Professional license in Dubai in 1 to 2 weeks, our packages from AED 2,150

We obtain your professional license in Dubai from DET in 1 to 2 weeks, for a sole establishment, a civil company or an LLC. DET's fees at cost, ours from AED 2,150.

from AED 2,150 Our packages, before VAT, DET's fees apart
1–2 Weeks to the DET professional license
from AED 12,000 DET's license fee, a year, at cost

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A founder in a white kandura with a phone at the window of an office above the city

What a professional license in Dubai covers

DETThe authority that issues it on the mainland

A professional license lets a business earn from expertise, a skill or creative work. On the Dubai mainland it comes from DET, the Department of Economy and Tourism, once called DED. It lets you serve any client in the UAE: see mainland company in Dubai.

6 typesOf license, and the two that get confused

The Ministry of Economy and Tourism counts 6 license types. A commercial license covers buying and selling: retail, import and export, software trading. A professional license covers services sold from your own knowledge. The other types are on trade license in Dubai.

10 minutesFrom a complete file to the license

DET issues a normal license within 10 minutes once the file holds the initial approval, the memorandum or agent agreement and the lease. Building that file takes 1 to 2 weeks, and we build it for you as part of our business setup in Dubai.

The license runs for 1 year, and we renew it with DET against a current lease in Ejari.

Who takes a professional license in Dubai

We choose the activity codes with you first: the code decides the license.

Management, HR, business and marketing advisers who sell their time and judgement. One license holds related activities together, and we group yours to match your contracts.

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Sole establishment, civil company or LLC: the form behind the license

Name	Sole establishment	Civil company	LLC
Owners	1 person	2 or more partners practising one profession	2 to 50 partners, or 1 owner as a one-person LLC
Founding document	Agent agreement, attested by a notary or a court	Memorandum issued by DET	Memorandum issued by DET
Local service agent	When the owner is not a GCC national	When every partner is a non-GCC national	Only where DET's rules for the activity name one
Suits	One consultant or designer working alone	Consultants or trainers practising together	A firm that plans to hire or add owners
Our packages	from AED 2,150	from AED 2,150	from AED 2,150

What a professional license in Dubai costs with us

Our fee is one of three packages, before VAT. DET, the Land Department and GDRFA take their fees at cost, listed below.

Smart package: the license file from name to issue

from AED 2,150Get a quote

Business package: adds corporate tax registration and a deadline calendar: AED 5,450
VIP package: adds VAT registration and a 2-hour consultation with a senior tax adviser: AED 9,350
Residence visa, our fee on top of GDRFA's, each: from AED 1,450
Bank account application, our fee: from AED 1,800
Local service agent, a year: in your quote
Accounting with the tax returns, a month: from AED 1,300
License renewal from the second year, our fee: AED 2,550

All prices for a company in the UAE

The cost of a professional license in Dubai, line by line

What the authorities charge a professional business with one residence visa, at cost.

Line	Paid to	Fee
Trade name	DET	AED 620
Initial approval	DET	AED 120
License, set by the activity	DET	AED 12,000–15,000 a year
Lease registration in Ejari	Dubai Land Department	AED 220
Residence permit for 2 years	GDRFA, the residency authority	AED 200
Change of status inside the UAE	GDRFA	AED 500

AED 5,400Our fees for one consultant with a visa

One consultant opens a sole establishment with one visa and a bank account on our Smart package. That is AED 2,150 for the license file, AED 1,450 for the visa and AED 1,800 for the account: AED 5,400 before VAT, with the table's lines and the rent at cost.

100 sq ftThe office rent, which we quote for you

DET licenses a mainland business at a real address of 100 square feet or more, and the rent is the largest line of a first year. We find an office for your activity, register the lease in Ejari and put the rent in your quote.

How to get a professional license in Dubai, step by step

1 to 2 days
Activity and legal form
We match your services to DET's activity list and choose the form. Where a regulator approves the activity, we prepare its application.
10 minutes at DET
Trade name
We reserve the name on the Invest in Dubai portal for AED 620. It shows the activity, ends in the form's acronym, such as EST, and repeats no registered name.
10 minutes at DET
Initial approval
DET confirms for AED 120 that it has no objection. With the approval you sign a lease and apply to a regulator.
2 to 4 days
Agent agreement or memorandum
We draft the agent agreement of a sole establishment, attested by a notary or a court, or the memorandum DET issues for a civil company or an LLC. You sign.
week 1 to 2
Office and license
You pick the office, or we find one, and we register its lease in Ejari. DET issues the license on the full set, once its fee is paid within 30 days of the voucher.
1 to 4 weeks later
Visa, tax and bank
We open your files with GDRFA and the labour ministry, apply for your visa, register the business for tax and send the bank application.

