Dubai trade license cost: what you pay, fee by fee

How much does a trade license cost in Dubai?

It depends on three choices: where you license (the Dubai mainland or a free zone), which activity you pick and which legal form you use. Invest in Dubai, the platform DET uses to issue mainland licenses, says its license fees vary by license type and activity, and sends you to its Business Set-Up Recommendations tool for the current figure.

What you can pin down today are the published fixed fees and the costs that sit outside the license. Use the tables below as a checklist, then get the figure for your exact activity before you commit.

Every price in this guide was checked on the official page on 7 November 2026. Authorities change fees, so confirm the amount on the day you pay.

Published Dubai trade license fees you can check today

Two notes on reading the table. Invest in Dubai says the Intelaq and exemption fees do not include fees and guarantees for federal authorities and some other entities. And the Dubai Chambers fee depends on your membership category: its new membership page shows the AED 300 to AED 2,200 range and says applications are processed within two hours.

The late renewal figure comes from Executive Council Resolution No. (13) of 2011, Dubai's fees and fines resolution, which counts part of a month as a full month. Our trade license renewal guide covers the other renewal fines.

What sets the price of a mainland license

For a standard mainland license, five things move the number.

• Activity. Each activity belongs to a group, such as commercial, professional or industrial, and some need a permit from another authority before DET issues the license. Those approvals can carry their own fees.
• Legal form. A sole establishment, a civil company, an LLC and a branch are licensed differently, and an LLC needs a memorandum of association.
• Number of activities. Adding activities can change both the fee and the approvals you need. See how to add activities to a trade license.
• Premises. A normal license needs a lease contract for a place of business. Rent is set by the market, not by DET, and is often the largest single cost.
• License type. Invest in Dubai offers a normal license, an instant license for activities that need no outside approvals, and the eTrader license.

The instant license: what's included

If your activity qualifies, the instant license is worth pricing. Invest in Dubai says it's issued within five minutes, comes with an electronic memorandum of association and a virtual site for the first year, and includes Dubai Chambers membership for commercial activities.

It also includes an establishment card from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) and one from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE), with the option to employ three people. That MOHRE card is available for LLCs, single-owner LLCs, sole establishments and civil companies. These are items you would otherwise arrange, and budget for, one by one.

The trade-off is scope. The instant license covers only activities that need no external approvals, and a virtual site is for the first year, so plan the premises cost for year two.

Small business license cost in Dubai: the low-cost routes

If you're testing an idea or running a business from home, compare these routes before a full mainland license. Each has limits, so the cheapest option isn't always the right one.

eTrader eligibility trips people up. The UAE government portal describes it as a license for UAE and GCC nationals residing in Dubai who trade through social media, registered to a single owner. Invest in Dubai's page doesn't list nationality conditions, so confirm who can apply before you plan around it. Our e-commerce license guide compares eTrader, mainland and free zone routes for online sellers.

Intelaq has three published conditions: your home must be in Dubai, the business must be 100% owned and managed by UAE or GCC nationals, and you can't hold more than five trade licenses. You apply to Dubai SME first and take its approval letter to a service centre.

Working alone for clients? A freelance permit is a different product from a trade license. See freelance visa vs freelance license in Dubai.

Free zone license costs: how to read a package price

Free zones set their own fees, so a headline price is a starting point, not a quote. Here's what three zones published on their own websites on 7 November 2026:

Before you compare the headline numbers, check five things in each package:

• Whether a residence visa or visa allocation is included, and the price of each extra visa.
• Whether the establishment (immigration) card is included.
• The office type, such as a flexi-desk or a dedicated office, and whether it supports the number of visas you need.
• How many activities you can hold, and whether your activity is on the zone's list.
• The renewal price for year two, not only the first-year offer.

Plan for mainland customers too. Dubai launched the Free Zone Mainland Operating Permit in October 2025, under Executive Council Decision No. 11 of 2025, for free zone companies holding a Dubai Unified License. Compare zones side by side on our free zone company formation page, or read the SPC, Shams and Meydan guides.

Costs that sit outside the license fee

These are the items that turn a low headline price into a realistic budget.

• Premises and Ejari. A mainland license needs a registered lease. Rent depends on the area and the size of the space.
• Establishment cards. Your company registers with the immigration authority and MOHRE before it can sponsor visas. See our establishment card guide.
• Visas. Investor, partner and employee visas each carry government fees, a medical test and an Emirates ID. Start with our investor visa and employment visa pages, and our UAE labour card guide for MOHRE's work permit fees.
• Insurance. Plan health cover for each visa holder, and business cover if your activity or landlord asks for it. See insurance services.
• Tax registration. Missing the corporate tax registration deadline carries an AED 10,000 penalty, according to the Ministry of Finance. VAT registration becomes mandatory once taxable supplies and imports pass AED 375,000. See corporate tax registration.
• Attestation and translation. Foreign shareholders often need company or personal documents attested and translated. See commercial document attestation and legal translation.
• Professional fees. If you use a consultant, ask for government fees and service fees on separate lines.

A worked example using published fees only

Here's what the published fees add up to in one simple case: an eligible individual starting a home-based online business on an eTrader license.

That's the floor, not the full picture. If your activity needs an outside approval, or you want to sponsor a visa, eTrader won't fit and the budget changes. For a mainland LLC or a free zone company, ask for a written quote that lists each government fee on its own line.

Renewal: the cost that comes back every year

A Dubai mainland license is valid for one year under Law No. (13) of 2011, so budget for renewal from the start. Renewal fees differ by license type, and late renewal costs AED 200 for each month of delay under the fees and fines resolution. Free zones set their own renewal fees, and several offer multi-year licenses at a lower yearly rate.

Our trade license renewal guide covers the timing, the steps and what to update afterwards.

How we help you budget

Global Sky PRO is a private business setup consultancy, not a government office. We check which license fits your activity, get the current government figures for your case and send a quote with government fees and our service fee shown separately. Government fees are paid at cost.

No consultant can promise an approval: the licensing authority decides. To compare routes, start with mainland company formation or try the setup planner.