brought for three years after the entry in the register.
Clearances before the license is cancelled: visas, labour, utilities, bank
| Clearance | Where | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Work permits | MOHRE, the labour ministry | A request for each worker, and the company's confirmation that the worker received all dues |
| Residence visas | GDRFA Dubai | The ministry's cancellation extract and both passports; AED 120 a visa, 48 hours |
| Establishment card | GDRFA Dubai | A letter from the company once no visa is left on the card |
| Electricity and water | DEWA | AED 145 on a small meter, the final bill within 24 working hours, then a clearance certificate |
| Lease | Dubai Land Department | Ejari cancelled: free online, AED 40 plus VAT at a trustee centre |
| Customs | Dubai Customs | A clearance where the license covers trading: JAFZA and DMCC ask for it |
| Bank | The company's bank | The account works until the liquidator has collected and paid; Meydan asks for the bank's closure letter |
Staff visas are cancelled first and those of owners and managers last: RAKEZ handles them together with the license. The lease is closed as described in Ejari registration and cancellation, and the tax side follows below.
Tax deregistration with the Federal Tax Authority
| Point | VAT | Corporate tax |
|---|---|---|
| When to apply | Within 30 business days of the day the duty arose | Within 3 months of the dissolution or liquidation |
| What the authority takes | The license cancellation certificate, the liquidation letter or the board resolution, and a turnover template | The license cancellation document and financial statements up to that date |
| Before it approves | The final return filed, every tax and penalty paid | Every return filed, the last period included, and all tax and penalties paid |
| Final return | Within 28 days of the date the deregistration takes effect | Within 9 months of the end of the last period |
| The authority's time | 30 business days | 40 working days |
| Fee | AED 0 | AED 0 |
| Late application | AED 1,000 a month, AED 10,000 at most | AED 1,000 a month, AED 10,000 at most |
The two applications fall at different moments. VAT deregistration can be filed on the resolution or the liquidator's letter, while the company still holds its license. Corporate tax deregistration needs the cancelled license, so it follows the cancellation and has to arrive within the 3 months. Registration and returns up to that point are on VAT registration in the UAE and in corporate tax in the UAE.
We do this for you Company liquidation in Dubai our fee in your quote
Trade license cancellation cost in Dubai: the published fees
| Fee | Charged by | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of dissolution and liquidator appointment | DET | AED 520 |
| License cancellation | DET | AED 1,020 |
| Company dissolution | DET | AED 2,520 |
| Cancellation of a residence permit, each | GDRFA Dubai | AED 120 |
| Disconnection of electricity and water, small meter | DEWA | AED 145 |
| Cancellation of Ejari at a trustee centre | Dubai Land Department | AED 40 plus VAT |
| VAT and corporate tax deregistration | Federal Tax Authority | AED 0 |
| Newspaper notices and the liquidator's fee | The newspapers and the liquidator | in your quote |
A mainland LLC with two residence visas and one office pays DET's three fees, AED 4,060, then GDRFA AED 240 and DEWA AED 145. That is AED 4,445 in published fees, with the Ejari cancelled online at no charge. Of DET's sum, AED 520 is due at the start and AED 3,540 at the end. The newspaper notices, the liquidator's fee and our own fee stand in your quote.
Liquidation of a free-zone company
A free-zone company is removed by its own registrar, under the zone's regulations. The pattern repeats from zone to zone: a resolution of the owners, the visas cancelled, clearances from the zone's departments, a notice, a liquidation report and the fee. The authority then issues a final de-registration certificate.
| Zone | Published fee | What the zone states |
|---|---|---|
| JAFZA | AED 6,500 for an FZE or FZCO, AED 1,500 for a branch | A liquidation report from the auditors; AED 1,000 more for each month the license has been expired |
| DMCC | Not in the guidance notes | A liquidator from DMCC's approved auditors; notice for 14 calendar days; a summary winding-up ends within 6 months |
| Dubai Development Authority zones | AED 1,520 | An auditor's letter and notices in English and Arabic; 4 working days |
| Meydan Free Zone | AED 9,000 for its own service with no employees | A liquidation report is mandatory; 5 to 9 weeks |
| RAKEZ | AED 3,000, or AED 4,500 for an industrial license | Notice for 14 days; 5 working days of processing |
| Fujairah Creative City | Not published | A deposit taken when the last visa is cancelled becomes the fee |
| RAK ICC, offshore | AED 1,500 | Voluntary strike-off or liquidation |
What happens if a license is left to expire
An expired license closes nothing. The company stays on the register, its visas and tax registrations stay open, and each authority goes on counting.
| Where | What runs after the expiry date |
|---|---|
| DET | Automatic monthly fines for a late renewal, waived by Dubai for a period in 2026 |
| JAFZA | AED 1,000 for each month, added to the termination fee |
| Fujairah Creative City | AED 50 a month, AED 500 at most, and AED 1,200 at most on the establishment card |
| Federal Tax Authority | Returns stay due: a late corporate tax return costs AED 500 a month in the first twelve months, then AED 1,000 |
The law also lets the authority act on its own. It can give a company that has stopped trading three months' notice of removal from the register, or suspend the registration and strike the company off after three years. Managers and partners of a company removed for inactivity stay liable as if it had never been dissolved.
DET keeps a separate route for a company whose license has been expired for more than two years, for example where a partner cannot be found. The local partner signs an undertaking for the company's debts, and the notice runs in Arabic newspapers with 15 days for claims.
Closing a company with us
We draft the resolution, prepare the file for DET or the zone, publish the notices, cancel the visas and the lease and file both tax deregistrations. The liquidator is a licensed auditor named in your resolution, and our fee stands in your quote. The same team runs our PRO services in Dubai and the UAE for companies that stay open. What a license costs to keep is on trade license in Dubai.
