Companies will require to obtain a specific business license before starting business activities in Dubai. A business license in Dubai is an official permit that is a legal requirement to carry out certain types of business activities in UAE. Different types of business licenses are required in Dubai depending on the nature of business activities. In Dubai, the Department of Economic Development (DED) is a government body that issues business licenses in UAE. However only mainland companies are licensed by DED while freezone companies are licensed by private authorities.
How do I get a business license in Dubai?
Well, if you would like to get a trade license in Dubai then you will need to go through the following 5 steps:
1. Select your business activity
The first step for obtaining a business license in Dubai is to choose your business activity. There are thousands of different business activities that you can choose from in UAE. If you are not sure which business activity can be right option for you then our business consultants at Expand Corporate Services can help you on the most appropriate business activity for your company.
2. Select name for your business
The second important step is to choose the right trading name that clearly describes what your company does and be careful not to include any terms that could be considered offensive. So carefully and sensibly pick a nice name for your future business in Dubai.
3. Free zone or Mainland choose the business location
When setting up a business in Dubai, you have many options available when it comes to choosing the location for your business. You can choose between mainland and freezone. Do a thorough research and make your mind and pick one location. If you are not sure which location can best suit your business then our consultants at Expand Corporate Services can help you and explain to you the benefits of both freezone business setup and mainland business setup.
4. Pay the fee and complete your application
You should pay all the fee associated with the license and complete your application form and also provide a range of documents and paperwork to get your business license in Dubai. To make the process easy Expand Corporate Services has a team of professional PRO with vast experience in carrying out paperwork and documentation related to Dubai business license. They can help you in the paperwork and documents preparation related tasks for the license. By using our PRO services in Dubai you can save your time and money.
5. Get your license and open a business bank account
After submitting all the required papers and documents and paying the fees associated with the application it will take just a few days to get the business license in Dubai. Our PRO at Expand Corporate Services are very smart and can carry out the process making sure that there are no errors and delay in the process.
Once your trading license in Dubai has been approved, the last step is to open a business bank account in Dubai to make and receive payments. Expand Corporate Services can help you in opening a corporate bank account in Dubai and can advise you to choose the right bank meeting your business goals and objectives.
There are 4 main types of business licenses in UAE. We will discuss each in detail below.
1. Commercial license for general trading businesses
2. Industrial license for manufacturing goods
3. Professional license for service related businesses
4. Tourism license for tours & travel industry
Before initiating the business application you must know which type of license is best suited for you. If you need any kind of help in this regard our business license experts at Expand Corporate Services are here to help you in every steps of your business launch from getting the appropriate license to successful launch of your business in Dubai.
1. Commercial License in Dubai
If you would like to undertake trading activities in Dubai then apply for commercial license. For those who want to trade within UAE under commercial license a mainland LLC company can be a better option. However, you can obtain commercial license for trading outside UAE with a freezone company. It is also possible that free zone companies can also sell their products within UAE by partnering with UAE mainland distributors.
Under commercial license in Dubai, there are many activities your business can carry out and few are below:
- Import and export
- Oil and gas trading
- Automobile trading
- Electronics trading
- Spare parts trading
- Trading in used furniture
- Car rental services
- Brokerage firms
- Trading in chemicals
- Logistics firms
- Trading of building material
2. Industrial License in Dubai
If you are looking to start a manufacturing business like manufacturing furniture, food products manufacturing, and want to start industrial business, collection, packaging related then you should apply for UAE industrial business license.
Industrial license will be issued to manufacturing or industrial companies. In order to get industrial license, it is mandatory to have physical office inside Dubai.
Under industrial license below are few activities you can carry out in UAE.
- Food products manufacturing
- Metal casing
- Raw materials processing
- Manufacturing of furniture
- Production of bread on a commercial scale
- Packaging
- Dairy products manufacturing
3. Obtaining Professional License in Dubai
Professional license in UAE is required by professionals, service providers, crafts men and artisans. For this type of license you are required to have local service agent but you have 100% ownership of your business and its profits. Expand Corporate Services can assist you in obtaining a professional license in UAE.
Under professional license businesses can perform activities mentioned below
- Management and marketing consultancy
- Auditing and accounting companies
- Information technology companies
- Educational institutions
- Medical services
- Printing and publishing
- Law firms
- Beauty salons
- Computer graphic design service
- Repair services
4. Getting Tourism License in Dubai
If you are looking to start a tourism business in Dubai then you need to obtain a tourism license in Dubai. The first step is to register your business with department of economic development and the Dubai department of tourism and commerce marketing. There are different types of tourism licenses available in Dubai so to get the right type of license you need the services of a professional business setup consultant in Dubai such as Expand Corporate Services. You can offer different types of services after obtaining tourism license in Dubai. Some of the activities are below:
- Sell tourism packages online and offline
- Sell tour and adventure packages
- Offer accommodation and stay options
- Sell tickets for flights, railway and bus etc
- Provide car rental services
- Travel insurance and many more
Normally there are three categories of tourism license in Dubai which are:
1- Inbound tour operator license
2- Outbound tour operator license
3- Travel agent license
The process of obtaining tourism license in Dubai is straight forward. The easy steps are below
- Complete the application form
- Applicant passport copies
- Certification of work qualification by the manager
- Certificate of good conduct of the owner/proof of clean criminal record
- Detail project report highlighting economical and technical feasibility of the project
- No objection letter issued by CIA
Now that you have made your mind to start a business in Dubai and also you get enough information about the different types of licenses available in Dubai to start a business but still not sure where to start then Expand Corporate Services is here to help you. With more than 25 years of in UAE and with a long list of happy customers, we assure you to assist you in every step of your business set up process from the initial documentation to opening bank account to launching your business. We still don’t stop here until we help you in marketing your business and making it one of the top businesses in the world. Speak to our experienced consultants now.
