Why vet a UAE partner
A UAE company can be set up quickly and cheaply, so a polished website and an office in Business Bay say little about reliability on their own. Due diligence and partner vetting in the UAE answer basic questions: does the company exist, who stands behind it, is it licensed for what it claims to do, and is it facing claims?
Vetting matters most when you are:
- signing a large contract or shipping goods on credit terms;
- appointing a UAE distributor or agent;
- investing in a project or buying into a company;
- paying an advance to a contractor or supplier.
What a counterparty check covers
- Registration and licence. Whether the licence is valid, which emirate or free zone issued it, which activities it permits, and whether the details match the contract.
- Owners and management. Who owns the company and who can sign for it, cross-checked against the constitutional documents the counterparty provides. The UAE beneficial ownership (UBO) register is not public, so document requests matter here.
- Litigation history. Available information on cases and enforcement proceedings, including the DIFC and ADGM courts, which publish their judgments.
- Reputation and sanctions. Open sources, industry information and sanctions screening — which your bank will care about too.
- Assets. Whether the counterparty holds assets in the UAE that could be enforced against if things go wrong.
We agree the scope upfront: a one-off shipment needs a basic check, an investment needs full due diligence.
Due diligence before buying a business or stake
When you buy a company, the review goes deeper and relies on the seller's disclosure:
- corporate history, title to shares, encumbrances and third-party obligations;
- key contracts, change-of-control clauses and dependence on a single customer or supplier;
- staff, visas and end-of-service liabilities;
- tax registration and filings — alongside a financial adviser;
- disputes, claims and regulatory breaches.
The findings shape the sale and purchase agreement: seller warranties, price retentions and closing conditions. See M&A transactions in the UAE.
How the check runs
- Send us the company name, licence number and a description of the deal — we reply within 30 minutes during business hours.
- Within 1–2 days we agree scope, timing and a fixed fee.
- We search registers, court and open sources, and request documents from the counterparty where appropriate.
- You receive a report with red flags, a risk rating and recommendations — from “fine to proceed” to “prepayment or letter of credit only”.
Everything runs remotely; there is no need to travel to Dubai.
Acting on the findings
If the risks are acceptable, we build protection into the contract — payment schedule, guarantees, penalties, an arbitration clause (see contracts & cross-border deals). If the check reveals serious problems, you find out before the money has gone. And if a counterparty has already stopped paying, we move on to debt recovery.
Fees
Vetting is a fixed-price project from AED 5,000. The fee depends on the number of parties checked and the depth of the review. Official extracts and translations are billed separately and listed in the estimate.
FAQ
Basic information, yes, but for reliable identification we need the licence number and the emirate or free zone of registration. The more you can give us, the fuller the check.
The UAE beneficial ownership register is not open to the public. We combine available registers, documents provided by the counterparty and open sources — and flag clearly what could not be confirmed.
A basic check usually takes a few business days; full due diligence before an acquisition takes several weeks or more, depending on how quickly documents arrive.
No. It reduces risk but cannot remove it. We show what is known, where the gaps are and how to protect yourself in the contract.