Licensable activity
Consulting & professional services
Advice sold on expertise rather than goods. Management consultancy, engineering and technical consultancy, IT advisory, marketing and HR consultancy all sit here. The defining test the authorities apply is whether the fee is for judgement or for a deliverable you manufactured.
Classification
How it is coded.
UAE activity lists derive from ISIC Revision 4, the United Nations industrial classification. Each emirate's economic department and each free zone then extends that base with its own numbering, so the same activity carries a different code in Dubai than it does in Sharjah or inside DMCC.
- ISIC Rev. 4
- Section M — Professional, scientific and technical activities (divisions 69–75)
- Licence category
- Professional
- Regulator
- No sector regulator — the licensing authority is the only approval, unless a specific product or premises triggers one.
Approvals beyond the licence
- Engineering consultancy
- Municipality and the relevant engineers' society in the emirate — plus proof of the principal's qualifications and experience.
- Legal consultancy
- The emirate's legal affairs department. Practising as an advocate is separate again and generally restricted.
- Health or medical consultancy
- The relevant health authority, even where you never touch a patient.
In practice
Professional licences have historically been the most accessible route for foreign founders — even before the 2021 ownership reforms, a professional licence on the mainland allowed full foreign ownership through a local service agent who held no equity. Management consultancy is among the most commonly issued activities in the country, which is precisely why it attracts scrutiny when the invoices do not match it.
Coverage
Where it can be licensed.
Of the 40 licensing authorities across the UAE, 28 issue licences covering this activity, spread across 7 of the seven emirates.