Local service agent, ownership, office and visas

0%Of the business goes to the local service agent

A local service agent is a UAE national who deals with government offices for the business and holds 0% of it. The federal rules ask for one when non-GCC nationals own the whole business, under an agreement attested by a notary or a court. We draft it and file it.

100%Of the license stays in your hands

Since 2021 a foreigner owns 100% of a mainland company in more than 1,000 activities. The agent's yearly fee is fixed in the agreement and stands in your quote.

AED 220A real address, with the lease in Ejari

Every mainland business needs a physical address. In Dubai its lease goes into Ejari: AED 220 at a trustee centre, AED 177.75 in the Dubai REST app. An Instant License, for an activity with no outside approval, starts on a virtual address for a year.

2 yearsEach residence permit runs

The license lets the business sponsor residence permits for you and your staff, each for 2 years. GDRFA decides a file within 48 hours of the medical test, and the visa count follows the floor space: residence visas in the UAE.

Professional license on the mainland, in a free zone or as a freelance permit

Name	DET mainland	Dubai free zone	Freelance permit
Who holds it	A sole establishment, civil company or LLC	A free-zone company, owned 100% by you	One person, under the name on the passport
License fee of the authority	AED 12,000–15,000 a year	From AED 12,000 at DWTC, AED 12,500 at Meydan, AED 12,900 at IFZA	AED 7,500 a year at GoFreelance
Local service agent	When every owner is a non-GCC national	None	None
Residence visa	By floor space	By package: see free zones in the UAE	1 freelance visa, AED 5,042 for 2 years
Set up in	1 to 2 weeks	1 to 5 working days	2 working days at GoFreelance

Documents for a professional license in Dubai

Documents

Each owner, partner and manager

Passport copy, or Emirates ID for a UAE resident
Residence visa or UAE entry permit, for a non-GCC national
Photo on a white background
No-objection letter from your UAE sponsor, when you hold a work visa
The regulator's approval, for a regulated activity

Prepared by us, signed by you

Trade name certificate and initial approval
Agent agreement, or the memorandum
Lease registered in Ejari

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

See the platform

Questions about a professional license in Dubai

How much does a professional license cost in Dubai?

DET charges AED 620 for the trade name, AED 120 for the initial approval and AED 12,000 to 15,000 a year for the license, set by the activity. Rent, the agent's fee and visas come on top. Our packages start at AED 2,150 before VAT.

Do I still need a local service agent for a professional license?

Yes, when non-GCC nationals own the whole business: the federal rules ask for an agent under an agreement attested by a notary or a court. The agent holds no shares. A free-zone company is 100% foreign-owned and names no agent.

What is the difference between a professional and a commercial license in Dubai?

A commercial license is for trading goods. A professional license is for services built on knowledge or skill, and it is the license a sole establishment or a civil company of professionals holds.

Can a sole establishment have more than one owner?

No. A sole establishment belongs to one person, who answers for its debts with personal assets. Two or more professionals form a civil company, and owners who want limited liability form an LLC.

Does a professional license come with a residence visa?

Yes. The license lets the business sponsor visas, starting with yours. Each permit runs for 2 years, and our fee is from AED 1,450 on top of GDRFA's AED 240 with the knowledge, innovation and delivery fees.

Can a free-zone professional license serve clients on the Dubai mainland?

Yes, with DET's Free Zone Mainland Operating Permit: AED 5,000 for six months, with 9% corporate tax on the mainland revenue. The two routes are compared in free zone vs mainland in the UAE.

Is a professional license the same as a freelance permit?

No. A freelance permit licenses one person under the name on the passport, AED 7,500 a year at GoFreelance. A professional license goes to a business with a trade name that employs staff: freelance permit or an LLC.

What tax does a business with a professional license pay?

An LLC registers for corporate tax within 3 months of its license: 0% up to AED 375,000 of taxable income, 9% above. A sole establishment is taxed through its owner, who registers once turnover passes AED 1 million a year: corporate tax registration in the UAE.

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