In short
- IFZA's list holds 826 activities, each with a code: 453 commercial, 372 professional and one with no type.
- One license takes 3 activities in its fee and may mix commercial with professional ones.
- 243 activities are regulated: 167 need an outside approval before the license, 76 after it.
- IFZA has no industrial license: a factory belongs in RAKEZ or another industrial zone.
In this guide
IFZA license types at a glance
IFZA, the International Free Zone Authority, licenses companies in its free zone inside Dubai Silicon Oasis. Its site names three license options: professional, commercial and branch. General trading is a commercial activity with a wider scope, and a holding company is licensed through investment activities on the commercial side. The cost and the visas are on our page about IFZA free zone company setup.
| License | What it allows | On IFZA's list |
|---|---|---|
| Professional | Services and expertise: consulting, IT, design, marketing, accounting | 372 activities |
| Commercial | Buying and selling goods: import, export, distribution, e-commerce | 453 activities, 389 of them named for a product they trade |
| General trading | Trade in any allowed goods under one activity | 1 commercial activity, code 4690018, at an additional charge |
| Holding | Owning shares and managing subsidiaries | 12 investment activities, all commercial |
| Branch | A company from elsewhere working under its own name | The parent's activities, or a representative office |
An industrial license is not among them. IFZA's list has two license types, commercial and professional, and no factory activities. The few production lines on it, such as 3D printing, card printing and repackaging, are professional activities. A manufacturer looks at RAKEZ, which leases warehouses and industrial land.
How IFZA licensing works: one license, three activities
An IFZA company is an FZCO with one license. The standard fee covers three activities, which IFZA's newer guides count as three activity groups. Commercial and professional activities may stand on the same license: IFZA calls this cross-business licensing. Each activity beyond the third is charged separately.
So the license type is a property of the activities you pick, and the price follows the package: the number of visas and the workspace. A license with three activities and a flexi-desk costs about AED 12,500 a year. Three typical sets:
- A consultancy that also resells software: Management Consultancies (7020003) and Computer Systems & Communication Equipment Software Trading (4741004).
- An online shop: Ecommerce (1122352) and the trading activity of its product line.
- A design agency: Design Services (7410003), Web-Design (6201005) and Marketing Management (7320002).
The IFZA activity list: 826 activities and how to read it
IFZA publishes its business activities as a searchable table. On 19 October 2026 it held 826 activities, and each line gives six things:
- The activity code, six or seven digits, such as 7020003 for Management Consultancies.
- The activity name, with a description of what it includes.
- The license type: commercial or professional.
- The regulation type: non-regulated, which IFZA calls green, or regulated, which it calls amber.
- The classification of a regulated activity: an outside approval before the license is issued, or after it.
- The notes and the approving body: a retail space, an office, an undertaking letter, the name of the authority.
583 activities are green and need no outside approval. 243 are amber: 167 need the approval before IFZA issues the license and 76 after it. The notes matter as much as the colour. 21 activities need a retail space, 18 cover trade or work abroad only, and 11 cannot share a license with any other activity.
Check three things for each activity before you apply: its colour, its note and whether it can be combined with your other two.
Commercial license and general trading
A commercial license suits a company that takes title to goods: it imports, exports, stores and distributes them. Most of the 453 activities name a product, from Mobile Phones & Accessories Trading (4741011) to Auto Spare Parts & Components Trading (4530001). Naming the product helps at the bank. IFZA itself notes that general trading draws a stricter banking check, because the bank cannot see what the company will trade.
General Trading (4690018) lets a company import, trade and re-export any allowed goods, and goods under special approval once the competent department consents. Cars, alcohol, medical supplies and weapons stay outside it and need licenses of their own. It carries an additional charge. Choose it when the product lines are unrelated or not yet known.
Online sellers have two commercial activities, Ecommerce (1122352) and Online Seller (6312009), each with an undertaking letter. A marketplace that links buyers and sellers takes a professional one, Portal (6312004). Food is the largest regulated family: 34 activities need the Department of Food Control, 31 of them after the license is issued.
Professional license: services and consulting
A professional license suits a company that sells expertise and takes no title to goods. It is the usual choice of a founder who works alone or runs an agency. IFZA lists 371 professional activities, 55 of them consultancies.
| Activity | Code | Outside approval |
|---|---|---|
| Management Consultancies | 7020003 | None |
| Information Technology Consultants | 6202003 | None |
| Marketing Management | 7320002 | None |
| Accounting & Bookkeeping | 6920003 | None |
| Project Management Services | 8211015 | None |
| Professional & Management Development Training | 8549013 | Knowledge and Human Development Authority, before the license |
| Travel Agency | 7911004 | Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, before the license |
| Real Estate Consultancies | 6820005 | Real Estate Regulatory Agency, before the license |
The last three rows show where a service turns regulated. Advertising and publishing go to the Ministry of Culture and Youth, and sports services to the Dubai Sports Council. Auditing of Accounts is open only to a firm that already has an audit practice on the mainland.
We do this for you IFZA free zone company setup a company with its license from $7,000
Holding company and branch
IFZA has no separate holding license. A holding company takes one of 12 commercial activities named for the sector it invests in: commercial, industrial, technological, healthcare, energy and other enterprises. The broadest, Investment in Commercial Enterprises & Management (6499001), covers companies formed to invest through subsidiaries, hold shares in other businesses and manage them. None of the 12 needs an outside approval.
For tax, the holding of shares is one of the activities whose income can earn the 0% rate of a Qualifying Free Zone Person. The conditions are in who pays 0% corporate tax in a free zone.
A branch carries the name of its parent and the parent's activities, or some of them. Two activities exist for branches alone, Representative Office (7010003) and Managing Office (7010001), and neither can be combined with another.
Regulated activities, and whether IFZA has a crypto license
The amber activities belong to Dubai and federal authorities. After food control come the Roads and Transport Authority with 27 activities, the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority with 25 and the Dubai Maritime Authority with 24. The security regulator SIRA has 20, jewellery and precious metals trading among them. The company obtains the approval itself and shows it to IFZA on request.
IFZA issues no crypto license of its own. Its list carries seven virtual asset activities, from advisory to exchange services. Each needs the approval of VARA, Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, before the license, and none can share a license with another activity. Distributed Ledger Technology Services (6202012), the activity of blockchain developers, also needs VARA's approval and excludes trading in currencies and running an exchange.
How to choose an IFZA license: four cases
- You take title to goods at any point of the sale: commercial activities, by product, or general trading for unrelated lines.
- You sell expertise, software services or design: professional activities.
- You own shares or other assets and trade nothing: an investment activity on the commercial side.
- You manufacture or process goods: another zone, since IFZA lists no factory activities.
Then match the wording of each activity to your invoices. The bank compares the two when it opens the account, and the authority checks at renewal that the company works within its activities. IFZA's own guidance says a mismatch can delay the renewal.
Adding activities, renewal and what moves the price
Activities can be added or replaced after the license is issued, by amendment and for a fee. IFZA advises planning such changes close to the renewal date. The license is renewed every year, and IFZA sends its notice 60 to 90 days ahead.
Five things move the price of a package: the visas, the workspace, activities beyond the third, the establishment card and the yearly renewal. The Dubai zones are priced side by side in Dubai free zone license cost, and RAKEZ's visa fees are in RAKEZ visa cost and quota.
We map your invoices to activities, file the application and deliver the license, expected in 5 to 7 working days. Formation with us starts at $7,000 before VAT: IFZA free zone company setup.
