Main UAE licence types
Names vary between licensing authorities, but the core licence categories in the UAE are similar:
- Commercial / trading — buying and selling goods, from a narrow product group to general trading with a broad range.
- Professional / services — services and consultancy: management consultancy, IT, marketing, design, training. On the mainland, some professional licences may require a local service agent.
- Industrial — manufacturing, assembly, processing; usually needs suitable premises and approvals.
- E-commerce — selling goods and services online; many free zones and economic departments list dedicated activities for it.
- Sector licences — tourism, media, education, healthcare, financial services and other regulated fields.
Many free zones also offer freelance permits for individuals who work without setting up a company.
Choosing the activities for your licence
Activities are chosen from the licensing authority's official list — mainland lists follow an international classification, while each free zone has its own. Practical rules:
- Describe what you actually do. Banks check the licence against your contracts, invoices and payment flows — a mismatch is a common cause of questions or refusal.
- Don't add codes “just in case”. Extra activities can raise costs, trigger approvals and complicate bank compliance.
- Think a year ahead. You can add activities later, but it is a separate procedure with its own fee.
- Check restrictions. Some activities are only available on the mainland or in particular zones.
Combining activities
A single licence can usually cover several activities if they belong to the same group or are compatible under the authority's rules. Combining trading and services is not allowed everywhere, or costs more; regulated activities often cannot be combined with ordinary ones. The number of activities included in a base package varies between free zones — a key point when you compare them on costs and free zone comparison.
Activities that need additional approvals
Some sectors need a regulator's approval on top of the licence. Examples:
| Sector | Approving body (examples) |
|---|---|
| Banking and financial services | Central Bank of the UAE, Capital Market Authority (formerly SCA); the DFSA in DIFC, the FSRA in ADGM |
| Virtual assets | VARA in Dubai; the DFSA or FSRA in the financial centres |
| Healthcare | Dubai Health Authority, Department of Health — Abu Dhabi, the federal health ministry |
| Education and training | KHDA in Dubai, ADEK in Abu Dhabi |
| Media and publishing | UAE Media Council |
| Food and catering | the emirate's municipality (e.g. Dubai Municipality) |
| Real estate brokerage | RERA in Dubai |
| Manufacturing | Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) |
| Legal consultancy | Legal Affairs Department in Dubai |
The list is not exhaustive: requirements depend on the emirate, the zone and the specific activity code.
How we help
At the diagnosis stage we look at your business model and choose activity codes, jurisdiction and licence type that match what you really do and make sense to a bank. Where regulator approval is needed, we prepare the file and handle the correspondence. Registration is a fixed price from AED 5,000, with authority fees in the estimate. If your company already exists and its activities need changing, we can do this under corporate support. For the overall process see how to set up a company step by step, and for bank requirements corporate bank account.
FAQ
Yes, by amending the licence with the authority. It is a separate procedure with a fee and, for regulated activities, a sector approval.
General trading covers a broad range of goods, a standard trading licence specific product groups. General trading usually costs more and may draw more questions from banks.
Usually yes: most authorities have dedicated e-commerce activities, which must be on the licence before you start selling.
Many free zones allow it, sometimes for an extra fee; some do not. We check code compatibility before filing.