Documents required for company formation in Dubai

The core checklist

Mainland company documents, stage by stage

The UAE government portal sets out the mainland sequence: choose the activity and legal form, register the trade name, get initial approval, sign the memorandum of association (MOA), secure premises, obtain any external approvals and collect the license. Each stage has its own papers.

• Trade name. Invest in Dubai needs only a verified portal account; the fee is AED 620.
• Initial approval. Owners' passport details, the activity and the legal form.
• MOA. Signed by every partner, or by a representative with a valid power of attorney. See MOA drafting.
• Premises. A lease for a unit that suits the activity, registered with Ejari in Dubai.
• Approvals. Letters from any authority the activity needs, such as a health or education regulator.
• License. Once the payment voucher is issued, the fee must be paid within 30 days or the application is cancelled, according to the UAE government portal.

Invest in Dubai's instant license needs only your unified number or ID number and includes a virtual site for the first year, for activities that need no outside approvals.

Documents for corporate shareholders

If a company, not a person, will own shares, expect a heavier pack: the certificate of incorporation, the constitutional documents (such as articles of association) and a board resolution approving the investment and naming a representative. For mainland and most free zone setups these are attested for UAE use: notarised and legalised in the home country, attested by the UAE embassy there, then by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

JAFZA, for example, asks corporate shareholders in an offshore company for notarised, UAE embassy-attested incorporation documents, a good standing certificate and a board resolution. RAK ICC is an exception: it says it doesn't require legalisation of corporate documents from foreign jurisdictions. See commercial document attestation.

Free zone and offshore documents

Free zones set their own lists, but almost all start with passport copies, a photo, contact details and the activity, and some ask for a short business plan or proof of address. Offshore registries work through registered agents: JAFZA's offshore application includes the memorandum and articles of association, the agent's letter of appointment and passport copies of the directors and secretary.

Compare routes in mainland vs free zone vs offshore before you collect documents, because the list depends on the route.

Documents after the license

• Establishment cards with the immigration authority and MOHRE, before sponsoring visas. See our establishment card guide.
• Corporate tax registration with the FTA; late registration carries an AED 10,000 penalty.
• Dubai Chambers membership for many mainland companies, with fees from AED 300 to AED 2,200.
• A bank account application, where the bank sets its own document list.

What delays company formation

• Passport spellings that differ between owners' documents.
• Corporate documents not attested, or attested for the wrong country.
• A lease signed before the activity was confirmed.
• An activity needing an outside approval that nobody planned for.
• A share split in the MOA that doesn't match the application.

Send us scans before you sign anything and we'll confirm the exact list for your route. Start with mainland company formation or free zone company formation.